GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Interstat) — Gentry Baldwin scored 25 points and Jalei Oglesby added 21 as the Oral Roberts women’s basketball team used a dominant third-quarter surge to pull away from North Dakota for an 89-80 victory in a Summit League contest Thursday night at Engelstad Arena.

The Golden Eagles, who led by just a single point at halftime, erupted for 31 points in the third period to turn a tight game into a comfortable lead they would not relinquish. The win improved Oral Roberts to 12-9 overall and completed a regular-season sweep of the Fighting Hawks, following a 95-67 victory in Tulsa earlier this month. North Dakota fell to 4-17.

The game’s pivotal shift came after a back-and-forth first half that saw six lead changes. Oral Roberts led 32-29 at halftime despite shooting just 39% from the field in the opening 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles’ offense found its rhythm immediately after the break, opening the third quarter on a 15-6 run to establish a double-digit advantage.

Baldwin, a 5-foot-5 guard from Bixby, Oklahoma, was the catalyst. She scored 11 of her game-high 25 points in the third quarter, including a personal 8-0 run that featured a steal and a driving layup followed by two three-pointers. Her third three-pointer of the period, assisted by Kayten Donley, pushed the Oral Roberts lead to 52-38 with 5:57 left in the quarter, forcing a North Dakota timeout.

Oral Roberts shot a blistering 11 of 19 from three-point range for the game, a 57.9% clip that proved decisive. North Dakota, by contrast, made 12 three-pointers but required 36 attempts to do so, shooting 33.3% from deep. The Golden Eagles also were more efficient from the free-throw line, making 16 of 23 attempts compared to North Dakota’s 10 of 15.

North Dakota was led by Mackenzie Hughes, who scored 24 points and dished out four assists. Ava Miller added 14 points, four assists and two blocks for the Fighting Hawks, who hung tough early. Miller’s layup off an assist from Lauren Hillesheim opened the scoring, and the home team led 22-16 after the first quarter.

The Fighting Hawks’ offense stalled in the second quarter, managing only 13 points as Oral Roberts clawed back. A jumper from Oglesby, who played 36 minutes, tied the game at 22-22 early in the period, and the teams traded baskets until halftime.

Oral Roberts’ depth and firepower overwhelmed North Dakota in the second half. Beyond Baldwin and Oglesby, Anna Trusty scored 12 points, Hannah Coons added 12 and Bella Edwards chipped in 11 off the bench, all in the first three quarters. The Golden Eagles assisted on six of their 31 made field goals and scored 14 points off 15 North Dakota turnovers.

North Dakota made a late push in the fourth quarter, trimming a 19-point deficit down to nine in the final minute. Hughes, who scored 10 points in the final period, hit a three-pointer with 1:07 remaining to make it 86-78. Oral Roberts, however, sealed the game at the free-throw line, making three of four attempts in the final 15 seconds.

The Fighting Hawks won the battle in the paint, 30-28, and outrebounded Oral Roberts 38-34, including an 8-6 edge on the offensive glass. They also blocked six shots, led by Miller and Walker Demers with two each. But they could not counter Oral Roberts’ explosive perimeter shooting and the playmaking of Baldwin, who also contributed five assists.

A crowd of 1,488 watched as Oral Roberts avenged its loss from last weekend at Denver and moved back above .500 in conference play. North Dakota, which has lost three straight and 10 of its last 11, will look to regroup when it hosts Denver on Saturday. Oral Roberts continues its road trip at North Dakota State on Saturday.

The most important part of the game was the opening seven minutes of the third quarter, where Oral Roberts transformed a narrow 32-29 halftime lead into a commanding 52-38 advantage. This 20-9 run, fueled by Baldwin’s scoring burst and stifling defense that forced multiple North Dakota turnovers, effectively decided the contest. The Golden Eagles’ offensive rating of 111.4 points per 100 possessions, fueled by this period of high-efficiency shooting, proved too much for a Fighting Hawks team that managed a 107.9 offensive rating but could not get consistent stops.