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Luper lifts ORU past Tulane


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ORU's Georgia Jones tries to get around Tulane's Danielle Nunn during the Golden Eagles' 92-86 WNIT win Monday. JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World

(excerpt)

By MIKE BROWN World Sports Writer

Published: 3/22/2011 2:33 AM

Last Modified: 3/22/2011 5:51 AM

It may not be where they wanted to be exactly in the third week of March, but for the Oral Roberts women's basketball team, it's sweet nonetheless.

Kevi Luper's two foul shots with 46.9 seconds left put the Golden Eagles ahead to stay as they fought and clawed for a 92-86 win over Tulane of Conference USA in a WNIT second-round game before 1,065 spectators at the Mabee Center on Monday night.

ORU (23-10) advanced to host Arkansas in the round of 16 at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

"We're in the Sweet Sixteen, no matter what tournament it is, and that's an accomplishment in and of itself," said Luper, who scored a team-high 29 points.

Georgia Jones added 22 points, going 6-for-8 from 3-point range to help the Eagles overcome 37 points by Tulane's Danielle Nunn, the most by an ORU opponent this year.

Read the rest of the story here.

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PURE JOY in the faces of every one of those ladies! Can't say that I blame them - I felt the same way myself!!

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Happy for them as well. It's gotta feel like a little vindication to themselves for the way they exited the tournament in SF. Glad they get to keep playing, and at HOME!!!! :clap:

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Great to see the girls having fun....this WNIT is really a great experience for them....besides, if ORU had gone to the NCAA, they would have likely been one and done....after all, SDSU is already home for the year....getting these two games at Mabee is a real bonus!..... :smile:

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Great to see the girls having fun....this WNIT is really a great experience for them....besides, if ORU had gone to the NCAA, they would have likely been one and done....after all, SDSU is already home for the year....getting these two games at Mabee is a real bonus!..... :smile:

Couldn't agree more, Eagleman. I've been thinking the same thing - while the a little more prestige may lie in going to the NCAA Tournament, and that's what every team shoots for all season, this WNIT thing has been wonderful for ORU, and for the women's team. It's helping to build the fan base (apart from the "best field trip in the world" promotion, I think last night had to be the largest crowd to a women's game in a while) and will serve as a tremendous spring board for next year's team - which, as everyone already knows, returns ALL players. It's a win-win no matter how you look at it.

The NCAA may have gotten a little more talk, and maybe a televised game (I'm not sure about that), but as Eagleman said, would likely have been one and done. This tournament is providing an opportunity to win, and is just be fun. I'm really happy about the success of Jerry and the team. Hope they win another!

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