Cats Fall in OT at Oral Roberts

Saturday, December 7

Tulsa, OK

4 p.m. (MT)

Montana State University

7-2,0-0Big Sky

Oral Roberts

6-2,0-0Summit League

OT 1

Montana St.

Oral Roberts

Esmeralda Morales

Photo by: Bobcat Creative Services

12/7/2024 6:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Both teams shot over 40% for the game, but ORU held a dominating 48-30 edge under the boards, which produced 24 second chance points for the Golden Eagles.

By: Tom Schulz

Meghan Weinrich converted a pair of free throws with four-seconds remaining in overtime to lift Oral Roberts to an 82-80 win over Montana State on Saturday night at Mabee Center as part of the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge.

Montana State defeated South Dakota 77-46 in its first game of the challenge on Wednesday night in Worthington Arena.

Following Weinrich's free throw makes, Montana State (7-2) had one last chance as Katelynn Martin's layin attempt went strong off the backboard and was corralled by Oral Robert's (6-2) Emily Robinson to secure the win.

A tight game throughout regulation, the Bobcats held a 27-25 lead at halftime. With 19-seconds left ORU's Jalei Oglesby hit a jumper giving the Golden Eagles a 69-67 advantage. MSU's Marah Dykstra connected on a pair to charity tosses ten seconds later to put the game into an extra period.

Both teams shot over 40% for the game, but ORU held a dominating 48-30 edge under the boards, which produced 24 second chance points for the Golden Eagles.

"You can't allow 24 second chance points to a good team on their home court," said MSU head coach Tricia Binford. "They had us on skates all night and put us out of position on rebounding.

"Their bench played well," she added. "We got into some foul trouble and that was a tough situation. On the positive side, we caused 18 errors and had good, balanced scoring. We'll learn from this game and move on to our next opportunity."

Esmeralda Morales led four Bobcats in double figures with a game-high 25 points, which included five three-pointers. Also, hitting double digits were Dykstra 18, Martin, 14, and freshman Addison Harris with a season-high 11 points.

Dykstra guided the Bobcat under the glass with nine rebounds.

Oglesby and Taleyah Jones paced ORU with 22 points, apiece.

Montana State plays at Florida Gulf Coast on Monday, Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. (MT) in Fort Myers, Fla.