TULSA, Okla. (11/27/21) – Early foul trouble and a tough third quarter was difficult to overcome for the Arkansas State women's basketball team, which dropped an 81-62 decision at Oral Roberts on Saturday at the Mabee Center.
A-State (4-3) faced just a five-point halftime margin, but fell into a hole after the Golden Eagles (1-4) outscored the Red Wolves 25-10 in the third quarter to lead by 20 entering the fourth.
Morgan Wallace led three A-State players in double figures with 12 points and a game-high 7 rebounds, while Jireh Washington added 11 and Trinitee Jackson scored 10 in 15 minutes, battling early foul trouble. Talia Roldan and Lauryn Pendleton scored 8 and 7 points, respectively, with both hauling in 6 boards apiece. As a team, A-State shot 33.8 percent (22-65) from the field and 72.2 percent (13-18) at the foul line.
ORU's Tirzah Moore led all players with 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting and a perfect 6 of 6 at the free-throw line, while grabbing 6 rebounds. Faith Paramore added 10 points with 6 rebounds. Collectively, Oral Roberts shot 45.0 percent (27-60) from the floor while shooting 70.4 percent (19-27) from the charity stripe and out-rebounding A-State 43-39.
A-State led for most of the first quarter by as much as four before the lead changed hands to the Golden Eagles, who closed the period on a 9-0 run to lead 25-19 after one.
ORU's lead grew to 32-21 on a jumper by Moore to cap off a 7-0 stretch, but Wallace helped push the Red Wolves back to within four with a layup with 2:52 left in the half. She then made it a one-possession game with a pair of free throws. Lay-ins by Moore and Regan Schumacher pushed the Golden Eagles back ahead 39-32 with a minute to play, with Roldan knocking down a deep 2-point jumper in the corner to make it a 39-34 halftime deficit.
ORU kept the Red Wolves off-balance in the third quarter, outscoring A-State 25-10 to lead 63-44 after three. The Scarlet and Black battled back in the fourth and outscored Oral Roberts 18-17, closing the game with four straight points from Washington.
NEXT UP
A-State faces a quick turnaround, closing out the ORU Thanksgiving Classic at 11 a.m. Sunday versus Abilene Christian. The contest will be streamed live on ORUAthletics.com, while the radio broadcast of all A-State women's basketball games can be heard on 95.3/96.9 The Ticket.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest on the A-State women's basketball program, follow @AStateWB on Twitter and @astatewbb on Instagram, while also liking the team's Facebook page at Facebook.com/RedWolvesWBB.
