ORU women's basketball update

BY JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Friday, February 08, 2013
2/08/13 at 3:04 AM

10-11 overall, 7-4 Southland

Catching up: ORU was in a three-way tie for second place in the Southland Conference standings before playing a Thursday road game at Northwestern State. The Golden Eagles lost ground because they were upset 67-63 by the eighth-place Demons, who ended a three-game losing streak.

Player to watch: Kevi Luper. The senior guard from Adair is the Southland's reigning player of the week. She scored a team-best 19 points Thursday night and is among the top 30 scorers in women's NCAA Division I history.

Notes

Health update: This time one year ago, Coweta's Jenni Bryan was playing for an Oklahoma State team that won a WNIT championship. Bryan and the Cowgirls parted company after the season and she transferred to ORU.

Bryan could have appealed to the NCAA for immediate eligibility, like other OSU players who left after last season, but she and coach Misti Cussen agreed she would redshirt. Bryan would have missed this season regardless because she sustained a knee injury during the fall semester.

Asked Saturday how Bryan is doing, Cussen said, "She got told by the doctor that if we were pressed for time and we needed to get her back, she could be released in 2 1/2 weeks. That's how well she's doing."

Cussen wants Bryan to be on campus for as long as possible so she can take a leadership role with future Golden Eagle teams.

"With the new NCAA rule that we are going to be able to work out our freshmen two hours a week coming onto campus for summer school, it's going to be fantastic because her leadership will start as soon as the semester is over," Cussen said.

Associated Images:

Luper