SACRAMENTO — Freshman Summah Hanson and sophomore Irune Orio finished with 14 points apiece, while sophomore Benthe Versteeg added nine assists, but a 14-3 burst by visiting Oral Roberts to start the fourth quarter was enough to power the Golden Eagles to a 56-51 come-from-behind victory over Sacramento State on Saturday at The Nest.
The Hornets' defense limited ORU, which entered the weekend ranked No. 19 in the nation in scoring offense, to its lowest point total of the year after the Golden Eagles managed the same amount against TCU in the season opener. Sacramento State also held Oral Roberts to just under 33 percent from the field and 6-of-18 from three-point range.
Hanson and Orio each finished 6-of-13 from the field, helping the Hornets shoot 46 percent from the field in the first half. Hanson fell just shy of her sixth double-double of the season, grabbing nine rebounds while adding a steal and a pair of blocked shots, while Orio grabbed six boards.
Versteeg's nine assists marked her third game with at least that many in a contest, matching her total against CSUN on Dec. 2 and falling just one shy of her career high of 10 set against Santa Clara on Nov. 29. The sophomore has posted seven games this season with at least six assists.
The Hornets held a two-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes, leading by as many as four points in the third quarter while limiting the Golden Eagles to just 21 percent (3-for-14) in the period. Sacramento State was up two, 39-37, entering the fourth, before Oral Roberts found its stride.
The Golden Eagles opened the final quarter on a 7-0 run to regain the lead and stretched the advantage to nine points thanks to a 14-3 opening burst, extending the lead to 51-42 with 5:04 to play.
Versteeg found room inside to score and a three-pointer by Solape Amusan cut the deficit to just four points two minutes later, but that was as close as the Hornets could come.
A jumper in the paint pushed the lead back to six and a three-pointer from the left elbow rebuilt the lead to nine, but Sacramento State wasn't done. Lina Falk converted a long pass on the break by Versteeg and the latter scored again off a turnover before ORU ran out the clock.
The Hornets opened the game with a tremendous first quarter, holding the Golden Eagles to just 16 percent and closing the period by scoring five of the final seven points en route to a 12-9 lead.
Oral Roberts answered in the second despite Sacramento State shooting 50 percent from the field. The Golden Eagles opened with five straight points and bounced back from back-to-back buckets by the Hornets with two scored by Emily Robinson, eventually leading by as many as five with under a minute to play.
Freshman Sophia Lee closed that gap, however, beating the buzzer with a three-pointer to draw the Hornets within a pair, 29-27, at the break.
Taleyah Jones finished with a game-high 18 points to go with six steals for ORU, while Ruthie Udoumoh finished with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double. Hannah Cooper added a game-high 13 rebounds to go with nine points.
Sacramento State returns to Big Sky Conference play with a pair of road games next week as the Hornets travel to Weber State on Thursday (Jan .11) and Idaho State on Saturday (Jan. 13) for only the fifth and sixth true road contests of the year.
