Dec. 16, 2008

Box Score

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Sophomore Brittany Carnago notched 16 points, 14 of them coming in the second half, junior Melissa Jeltema had her third double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Hanna Reising scored 14 points as the Oakland University women's basketball team took down the Saint Louis Billikens 68-60 at the Chaifetz Arena.

"I was really pleased that we got some big stops when we needed them," said head coach Beckie Francis. "We practiced really hard for today and they really focused. Their defense came through at key moments for us."

The game see-sawed between both teams for the entire first half, with the Billikens only leading by as many as five points. OU tied the game three times in the first 20 minutes, riding on Reising's 12 first half points, including going a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.

At the half, the Golden Grizzlies went into the locker room only down a bucket with a score of 31-29.

OU took charge of the contest in the second half, however, improving from 25 percent shooting to 50 percent, thanks in part to a 14-point scoring binge by Carnago, who has hit double-digit scoring for five games in a row.

Oakland led by as many as eight points in the second half and the Billikens attempted a comeback, as they brought the game within four with 25 seconds to go. But senior Jessica Pike made her last four free throws to seal the 68-60 victory for the Golden Grizzlies. The game also marked two major milestones in the OU record books.

With the victory, Francis earns her 150th as a head coach at Oakland University. In addition, senior Jessica Pike moved up to 17th on the all-time scoring list with her field goal at 3:02 in the second half.

The Golden Grizzlies will next travel to Cozumel, Mexico to compete in the Cozumel Cup. Their first game of that tourney will be against the University of Texas-San Antonio on Friday, Dec, 19 and is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. CST tip.

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