Oral Roberts Escapes with Narrow 63-62 Victory Over Eagles

TULSA, Okla. (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University's women's basketball team dropped a close battle with the Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts University, 63-62, in Tulsa, Okla. Shannise Heady (Hazel Crest, Ill.-Hillcrest-Seton Hall) hit both her free throws with 1:36 to play to a deadlock the score at 60-all. ORU took the slight edge once more with a Vicky McIntyre layup and extended the lead to three with a free throw by Jordan Gilbert, but the Green and White kept fighting back and cut the deficit to one point with a short jumper by Phillis Webb (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) with 13 seconds still showing. Following a time out, Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver-ASA College) stripped the ball with 11 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, Cha Sweeney's (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) shot was off target as Oral Roberts escaped with the one-point victory.

With the setback, the Eagles fall to 5-3 on the season while ORU increases its record to 5-4.

Eastern was paced by Sweeney with 20 points and seven rebounds to go along with three steals and three assists. Also scoring in double digits were Webb with 11 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds and Heady with 10 points. As a team, the Eagles struggled to find the hoop, hitting just 23-of-73 shots for a 31.5 percentage from the field, including not finding a three-pointer on eight attempts. The Green and White managed to keep its turnovers low, committing just 13 miscues while forcing 22 from the Golden Eagles. The team was also more effective in the paint, scoring 42 points down low compared to 30 points for ORU.

Oral Roberts was led by McIntyre, who notched a double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds to go along with six blocks. Bernadett Balla was also a threat on the boards, pulling down 10 rebounds. Overall, the Golden Eagles outrebounded the Eagles 54-46.

ORU got on the board first with a McIntyre kiss off the glass before Morton would equalize the count with a pair of free throws. The Eagles struggled to get rolling offensively, finding plenty of opportunities for shots but were ultimately unable to convert. Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles strung together a brief run of four points before Sweeney knocked in a jumper and later found Rachel Kehoe (St. Clair, Mich.-St. Clair (St. Clair CC)) under the rim for an easy layup to knot the score at six apiece.

The Golden Eagles continued to attack the paint before dishing out to Jayden Oliver, who hit the first perimeter shot of the contest to give ORU a 13-6 advantage. Heady managed to quench the Eagles' scoring drought on a fastbreak layup off an ORU miscue with 11:33 to play, while the Green and White still trailed 15-8.

Mixing up their offense between paint presence and hot shooting from three-point range, ORU built up a 22-12 advantage. Eastern was able to cut into the scoring gap a bit with a pair of free throws by Webb from the charity stripe immediately followed by a steal off the inbound play and layup by Sweeney. The sophomore continued to pace the Eagles in offensive aggression, drawing the foul in the paint and hitting a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to four points, 22-18 with 5:51 to play in the half.

A foul by Bernadett Balla put Kehoe on the line, and she converted on one of her two chances, after which Webb executed a flawless reverse layup. Down the court on defense on the next play, Webb came away with a steal to give to Sweeney, who found Jamaica Bucknor (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Weaver (ASA College)) for a fastbreak layup to give the Eagles their first lead of the game, 23-22. A mid-range jumper by Sweeney extended the EMU lead to 25-22, keeping the Golden Eagles scoreless for over nearly three minutes.

ORU found a few points from Carolina Lopez in the paint, but Micah Robinson (Ann Arbor, Mich-Huron) came in and sparked the Eagle offense once more. Robinson broke away down the court and tossed a teardrop into the hoop before drawing ORU's large post players and finding Kabria Walker (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) open for a layup. The Eagles held off the ORU for the rest of the half, keeping the Golden Eagles from claiming the final bucket of the half when Bucknor swiped the ball and tore down the court for a last-second layup, extending the lead to 34-29 at the half.

Sweeney paced the team at the half with 10 points to her credit, while also leading the team in rebounds, steals, and assists. As a team, the Eagles shot 33.3 percent from the field off 12-of-36 shooting, and went 10-of-13 from the free throw line. The Eagles committed just four turnovers, while forcing 11 ORU miscues.

Oral Roberts mustered a slight edge in shooting percentage, draining 12-of-33 shots for 36.4 percent. The Golden Eagles held a staunch edge on the boards, pulling down 30 rebounds compared to just 20 for the Green and White. The presence from the post players also played a large factor, as McIntyre rejected the Eagles three times to pace her squad's five blocks.

The two teams traded blows to open up the second half, with ORU turning back to the large frames of its forwards to pace the offense. Sweeney provided superb leadership for the Eagles, scoring the team's first six points while forcing an additional 10-second half court violation with her relentless defense.

Despite leading by as many as seven points, the Eagles relinquished the lead with 12:16 to play, trailing 43-42 after a series of fouls on ORU helped the Golden Eagles sway the score in their favor. With the lead no longer in the Eagles' possession, Head Coach Tory Verdi called an effective timeout that resulted in a pair of baskets from Heady and Webb to reclaim control of the scoreboard before another half court time violation from the EMU defensive press.

A pair of layups by McIntyre plus an extra point from a free throw from the center tied the score up at 48-48, while another layup from Atoe' Jackson gave the lead back to the Golden Eagles. From there, ORU went on a 9-3 run to take a 59-51 advantage in the contest. A pair of layups from Heady and Walker kept the Green and White in the game, trailing 60-55 with 3:35 remaining.

Bucknor hit a pair of free throws to bring the score within two points, after which Heady made a flying grab and dash downcourt to draw the foul. After hitting both her free throws, Heady brought the game to a deadlock at 60-60. ORU took the slight edge once more but the Green and White kept fighting back and cut the deficit to one point with a short jumper by Webb with 13 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, the Eagles were unable to convert on their final play, as Oral Roberts escaped with the 63-62 victory.

Eastern Michigan will return to its home court Tuesday, Dec. 9, for a tilt with Madonna University. The Eagles invite students to take a break from studying for finals to come out and support the Green and White as it takes on the Crusaders inside the Convocation Center at 7 p.m. Thanks to local businesses, students can enjoy free food, coffee, Insomnia Cookies, massages, and haircuts at the Convocation Center as well as vouchers for free tanning when they come to cheer on the Green and White against the Crusaders. Local businesses in attendance include: Bigby Coffee, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dominoes, DNA Salon 120, Insomnia Cookies, Jimmy John's, and TanFastic. EMU students get into all home basketball games for free with a valid student ID.

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Team Stats

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Shannise Heady

Jamaica Bucknor

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Shannise Heady

Rachel Kehoe

Micah Robinson

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Players Mentioned

Jamaica Bucknor

Shannise Heady

Rachel Kehoe

Micah Robinson

Cha Sweeney

Phillis Webb

Eastern Michigan Athletics