TULSA, Okla. – Three Fighting Hawks in double figures was not enough to overcome the stifling Oral Roberts defense as North Dakota dropped a Saturday afternoon road contest, 95-67, to the Golden Eagles inside the Mabee Center.
 
UND drops to 3-12 overall and 0-2 in Summit League play while ORU improves to 8-7 and 1-1.
 
Lauren Hillesheim led the scoring for the Hawks with her 13 points off 5-of-7 shooting, including a 3-of-4 performance from behind the arc. Walker Demers went 5-of-10 from the floor for 10 points alongside eight rebounds and two blocks as Mikayla Aumer rounded out the double-figure scoring with 10 points. Hughes dished out six assists in the contest while she and Demers teamed up for the team's total four blocks.
 
UND was 25-of-57 from the floor and 8-of-24 from behind the arc while edging out their opponent 38-32 in rebounding. The Golden Eagles made 27 trips to the free throw line compared to the Fighting Hawks' 13 and forced the visitors into a lethal 31 turnovers off a stifling full-court defensive presence.
 
Skyler Volmer and Ava Miller scored the first two baskets of the day for North Dakota but faced an 8-4 deficit at the 7:12 mark. Neither team would score for over two minutes until Finley Ohnstad tallied a steal and a jumper for the first two of her nine total points in the affair. Oral Roberts responded with a 7-2 run, but the Hawks lit up right back. Hughes knocked down a strong layup before Ohnstad and Ava Miller struck with back-to-back triples on back-to-back possessions for eight straight points to take the lead at 16-15 with 0:52 remaining. But the home team would score the final six points of the quarter to go ahead 21-16.
 
Another 7-2 run from ORU opened up a 10-point lead for the home team in the second quarter, but the Hawks continued to work, marking the most competitive quarter of the game. Aumer hit her first triple at the 7:03 mark and Demers added in a layup to close in a 30-23. Back-to-back UND layups and a pair of free throws kept UND within single digits as another Aumer 3-pointer helped make it a 42-33 game at the half.
 
But the momentum flipped to start the third quarter. Oral Roberts scored the first 19 points of the quarter and held UND without a field goal until the 4:12 mark. The streak was broken with seven straight points from the tandem of Demers and Ohnstad but, despite the final basket of the quarter coming from Ava Miller, the Golden Eagles were firmly ahead at 74-47.
 
The final 10 minutes kicked off with the first triple of the quarter from Hillesheim and Hanna Miller soon logged her first points of the contest. A jumper and a 3-pointer for UND would close in at 79-57, but the Fighting Hawks would get no closer. Aumer knocked down a pair of free throws and Ohnstad added in another layup before Hillesheim hit two more 3-pointers—including one with five second remaining—to end the game at 95-67.
 
Postgame Notes 

• Lauren Hillesheim tallied the second-highest point total of her career with 13 points
• Walker Demers yet again led the Hawks in rebounding with eight boards with her 11 points
• Finley Ohnstad logged two steals in the affair
• Demers and Mackenzie Hughes combined for the team's four total blocks
• UND is now 3-14 against Oral Roberts all-time
• The Hawks are 1-9 when facing the Golden Eagles in Tulsa

  
How It Happened 
Q1: North Dakota 16, Oral Roberts 21
Q2: North Dakota 33, Oral Roberts 42
Q3: North Dakota 47, Oral Roberts 74
Q4: North Dakota 67, Oral Roberts 95
 
Up Next
North Dakota women's basketball will return home for a pair of conference games inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The two-game slate will kick off on Thursday, January 8 with a contest against Omaha at 7 p.m.

For more information on North Dakota women's basketball, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDwbasketball.