Former Howe Lady Lion helps ORU women beat Mid-America Christian

By ORU MEDIA RELATIONS

TULSA — A double-double from Jalei Oglesby and a balanced offensive attack led the Oral Roberts University women’s basketball team to a 94-72 victory over Mid-America Christian University on Tuesday night at the ORU Mabee Center.

Oglesby, a redshirt sophomore from Howe, poured in a season-high 23 points while racking up 11 rebounds to secure a doubledouble off the bench. Oglesby’s stellar performance is the first 20-10 game by a Golden Eagle since Tirzah Moore on Feb. 23, 2023. Shooting an efficient 10-of-16 from the floor, Oglesby also consistently crashed the glass to give ORU second chance opportunities through her five offensive rebounds.

Transfer guard Taleyah Jones tallied 19 points in Tuesday night’s contest as she found her groove an attacked the basket, shooting 8-of-18 from the field. Coupled with her 19 points, Jones dished out a season-high five assists as she became a playmaker and looked to get others involved. Jones made a season-high three steals in tonight’s contest as she led the ORU defense.

Graduate student Hannah Cooper found her rhythm and put together an 18-3-5 performance. The prolific scorer found her range from long distance, draining two 3s for the Golden Eagles. Cooper controlled the offense for ORU women’s coach Kelsi Musick, calmly bringing the ball up the court and initiating the offense while facing a consistent press from the Evangels.

Emily Robinson rounded out this evening’s double-figure scorers as the freshman continues to impress early in the season. Robinson stuffed the stat sheet, putting together a 17-85 outing to go along with two steals. Robinson connected on two long balls for her first 3s of the year. Robinson once again went to work on the boards, collecting five offensive rebounds on the night.

MACU jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead to start the game after scoring back-to-back baskets in the paint. Robinson responded as she got the scoring started for ORU with a lay-up in the paint. A few possessions later, Robinson drained her first three of the season. The next play, Kylee Scheer broke down the ORU defense which forced a timeout by Musick as her team found themselves down 8-7. Out of the timeout, the Golden Eagles went on a quick 4-0 burst after buckets from Cooper and Jones. A putback score and the foul from Robinson sparked a 7-3 by ORU from the 4:38 to the 3:57 minute mark. Oglesby found her way in the scoring column after knocking down back-toback jumpers in the final two minutes of the quarters. The Golden Eagles went into the first break with a 24-20 lead. In the first minute of the second quarter, Annyka Hellendrung knocked down a 3-pointer as Oglesby followed with a jumper. Ashley Hopper quickly snuffed the ORU run with a putback layup to spark a 10-3 run for the Evangels between the 8:36 and 5:59 mark. After being down by nine points to begin the quarter, MACU evened the score 34-all by the second quarter media timeout. Following the timeout, Jones made her way to the rack to put ORU back up by two. The Golden Eagles amped up their defensive intensity to go on a 7-0 run during the 1:54 and 1:06 mark. Ashlyn Sage highlighted the Golden Eagles run with a side-step trey in transition off the assist from Cooper. With 16 seconds to go in the half, Jones took it right at her defender and scored with the foul to earn a three-point play. Jones hit the free throw and ORU went into the locker room with a 52-38 lead after ending the quarter on a 16-2 run.

Robinson opened the second half in scoring after securing a putback lay-up. The Golden Eagles forced an Evangels turnover on the next play which led to a Cooper three. ORU’s lead bloomed to 19 before MACU began mounting a comeback. The Evangels ramped their full court pressure and began hounding the Golden Eagles on defense. Between the 8:47 and the 4:07 mark, MACU went on a 14-0 run and brought the Evangels back within five points. After the media timeout and a pair of MACU free throws, Oglesby put an end to the run and ignited an 8-0 run by ORU. Oglesby started it off with fast-break lay-up and a bucket and the foul off a MACU turnover. On the fast break, Cooper pulled up and drained her second three of the quarter. The quick scoring burst from Oglesby and Cooper gave the Golden Eagles some breathing room as they entered the final 10 minutes of play up 70-57.

Oglesby and Cooper continued to make plays in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter as both guards converted on lay-ups. Jones got in on the action for ORU, scoring five points during an 11-2 run from the 8:28 mark to the 5:11 mark. During this run the Golden Eagles stretched their lead out to 20 points. Oglesby, Cooper and Jones held off the Evangels for the remainder of the quarter as ORU earned its second win of the season.