ORU women's basketball update

BY JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Friday, February 01, 2013
2/01/13 at 2:57 AM

ORU 9-10 overall, 6-3 Southland

Catching up: Senior night came early for ORU. Senior guards Kevi Luper and Jaci Bigham teamed for half of the team's points in an 84-56 victory Thursday over Nicholls State. Two baskets into the second half, Luper and Bigham had combined for 30 points and Nicholls State had 29 points.

Player to watch: Kevi Luper. The Adair High School alum scored her most points ever (22) in a Southland Conference game and grabbed 10 rebounds against Nicholls State. Her previous high in a Southland game was 18 in the league opener against Southeastern Louisiana. She entered the game as the 37th-leading scorer in NCAA Division I history and now has 2,613 career points.

Notes

Slump-buster: Luper's 22 points against Nicholls State were her most since scoring 22 in a Dec. 20 game at Nebraska.

"Everyone knows I have been in a slump since being in conference play," she said. "I think I am back. I have been putting in the work (with) extra hours of shooting."

ORU head coach Misti Cussen said Luper has always gotten in extra work during the course of her career. The coach said it was good that her team spent the last two weeks at home so Luper could have an opportunity to get in the gym.

Before shooting 10-of-17 against Nicholls State, Luper was shooting 35.3 percent from the field and 13 percent from 3-point range in conference games.

"Sometimes when your shot kind of gets back into the flow, it kind of happens like a light switch," Cussen said. "Sometimes it is grinding. She has kind of been grinding back into it for the last couple of weeks, but chose to stay positive and I just like the fact that she has shown confidence through all of it, so I am proud of her for that."

Breaking even: ORU can get back to .500 for the first time since Dec. 5 if the Golden Eagles beat Southeastern Louisiana in the last game of a four-game homestand. The game tips off at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Mabee Center.

Associated Images:

Luper