Nation's leading scorer out 2 weeks

Dec 23, 2009 - 4:22 AM STILLWATER, Okla.(AP) -- Oral Roberts guard Kevi Luper, the nation's leading scorer, will miss about two weeks after spraining her right elbow.

Golden Eagles coach Jerry Finkbeiner says Luper was hurt during a light scrimmage Monday night and went through two shootarounds before he decided to keep her out of the lineup in a 90-65 loss at Oklahoma State on Tuesday night and let her recover.

"She tried to bust through a screen, got tripped, landed on her elbow on the floor and we were alarmed at first - broken bones," Finkbeiner said. "But that was negative. MRIs showed a torn bursa sac in a little muscle but they said very manageable for eight to 10 days."

Finkbeiner said he hoped Luper would be back in time for Oral Roberts' Summit League opener at North Dakota State on Jan. 2. The Golden Eagles host Evangel on Dec. 28 in their only other game before then.

Luper wore a black protective sleeve on her right arm and even went through layup drills at halftime but never got into the game.

"If this was a championship or conference tournament game, she would have played. Not very effectively, but she would have played," Finkbeiner said.

The freshman is averaging 27.3 points and an NCAA-best 4.7 steals through her first 11 college games. She scored 44 points in her third college game against La Salle and 32 points last week in a loss to No. 6 Baylor.

"Kevi's definitely a big part of our offense and defense," said fellow freshman Jaci Bigham, who scored a career-high 26 points against Oklahoma State in Luper's absence.