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Conference Call
Mid-Con play cures what ails Eagles
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Chicago State became the first victim of the Eagles' renewed zeal on Jan. 2 as the men won, 74-65, driven by Caleb Green's 25 points and 700th career rebound (six total in this game). Earlier that evening, the ORU women defeated the Chi-State women, 65-59, led by Elisha Turek and her 25 points.
Two days later, the women set a new school record, hitting 15 three-point shots as they defeated Southern Utah, 92-71. Sarah Davidson came off the bench and led all scorers with 18 points. The team also tied a school record by scoring 62 points (you read that right) in the second half. The last time an ORU women's team accomplished that feat was in 1983.
The men were equally successful against Southern Utah on Jan. 4. Green scored 33 points, equaling his career high, and Larry Owens joined him to put on quite a show in the second half. The two racked up 39 points; Owens finished the game with 21 as the Eagles won, 84-79.
On Jan. 7, the men continued their winning ways, having no problems with Western Illinois. Caleb Green put on another great show, scoring 32 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. The men are now 3-0 in conference play. The one negative in an otherwise good game was the loss of Ken Tutt, whose injury turned out to be a broken bone in his foot. He is expected to miss the next six weeks of games.
The women did not fare as well earlier that day, losing to WIU by a 68-56 score. The outcome could have been much worse, since the Golden Eagles were down by 22 at halftime. A flurry of baskets and better defense helped ORU pull within four at one point, but WIU fought back and surged ahead. (ORU defeated the Leathernecks in the championship game of the Mid-Con tournament last spring.)
The first half of the season wasn't all bad, of course. In December, the men soundly defeated Northern Colorado, 79-66, before going on a four-game losing streak that included Louisiana-Lafayette (95-74), Utah State (65-64), No. 10-ranked Oklahoma (81-73), and Minnesota (67-54). Ken Tutt was named Mid-Con Player of the Week during Christmas break.
Elisha Turek moved into ninth place on ORU's all-time scoring list after she scored 24 points in the women's win over Bethany (Kan.), 86-74. That moved her ahead of ORU Hall of Famer Kisa Bradley (1995-97) on the scoring list. In her two and a half seasons at ORU, Turek has scored a total of 1,235 points; while at ORU, Bradley scored 1,182 points.
Jenny Hardin took the team's first conference Player of the Week award honor on Dec. 21.
The women's record in December was 3-4, with wins against Wichita State (81-49), Mt. St. Mary's (94-78), and Bethany (86-74), and losses to Oklahoma (107-76), Tulsa (88-73), Texas Tech (99-58), and Missouri State (90-85).
Over Christmas, exciting conference news was announced. ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network, will broadcast the Mid-Con women's championship tournament in March.
For more information and scores, log onto www.orugoldeneagles.com.
