Mastodons Drop Heartbreaker to Golden Eagles

Saturday, January 29

Fort Wayne, Ind.

1:00 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

7-313-6; Summit

Oral Roberts

10-014-7; Summit

Oral Roberts

IPFW

Anne Boese hit 7-of-13 three-point shots as IPFW fell to Oral Roberts 76-74 on Saturday afternoon

1/29/2011 3:51:11 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOX SCORE | POSTGAME NOTES (.pdf)

Fort Wayne, IN - The IPFW Mastodons used a 19-0 second-half run to turn a 17-point deficit into a two-point lead, and led by six with 1:17 remaining in the game, before the Summit League-leading Oral Roberts scored the contest's final six points, as Stephanie Rosado's three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out, giving the Golden Eagles the 76-74 victory.

The loss drops IPFW to 13-6 on the season, and 7-3 in Summit League play, tied for the best start to a season since the 1995-96 team opened the year 17-2.

Anne Boese scored a team-high 24 points, making 7-of-13 shots from long range, while Rosado scored 10 while pulling down nine rebounds. Four players; Kayla Drake, Jordan Zuppe, Sydney Weinert, and Amanda Hyde, each scored eight points, with Zuppe dishing out a career-high 11 assists.

Weinert also grabbed nine rebounds and blocked a career-high five shots, while Drake picked up three steals, giving her 19 over her last three games.

The Mastodons came out flat from the start, never leading in the first half, and trailed by double-digits for the final ten minutes of the opening period, taking a 14-point, 43-29 deficit into the locker room at halftime.

Things did not improve for IPFW to start the second half, as Oral Roberts (14-7, 10-0 Summit League) pushed the lead to as high as 17 following a Jordan Pyle lay-in with 15:42 remaining in the game.

For the next 4:36, the game was all IPFW, as the team rattled off 19 consecutive points including five three-point baskets, two each from Boese and Zuppe, to give the Mastodons its first lead of the game at 56-54 with 11:06 to play in the game.

In that streak, the Mastodons forced seven turnovers, allowing just three ORU shot attempts for the four and a half minutes.

IPFW would not give up its lead until the last minute of the contest, as IPFW pushed the advantage to six with 1:17 left in the game following a Rosado lay-in.

ORU's Jaci Bigham proceeded to take the game over for the next minute and five seconds, as the sophomore scored eight consecutive points, including a lay-in with 1:08 left to cut the deficit to four.

A pair of IPFW missed free throws with 40 seconds left set up another Bigham lay-up opportunity with 32 seconds remaining, before another missed charity stripe attempt on the front end of a one-and-one with 20 seconds remaining gave the Golden Eagles a chance to tie the game, which Bigham did with a lay-up six seconds later, tying the game at 74.

With the game tied at 74, and the 'Dons setting up for a final play, Bigham picked up a steal at mid-court, and was fouled with 3.6 seconds left, where she calmly sank both free throw attempts to help ORU re-take the lead.

A pass to mid-court found an open Rosado who took two dribbles and launched a three-point attempt at the buzzer that hit the backboard, the front iron, and rolled around the rim before falling out, giving the Golden Eagles the 76-74 victory.

IPFW made 28-of-62 shots (.452 percent) from the field in the loss, and 13-of-34 three-point field goals, for a percentage of .382. The Mastodons, who came into the game ranked 19th in the country in free throw percentage, made just 5-of-10 for the game, the first time the team has shot below .632 on the year.

ORU made 33-of-60 shots for a percentage of 55.0, while hitting 2-of-6 from long range, and 8-of-12 from the free throw line.

Pyle scored a game-high 25 points, while Bigham added 18 points and 11 steals. Kevi Luper, who came into the game averaging 23.4 points per game, fourth highest average in the country, was held to nine points, just the second time in her career she did not reach double-figure points.

The Mastodons return to action on Monday, January 31, when the team plays hosts to the Ladies of Centenary College, with tip-off slated for 7:00 PM at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.

~Dons~