OSU 78, ORU 53: Cowgirls beat ORU, extend perfect start - TW (12-3-2006)

[ORUTerry]

OSU 78, ORU 53: Cowgirls beat ORU, extend perfect start

Cowgirls win again

by LYNN JACOBSEN World Sports Writer

12/3/2006

Oklahoma State's new-look offense isn't just for show.

The Cowgirls romped to a 78-53 victory over Oral Roberts. It's OSU's best start (7-0) since the 1995-96 season, when the Cowgirls started 10-0.

The victory was the first by an OSU team in the Bertha Teague Classic or against an in-state opponent in five years.

"I think the biggest thing about this team is they expect to win every night out," OSU coach Kurt Budke said. "The chemistry on this team is unbelievable. With the exception of the first few minutes, I thought our kids played very comfortable.

"These kids understand everything we are trying to do. We know what lies ahead with the Big 12. We understand we have some great challenges ahead, but little by little, we are getting better."

OSU simply had too much speed and depth for Oral Roberts.

Andrea Riley and Maria Cordero recorded career-highs in points and finished with double-doubles to lead the Cowgirls. Riley had 20 points and 10 assists while Cordero poured in 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Rashidat Sadiq added 13 and Rita Kollo came off the bench to score 10.

OSU shot 50 percent from the field while holding ORU to a season-low 33.3 percent.

"Andrea does a good job of getting us going," Cordero said. "When she does well, we do well."

Poor shooting hampered the Golden Eagles (5-2), particularly in the second half.

They were 8-of-28 from the field in the second half and just 1-of-10 from 3-point range for the game.

"I thought that was the key," Budke said. "We felt like we had to take the 3-point shot away from them.

"I thought we handled the different defenses ORU threw at us very well, and that starts with Andrea. This is a good win for us. We started out a little scared, but we played 40 minutes of defense."

Jenny Hardin was ORU's only consistent scorer in the second half. The sophomore center finished with 19 points, after being held to just four in the first 20 minutes.

Elisha Turek recorded her 39th double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds, but really wasn't a factor after the break.

In the second half, she was 0-of-5, after going 3-of-7 early.

Mariana Camargo also struggled. Averaging 11.3 points a game coming in, Camargo finished with just six on 3-of-6 field goals.

"We just got beat by a better team today, obviously," ORU coach Jerry Finkbeiner said.

Lynn Jacobsen 581-8461