Jump to content

Next up, Sioux Falls


BlueGold

Recommended Posts

With our win tonight over Omaha, we finished 10-6 in conference and are locked into 4th place.  We will play Western Illinois in the 4-5 game in Sioux Falls.  It's a good matchup for us, especially with the way we played them last weekend.  They weren't ready.  We smoked them 79-55, and did it with our athleticism and inside play.  Maria, Blair and Faith had a field day scoring inside on drives to the basket and with strong post play.  They couldn't handle it.  We made them look slow, and when they did sag in we were able to kick it out and drop in some shots from the outside that were very good looks.  I mention the most recent game with them because I believe that we will play them the same way again.  No reason to mess with what isn't broken.  

South Dakota is locked in as the #1 seed and we're on their side of the bracket, so we'll see.

No matter what happens, I'm so proud of this TEAM.  It's been inspiring to watch as they've grown together and rallied around each other through the trials and adversity they've faced.  A tough non-conference schedule where they spent a ton of time on the road.  Two players transferring out in late November/early December that limited our roster for games.  Injuries to Jordii Gilbert before the season started and to Bria and Dorka once conference began that left us with 7 or 8 'healthy' players for a large part of conference.  Blair playing through some physical issues and gutting it out and never complaining and helping us win.  Others dealing with stuff that didn't get reported.  They've walked the walk. 

We had a tough run in non-conference, going 3-9, but we did beat TU at their place and we won at Kansas.  We lost Bria in the fourth quarter of our first conference game and lost that game but rallied together to win 6 straight, including a home win over South Dakota, which is their only conference loss so far.  We had some hiccups in the second half of conference play, including losing 3 straight on the road, but we rallied again and closed out the regular season with 2 wins at home, the Western Illinois pummeling last weekend and the 67-58 win over Omaha tonight in the regular-season finale.

I've enjoyed watching our freshmen, Maria and Ashley.  They've played a ton of minutes and started a lot (on merit and out of necessity).  There's nothing like game experience, and I've seen how they've gotten better as the season's gone on.  Maria has been very impressive and I've seen how much she's grown and developed and grown in confidence, and it's all the more impressive since she's had to adapt to the American game.  She's a very tough matchup, athletic and long and skilled.  Ashley too, she's stepped up more of late and looked for her shot more and adapted well to the roles she's been given.  I see excellent, productive futures for both of them as Golden Eagles.

And speaking of the future, I have a good friend on this board that keeps telling me how good we could be next season and in the seasons to come and I have to agree.  The future looks bright.  We have a good core coming back, which hopefully includes a healthy Bria and Jordii.  And at least the 4 that we've signed coming in, who bring size (6-3, 6-4, 6-0, 5-11) and toughness, and size, and the ability to create shots and score.  And we'll have Lakota for the next 2 years, and she will bring it.  I also have high hopes and my fingers crossed that we will sign a certain player in the 2017 class that will elevate the program.  

Not getting too far ahead of myself of course, there's still work to be done.  I'm sure the coaches and the team enjoyed the win and the Senior Night celebration for Blair tonight, and maybe they'll get to take tomorrow off, but it's back to the grind.  Gotta get ready for Sioux Falls.

Speaking of Blair, here's a pic from the Senior Night celebration.  Obviously she's the one holding the flowers:

CcHOsamVIAQHwZi.jpg

Go Eagles! 

Edited by BlueGold
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great come back in the 2nd half of the season by ORU....lots of heart....things are looking up for Sioux Falls and for next season....:clap::eagles:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes. Next year, we have the makings of a REALLY good team. Considering this year we finished 4th, with what we have coming in/back next year, we could realistically compete for the conference title.

That said, we still have some ball to play this year and the bracket on the women's side is favorable for us to win (at least) one game, possibly more...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Lady Eagles beat WIU 68-55 to advance to the Semifinals in the Summit.  Way to go Ladies!  They will play No.1 seed South Dakota at Noon tomorrow (Monday).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So happy for them for this victory! I'm praying they can notch another win tomorrow!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ORU will have an extra 6,000 fans tomorrow afternoon. Mayberry had a phenomenal game today. Best of luck against USD. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Congrats to the ORU ladies today....33 for Mayberry....that's gotta be the performance of the season for the Golden Eagles....much tougher opponent tomorrow but it sounds like we will have a lot of crowd support!....:eagles:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Many thanks to everyone who will be cheering for our Eagles today. For those of us back here in Tulsa, it's reassuring to know that the ladies will have some extra support from the crowd!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I too want to thank all those who will be cheering for our Lady Eagles this afternoon.  Go Golden Eagles, you did it to Kansas and Tulsa earlier in the season, and almost pulled off the upset of Okie State, now deliver a beat down on the Yotes!  I will be watching the game on ESPN3 with the sound down while listening to Hax call the game and cheering from here in the beautiful Upper Ohio Valley.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ORU is eliminated by South Dakota, 78-61.....the ladies were pretty much behind from the get go.....after her 33 point explosion yesterday, Mayberry fouled out with only 5 points......so the ORU women finish 14-16 but we are optimistic for next season...:eagles:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SDSU whips SD last night and the Jacks win both the men and womens' tournaments.....both teams are very good but something to be said for home court advantage....:rolleyes:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, theeagleman5 said:

SDSU whips SD last night and the Jacks win both the men and womens' tournaments.....both teams are very good but something to be said for home court advantage....:rolleyes:

Eagleman, with all due respect, WHO CARES?  I could give a flying flip that SDSU or any other school other than ORU wins anything.  And don't get me started on the whole conference tournament thing and where it's being held, I've already made my feelings known about it in another thread, and if anything, I feel even more defensive about my position in light of what goes on in this wonderful conference and in other conferences that hold postseason tournaments.

Guess we'll see if people get themselves worked up if and when a Summit team wins an automatic bid to the Dance with a .500 or lower record...

And I'm sure the USD women are feeling good knowing that they swept SDSU in the regular season but... the regular season (should, but) doesn't really matter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

USD did the same thing to SDSU in 2014. The Jacks swept them in regular season but ended up losing to the Yotes in the semi-finals. In 2014 the 1st seed got a bye in the 1st round so it was the Jacks first game of the tournament. USD was the 4 seed while SDSU was the 1. SDSU then went on to reach the WNIT Final 4. Games like that aren't fun for the higher seed, but that is why they call it March Madness. 

Both USD and SDSU deserve to be in the tournament this season. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, ORU82 said:

Agree SDS and good luck in the Big Dance!  We will be rooting for you to go far.

What? No we won't. Speak for yourself, hoss.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My belief right or wrong is that once teams get into non-conference post season play, the farther they go the more respect a conference overall will achieve.  Of course we all have our own opinions on that so I am sorry I threw you into the mix.  In conference play during the season, I am all/only a Golden Eagle fan.  However, whether it is regular season OOC play or after the conference tourney play, I will root for every Summit League team to have a deep run. The better they do, the more buzz is indirectly generated for the conference overall IMHO.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...