Kansas City
6-7,3-4Summit League
Oral Roberts University
6-8,4-2Summit League
Roos Drop Overtime Heartbreaker
1/24/2021 4:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Paige Bradford sent the game to overtime with two seconds left, but ORU took the win
TULSA, Okla. - Kansas City women's basketball (6-7, 3-4) found itself in another overtime battle with Oral Roberts (6-8, 4-2) on Sunday afternoon, but this time it was the Golden Eagles which prevailed, 71-67.
"Our kids are battling hard and getting better each game," Head Coach Jacie Hoyt said. "Today it boiled down to us not making open shots. You have to make shots, especially on the road, and we simply didn't do that today."
Naomie Alnatas followed up her 45-point Saturday performance with a strong first half, scoring 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. The Roos held ORU to 27.6% shooting in the first two quarters, entering the half with a 28-23 advantage.
Just as happened yesterday, the Golden Eagles performed at their strongest in the third quarter. ORU quickly erased the Kansas City lead, taking a six-point lead of its own into the fourth quarter.
The Roos opened up the fourth quarter on fire from the field, connecting on their first seven shots. After strong guard play guided the first three quarters, Paige Bradford and Jada Mickens took over. The duo combined for all of Kansas City's 24 fourth quarter points and 12 of the Roos' 13 shot attempts.
Mickens banked in back-to-back threes to give the Roos a one-point lead with just over a minute remaining in regulation, but Oral Roberts connected on 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute to take a two-point lead.
"Jada was a big spark for us and has been playing like a motivated senior," Hoyt said.
Trailing by two with 14 seconds remaining, the Roos found Alnatas, who missed a chance in the paint. Bradford soared over a pair of Golden Eagles to pull down the offensive board, put the ball on the ground once, muscled her way around a defender and put the ball in the hoop to send the game to overtime.
The Roos held the Golden Eagles to just two field goals in the extra period, but managed only two of their own. Five-of-10 free throw shooting by ORU in overtime was enough to be the deciding factor.
Four Roos ended the game in double figures, led by Mickens with 17, adding eight rebounds in nearly 43 minutes of play. Alnatas ended the day with 16, followed by Bradford with 15 and Taylor Larson with 11. Larson also notched a season-high four steals.
"One of my favorite things about this team is how well they respond when things aren't in our favor," Hoyt said. "I know we will take some big lessons away from this one and respond accordingly."
The Roos are back at home next weekend, taking on North Dakota State on Friday and Saturday at 2 p.m. on the Roo Sports Network.
