First-year forward Jade Hill brought the St. Thomas women’s basketball team within reach, but Oral Roberts held strong in an overtime battle that resulted in a 73-67 win for the Golden Eagles Saturday at Schoenecker Arena.
The Tommies (6-15, 3-8 Summit League) last took on Oral Roberts (12-11, 7-5) on Jan. 17, falling 72-44 in a road blowout. Saturday’s loss extended the Tommies’ losing streak to seven games.
“We felt like the first time we played them, we kind of went inward. We didn’t continue to fight and be solution-based and find ways to control the game—we let them control it,” coach Ruth Sinn said.
Although Oral Roberts came out strong in the first quarter with first-year forward Tirzah Moore quickly putting points on the board, the Tommies regained some control in Saturday’s matchup as they outrebounded the Golden Eagles 46-to-28.
First-year center Jo Langbehn snagged 12 rebounds in the game, making her a more powerful presence on the court than the four rebounds she had in the Tommies’ last face-off with Oral Roberts.
“In the first game, I didn’t rebound as well as in this game,” Langbehn said. “In this game, I focused on that one thing.”
Missed shots and short-lived possessions defined the first quarter for St. Thomas as the Golden Eagles were able to maintain a steady lead that left the Tommies trailing by eight going into the second quarter.
“If you looked at the first five minutes of that quarter, the first quarter, we got the shots we wanted,” Sinn said. “We were doing exactly what we wanted. But we weren’t hitting them.”
Momentum sparked up in the second; however, as sophomore center Kate Burns broke in with two solid free throws 28 seconds in. A minute later, Hill followed up with a layup off a fastbreak.
While the early points helped St. Thomas secure 18 points in the quarter, Oral Roberts consistently answered back and garnered 18 points of their own, maintaining their eight-point lead to end the half at 34-26.
It wasn’t until after halftime that the St. Thomas team really settled into the game and started playing as a composed and cohesive unit.
After four points from Oral Roberts early in the third, the Tommies found their groove with a 10-point streak propelled by Hill, graduate student forward Erin Norling and senior guard Maggie Negaard.
Hill, who ranks fifth in the league for free throw percentage, followed up the streak with four good free throws and tightened the score to 46-41 to end the third.
“We went back to being and playing our scheme,” Sinn said. “And once we did that, then we did hit those shots and things kind of went our way with that.”
Starting with just a five-point deficit in the fourth, Hill, Langbhen and Norling threw up three good layups to finally secure the first Tommie lead of the game at 47-46.
The Tommies and the Golden Eagles remained in lockstep throughout the quarter, alternating leads as the tight score fired up both benches and the crowd.
A long three pointer by Hill with 2:37 left in the game gave the Tommies a 59-57 lead. However, a quick basket by Oral Roberts’ sophomore center Katie Scott tied up the game again as time wound down.
The Tommies had two chances for game-winning baskets in the final 6 seconds of the game but were unable to find the net, sending the game into overtime—their second OT of the season.
“I told the team, ‘we’ve been in double overtime. We know what it’s like—we’re 1-0,” Sinn said.
However, the home team fell short as the Golden Eagles went 8-for-10 on free throws in overtime, sealing out the conference road win for Oral Roberts.
Though the Tommies were unable to end their losing streak, Langbehn said the close game reflects how the team is connecting more both on and off the court.
“We’re all getting super close, like we’re all connecting so much better and I think that’s definitely benefiting us when we’re going into these games,” Langbehn said. “We just need to come up with a win next time.”
The Tommies face North Dakota on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m. in Grand Forks, N.D. in the first of three away games over the span of four days.
Lauren Price can be reached at lauren.price@stthomas.edu.
Cam Kauffman can be reached at kauf8536@stthomas.edu.