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TULSA, Okla. – The IUPUI women’s basketball team went toe-to-toe with Oral Roberts for nearly 30 minutes, but the Jags managed to hit just one field goal over a nine-minute stretch in the midst of a 14-3 run as the Golden Eagles went on to defeat the Jaguars, 67-55, Monday evening at the Mabee Center.

The loss dropped IUPUI to 11-15 overall and 6-8 in the Summit League, while ORU improved to 17-9 overall and 11-4 in the league.

Three players scored in double figures for the Jaguars, but 26 turnovers proved to be too much to overcome for IUPUI.

“I think the ladies really competed tonight and this was the type of effort I expected at Southern Utah,” said head coach Austin Parkinson. “It got to a stretch there where it was a six-point game and it could go either way. But we have a couple turnovers, they get a couple and ones, and it’s the end of the game.”

Kerah Nelson and Katie Comello each scored 12 points, while Emily Phillips tacked on 10 to lead IUPUI offensively. Nevena Markovic added nine points and controlled the glass with 13 boards, while Dawn Luster led the team with six assists.

“We played well – we did some good things and there are a lot of positives we can take from this game as Nevena really rebounded well and Dawn, even though she had quite a few turnovers, made some aggressive plays,” Parkinson said. “But you knew Oral Roberts was going to be fired up because they don’t usually suffer the kind of losses they had at our place.”

Oral Roberts evened the season series with the 12-point win after suffering a 24-point loss in Indianapolis on Jan. 14, which was their largest margin of defeat in series history.

The Jags struggled with ORU’s trapping zone early posting more turnovers in the opening three minutes than shot attempts as the Golden Eagles sprinted out to a 6-0 lead forcing Parkinson to use his first timeout.

A fast-break lay-up from Phillips and a jumper from Comello were IUPUI’s only two field goals in the first 8:18, but by forcing ORU into seven turnovers the Jags remained within four points, 10-6.

After Oral Roberts made three of its next four free throws to up its lead to 13-6, an 11-2 run from the 9:06 mark to the 7:00 mark gave IUPUI its first lead of the game, 17-15.

A bucket from Janna Eichelberger and two baskets from Clara Mitchell kept the Jags in front, 21-19, with 5:40 on the clock, but Kevi Luper scored seven of the Golden Eagles points during a 14-3 surge that placed them back in front, 33-23, with 2:43 to go.

Despite trailing by double figures, a Markovic triple with 2:14 remaining was followed by a jumper and a fast-break lay-up from Phillips, trimming IUPUI’s deficit to three, 33-30, with under a minute to go.

A pair of Savanna Buck free throws with 25 seconds left sent the Golden Eagles into the half with a 35-30 lead.

After starting the first half 1-for-12, the Jags finished the first half 10-of-21 from the field and they were led by Markovic's seven points, while Phillips and Mitchell each had six points.

Out of the break, IUPUI’s deficit fluctuated between three and seven for the first six minutes until two Georgia Jones jumpers, one of which a triple, moved ORU’s lead back to double digits, 51-41, forcing Parkinson to use another timeout.

Following the timeout, a Comello three preceded an old-fashioned three-point play from Nelson quickly bringing the Jags back within four points, 51-47, with 11:10 remaining.

However, over the next 9:20, the Jaguars managed to hit just one field goal in the midst of a 14-3 run putting the Golden Eagles in front, 65-50.

From that point, IUPUI got five points in the final minutes from Phillips, but ORU closed out a 67-55 win.

Luper led Oral Roberts with 24 points after managing only six points in the first match-up between the schools earlier this season.

IUPUI returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 18, when it hosts South Dakota at 7 p.m. inside The Jungle. Saturday will be Senior Day and the Jags will honor their two seniors, Eichelberger and Shakeeta Cotton, approximately 10 minutes before tip.

“We’ll be excited. We know it’s a big weekend coming up at home and we look forward to getting back in The Jungle,” Parkinson said. “We can go home and get ready for South Dakota and UMKC and see if we can finish out this season pretty strong.”