TULSA, Okla. - Junior
Ali Stephens (Fort Wayne, Ind.) turned in another solid offensive performance for Omaha Women's Basketball, but Oral Roberts seized control with a 29-5 run midway through the first half and went on to an 85-52 win over the Mavericks on Saturday afternoon.
Stephens finished with a team-high 16 points and six rebounds. She scored a career-best 18 points Thursday against St. Thomas.
Stephens was averaging 5.2 points through Omaha's first 17 games this season, but she's averaged 14.5 points over the past four games.
Omaha (2-19, 0-6 Summit) led 10-9 with 3:48 left in the first quarter after graduate
Sarai Estupiñan (Cedar Park, Texas) hit a 3-pointer.
But Oral Roberts (11-8, 4-2) used its defense to trigger a 29-5 run over the next 10 minutes as the Golden Eagles held a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Head coach
Jamie Carey felt her team played well early on, but she said the Mavs didn't have an answer after ORU went on its run.
In the first half, Oral Roberts scored 23 points off 15 turnovers and had 20 fast-break points. ORU finished the game with a 50-8 advantage in points in the paint.
Besides Stephens, Estupiñan added 10 points and five assists, while freshman
Regan Juenemann (Crosby, Minn.) hit three of Omaha's 10 3-pointers.
Freshman
Avril Smith (Omaha, Neb.) finished with 16 rebounds and tied a career-best with five blocked shots.
Smith entered the day averaging 10.8 rebounds per game and Saturday was the 12th time she has finished with double-digit rebounds during her freshman year.
Omaha returns home to face South Dakota at 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday on the Summit League Network.
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