Jan. 10, 2009

Box Score | Quotes | Notes

TULSA, Okla. - Senior April Kidd turned in her second consecutive double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, sophomore Brittany Carnago scored 12 points with nine rebounds, five blocks, and three assists, and senior Jessica Pike turned in a 10-point effort as the Oakland University women's basketball team (12-4, 4-1 Summit League) used a stellar defensive effort to pick up a 62-48 win over the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles (8-7, 1-3 Summit League) on Saturday afternoon at the Mabee Center.

"I'm speechless," said Golden Grizzlies head coach Beckie Francis. "Oral Roberts doesn't lose at home, and the fact that we played solid defense and kept them to an 0-for-16 stretch is an attribute to our toughness, focus, and preparation."

The Golden Grizzlies controlled the tempo in the early moments of the game, breaking an early 4-4 tie with an 8-0 run that gave OU an eight-point lead with 14:04 remaining in the opening half. Oral Roberts was able to narrow the gap as close as two three times down the stretch, but were never able to get any closer prior to halftime as OU took a 25-23 lead into the intermission.

Oral Roberts took the lead quickly at the start of the second half as Cristal Turner buried a 3-pointer, but the Golden Grizzlies reclaimed the lead for good just over a minute later as Carnago hit a jumper, giving OU a 27-26 advantage. After the Turner 3-pointer, Oakland held Oral Roberts without a field goal for the next 8:57, forcing the Golden Eagles into an 0-for-16 stretch from the floor. ORU managed three free throws during the stretch, but the Golden Grizzlies outscored ORU 16-3 over that period to push the lead to 12 (41-29).

After ORU's Janae Voelker broke the Golden Eagles out of their scoring slump with her jumper at the 10:14 mark, Pike answered mere seconds later with a 3-pointer of her own that gave the Golden Grizzlies a 13-point advantage. OU led by as many as 15 (54-39) with 5:11 left, but ORU cut the Golden Grizzlies' lead back to single digits, narrowing the margin to eight points (54-46) after Georgia Jones converted a four-point play. However, OU was a perfect 8-for-8 on free throws over the final two minutes and pushed the final margin back to 14 points.

Oakland held ORU to just 22.7 percent shooting for the game (15-of-66) and 16.2 percent shooting in the second half (6-of-37). The complete-game performance was OU's second-best defensive field goal percentage of the year, behind Rochester College's 19.5 percent, and the second-half performance was OU's best defensive half of the season, percentage wise, eclipsing the second half of the Rochester College game where the Warriors shot 19.0 percent from the floor.

Oakland held a 48-42 advantage on the rebounding glass, while both teams committed 20 turnovers. Oakland had 10 steals to ORU's six, while nothing 17 assists to ORU's 10. OU also held a 7-3 advantage in blocked shots.

The Golden Grizzlies will return to action on Monday, Jan. 12, as they head to Shreveport, La. to face Centenary at the Gold Dome. Tip is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST (7 p.m. local).

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