Seniors on ORU women's team prepare for final home game
BY JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
2/19/13 at 5:23 AM
Savanna Buck said "it" kind of hit her when she was doing a senior appreciation video.
It?
She and fellow Oral Roberts University seniors Jaci Bigham and Kevi Luper will play the final regular-season home game of their careers when Central Arkansas pays a 5 p.m. Tuesday visit to the Mabee Center.
"I kind of, in practice, got a little emotional," Buck said. "This is the last time we are going to be in the Mabee Center. (And) it's not just the Mabee Center. It's how can we make the most of the time we have left?"
Luper said she had a similar reaction when she was in her car en route to do her senior appreciation video. She couldn't help but think about the end of the road.
"I started practicing and kind of started tearing up, but I got over that real quick," she said. "We're just ready to play our last game here. We're not ready to be done, but we're ready for (what's ahead)."
The ORU seniors enter the twilight of their careers at the top of the Southland Conference standings. The Golden Eagles are one-half game ahead of Sam Houston State and Lamar. The top two teams get byes into the semifinal round of the league tournament and then the mission becomes this basic: Win two games, advance to the NCAA Tournament.
The next victory, whenever it comes, will be the 80th in the careers of Bigham, Buck and Luper, allowing them to become ORU's winningest senior class since the seniors of 1983 wrapped up an 80-win resume.
Bigham, Buck and Luper have combined for 4,848 career points, 23 conference player of the week awards and two regular-season conference championships. They also teamed to set 31 records. Luper will leave as ORU's all-time leading scorer (her next field goal will be the 1,000th of her career), and Bigham is the program's all-time assist leader.
The Mabee Center farewell will come against the only Southland Conference opponent ORU has yet to face. Central Arkansas won the Southland's regular-season championship one year ago and is led by two-time league player of the year Megan Herbert, who averages 19.1 points and 11.4 rebounds.
Central Arkansas (14-11, 7-7 SLC)
|
|
Ht. |
Pt. |
Rb. |
| F |
Herbert |
5-11 |
19.1 |
11.4 |
| F |
Gowans |
5-11 |
5.8 |
2.9 |
| F |
Rogers |
5-11 |
7.9 |
5.0 |
| C |
Duever |
6-1 |
14.0 |
8.4 |
| G |
Parsons |
5-7 |
5.7 |
2.5* |
Oral Roberts (13-11, 10-4)
|
|
Ht. |
Pt. |
Rb. |
| F |
Cooper |
6-0 |
9.6 |
5.0 |
| C |
Shelton |
6-3 |
9.4 |
5.7 |
| G |
Key |
5-10 |
7.7 |
2.0 |
| G |
Luper |
5-10 |
18.5 |
3.7 |
| G |
Bigham |
5-6 |
12.8 |
6.9* |
*assists per game
Central Arkansas at ORU
5 p.m. Tuesday
Mabee Center
Radio: KYAL am1550
Original Print Headline: ORU seniors nearing end
Jimmie Tramel 918-581-8389
jimmie.tramel@tulsaworld.com
