COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri women’s basketball saw its winning streak end at five, falling to Oral Roberts 76-63 Wednesday night at Mizzou Arena.
Senior forward Laniah Randle led the Tigers’ offensive effort, contributing a season-high 21 points to go along with six rebounds and three steals. She is the first Tiger this season with as many points, rebounds and steals in the same night.
Junior guard Ashton Judd added 18 points to extend her double-digit scoring streak to six games. Judd added four rebounds and a career-tying four steals to her performance.
The visitors scored efficiently to earn a quick lead early in the contest, jumping to a 13-point lead with a minute left in the opening frame.
Facing the deficit, the Tigers scored the final two buckets in the first quarter, ultimately sparking a 10-0 run, including eight straight points from Randle, to bridge the gap to three. Randle’s 18 first-half minutes were busy, putting up 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting accompanied by four rebounds and two steals.
Oral Robert’s advantage was scrunched to one point with 2:57 remaining in the first half before ultimately taking a 36-31 lead to intermission.
The Golden Eagles fought to stretch their advantage to a dozen midway through the third before Mizzou turned defense into offense, keeping the opposition from converting a bucket for nine straight possessions. Missouri forced three turnovers during the stretch before a fast-break layup by Randle knotted the game at 52 apiece.
Oral Roberts converted a four-point play to end the third quarter and would keep their lead the rest of the way. The final frame was a tightly contested back-and-forth affair before Oral Roberts pulled away late for the victory.
Missouri shot 27-of-63 (42.9 percent) from the floor, including 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Oral Roberts shot 31-of-56 (55.4 percent) on the evening, converting 10 3-pointers. The Tigers forced a season-high 16 steals, converting 20 Golden Eagles turnovers into 17 points.
UP NEXT
Missouri enters the holiday break before returning to action at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 29 against Jackson State at Mizzou Arena. The contest will stream live on SECN+.
