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Golden Eagles Fall to Texas in NCAA First Round, 64-47
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Pla ying in their third NCAA Tournament in school history, the Golden Eagles fell behind early in the first half and trailed by as many as 14 points before Maureen Obudho (Mombassa, Kenya) capped a 7-0 run with a layup to put ORU (22-9) within 21-14 with 5:46 left in the first half.
But Texas (22-8), making its 24th consecutive regional appearance, closed the half with a 13-2 run and led 34-18 at halftime.
Turek, who was limited to five points on 2-of-11 shooting in the first half, came alive in the second half, helping ORU make a game of it down the stretch. Turek hit her first six shots of the half, including a pair of 3-pointers, the last of which pulled ORU within 41-30 with 13:41 to play.
Down 11 points, the Golden Eagles had a chance to trim the Longhorns lead to seven, but missed layups from point-blank range on back-to-back possessions prevented the Golden Eagles from getting any closer.
Texas pushed the lead to 19 points when Nina Norman's short jumper gave the Longhorns a 51-32 lead with 10:06 remaining. But again ORU threatened to make a game of it. A pair of free throws by Turek and a jumper in the lane by Katie Langford (Arthurton, South Australia) trimmed the lead to 51-39 with 6:41 left. But an 8-2 burst by Texas effectively put the game away.
Turek finished the game 8-of-20 from the field, including 2-of-3 from 3-point range, and 3-of-5 from the line. In the first half, Turek became the first true sophomore in ORU history to reach 1,000 career points. She also added seven rebounds and one steal.
Sen ior forward Claudia Louis (Baton Rouge, La.) had six points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal in her final collegiate game. Louis also held Texas' Tiffany Jackson, a national player of the year finalist, to 13 points – more than five below her average – with seven points coming at the free throw line. Langford had seven rebounds and two steals.
Norman led Texas with 20 points, while Jamie Carey added 13 points.
