ORU women beat crosstown rival Tulsa to win Mayor’s Cup

TULSA — A 23-6 run over the final 6:31 minutes of play helped the Oral Roberts University women’s basketball team secure a 93-87 victory over crosstown rival Tulsa in the Mayor’s Cup game on Saturday night at the ORU Mabee Center. With the win, the Golden Eagles (3-2) return the Mayor’s Cup back to ORU for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

After trailing 70-81 with 6:31 left to play in the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles manufactured an incredible 23-6 run during the remaining time to pull away from the Golden Hurricane. Senior forward Ruthie Udoumoh registered 10 of her 17 points during the run as she led the charge for ORU during the run.

Star guard Hannah Cooper put together her best scoring output of the season as she logged a gamehigh 25 points and five assists. Cooper shot an efficient 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-4 from long distance. The savvy guard consistently found her way to the paint and got to her spots as she commanded the Golden Eagles offense throughout the contest.

Udoumoh recorded her fourth career double-double and first of the season with a 17 point and 11 rebound outing. On the boards, Udoumoh pulled down four on the offensive glass to give ORU second chance opportunities. Udoumoh snatched three steals to go along with her double-double.

Taleyah Jones poured in a 20-point performance of her own. The sophomore guard caught fire from behind the 3-point line as she drained her first four attempts before ending the night 4-of-6. Jones went an efficient 7-of-11 from the field as she notched her second 20 point game of the season.

After Meghan Weinrich opened up the scoring in the first quarter, Tulsa came out hot and aggressive as they utilized a 9-0 run to take a quick lead. Cooper put an end to the run with a free throw before freshman Emily Robinson hit a three to cut into the deficit further. The Golden Eagles entered the first media timeout down 6-11. Temira Poindexter went to work for the Golden Hurricane as the guard put up eight first quarter points. Cooper hit her first three of the game in between two buckets from sophomore guard Jalei Oglesby of Howe, but ORU found themselves in a 15-24 whole after 10 minutes of play.

Delanie Crawford hit a jumper to open the second quarter scoring and gave Tulsa its largest lead of the game with 12. ORU put together a quick 5-0 run at the 8:17 minutes mark after a Jones trey and jump shot by Weinrich. Both teams traded baskets for the next several possessions until the media timeout. Out of the timeout, the Golden Eagles stranded together a 9-3 run to pull them within two points of TU. After Amira Brown snuffed out the ORU run, the two programs stayed even with each other as ORU went into the half down 44-47.

To begin the third, Poindexter drained a quick trigger three and then went coast-to-coast for the layup off a steal. Cooper and Jones responded with a layup and three pointer of their own to keep the TU lead from blossoming and tie the game up 52-52. A couple TU buckets and a three by Jones made the score 5556 in favor of Tulsa heading into the media. Out of the timeout, Tulsa stitched together a 7-1 run to give the Golden Hurricane (3-1) some breathing room.

Cooper and Jones responded by putting together their own run sparked by a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer from Cooper, and Jones’ fourth three of the night. Tulsa closed the quarter on a small 8-2 run and held a 74-68 lead going into the final period of play.

Tulsa stretched its lead back out to nine points to begin the fourth before the Golden Eagles began to click. After a trio of free throws from Udoumoh and a jumper and free throw by Cooper in between the 6:31 and 4:37 minute mark, ORU women’s coach Kelsi Musick called a timeout to gather and organize her team for the final 4:30 of play. Out of the break, Musick’s squad amped up its defensive pressure that put the Tulsa offense into a scramble. For the remainder of the game, ORU outscored the Golden Hurricane 19-4 and forced three turnovers. The increased pressure on defense and aggressive looks on offense stunned the Tulsa team.

A pair of clutch free throws from Cooper and Robinson in the final 30 seconds sealed the win for ORU as they claimed the Mayor’s Cup for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

In defeat, Delanie Crawford put up a team-high 23 points for Tulsa, moving to four straight games with 20 or more points on the year. She shot 50 percent from the field (7-of-14), sank three shots from beyond the arch and went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line.

The Golden Eagles will make the trip down to Edinburg, Texas, this week as they prepare to face Texas-Rio Grande Valley at 1 this afternoon.

Tulsa will travel to Katy, Texas, to compete in the Van Chancellor Classic, where the Hurricane will face Arkansas Pine-Bluff at 3:45 p.m. Friday, Clemson at 6 p.m. Saturday and Mississippi State at 5:30 p.m. Sunday.