North Dakota State Athletics
8-5, 3-0Summit
Oral Roberts
8-6, 2-1Summit
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Roberts | 32 | 34 | 66 |
| North Dakota State | 36 | 32 | 68 |
Birkel, Linz Lift North Dakota State to 68-66 Win Over Oral Roberts
1/2/2010 8:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FARGO, N.D.--Katie Birkel scored a team-high 16 points and came up with a key steal late and Hannah Linz handed out a career-high six assists as North Dakota State defeated Oral Roberts 68-66 in a see-saw Summit League women's basketball game played Saturday, Jan. 2, in before a season-high 1,728 spectators in the Bison Sports Arena.
North Dakota State (8-5, 3-0 Summit) is scheduled to host Centenary College (1-13, 0-3 Summit) at 7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 4. The Bison have won three in a row and seven of their last nine. NDSU improved to 5-1 at home and have won the last five in a row. The Ladies lost 82-35 at South Dakota State on Saturday.
Linz hit two free throws with 52.1 seconds left to put the Bison up 67-66. NDSU hit only 5 of 16 free throws overall compared to 14 of 20 for the Golden Eagles.
On the return trip down the floor, 6-foot-5 freshman Janae Burich blocked a shot attempt and Ashley Samuelson snared the rebound. Burich scored 12 points and blocked four shots. Linz and Burich combined for 20 of NDSU's 26 bench points.
Birkel made 1 of 2 free throws with 10.4 seconds remaining to make it 68-66. ORU's Janae Voelker grabbed the rebound, but ORU couldn't get a shot attempt off as Birkel came up with a steal as time expired.
Jaci Bigham dropped in a game-high 22 points, while Voelker ripped down a game-high 18 rebounds for Oral Roberts (8-6, 2-1 Summit), which held a 44-37 rebounding advantage. Kevi Luper had 13 points, while Jordan Pyle finished with 12.
The Golden Eagles made only 37.3 percent from the field compared 43.5 percent for North Dakota State.
After leading 30-15 at one point in the first half, NDSU managed to hold a 36-32 at the intermission. The Bison were sparked by Jill Zaruba, who netted 10 of her 14 points in the opening period. Birkel had 12 first-half points. Zaruba hit her first career three-pointer as the shot clock expired.
Oral Roberts scored the first 11 points of the second half to take a 43-36 lead on a Luper offensive rebound. Danielle DeGagne hit a short jumper to break The Golden Eagles had outscored NDSU 28-6 over 11 minute span over the final 7:42 of the first half and the first 3:47 of the second. The game was tied three times after that and the lead changed hands five times.
North Dakota State turned 18 ORU turnovers into 24 points, while the Golden Eagles scored 15 points off of 17 Bison miscues.
