Jan. 26, 2009
Box Score | Quotes | Notes
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Junior Hanna Reising came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points, while senior Jessica Pike chipped in with 14 points, junior Melissa Jeltema added 14, and sophomore Brittany Carnago added 10 as the Oakland University women's basketball team (16-4, 8-1 Summit) picked up a 71-53 win over IUPUI (10-10, 5-4 Summit) on Monday night at the Athletics Center O'Rena.
The win is Oakland's eighth consecutive victory, marking the longest win streak since the 2006-07 season, when OU also won eight consecutive. The Golden Grizzlies also moved to 9-0 on the season when Reising reaches double-figure points.
"This game was a war," said head coach Beckie Francis. "They're very physical, they're big inside and we knew they were going to try to attack the inside. I thought our players did a really nice job of battling back and I was extremely proud that we outrebounded them."
The two teams traded buckets over the first eight minutes of the game, with IUPUI taking a three-point (11-8) lead. However, the Golden Grizzlies responded with 21 unanswered points, going on a 24-2 run before the Jaguars pulled back to within 16 (32-16) after a Brittany Ransom 3-pointer with just under a minute remaining in the opening half.
Oakland pushed the lead back to 19 on the opening possession of the second half, as Jeltema converted a 3-point play. However, IUPUI began to whittle away at the lead, bolstered by a 7-for-8 performance from the floor in the second half from game high scorer Julia Whitted, who finished with 27 points.
IUPUI closed the gap to as few as 11 points (59-48) with 5:56 remaining, but the Golden Grizzlies were able to create some space over the final five minutes behind the tandem of Reising and Jeltema, who combined to score nine of OU's 12 points in the final five minutes of play, finishing with an 18-point victory.
Whitted led all players with 27 points and 14 rebounds, shooting 11-for-18 from the floor. Despite the prodigious effort by Whitted, the Golden Grizzlies were able to key in on the rest of the IUPUI squad defensively, holding all other Jaguars to 26 points on 9-of-35 shooting.
Jeltema led OU with nine boards in addition to her 13 points, while freshman Sharise Calhoun grabbed eight boards. Reising and senior April Kidd both grabbed six boards, as OU held a 41-36 advantage on the rebounding glass, including a 15-8 advantage on the offensive boards.
Pike led OU with six assists, Calhoun dished out five, and Kidd four as OU picked up assists on 19 of 26 baskets. The Golden Grizzlies also won the turnover battle, forcing 23 Jaguar turnovers while committing just 13.
The stakes will be high for the Golden Grizzlies in their next contest, as they travel to Brookings S.D. to do battle with No. 20 South Dakota State. Today's win vaulted OU into a tie in the standings with the Jackrabbits, and the Golden Grizzlies will seek to win their ninth consecutive game, and pick up a sweep of the regular-season series with South Dakota State (OU won topped the then-No. 21 Jackrabbits 67-51 at the O'Rena on Jan. 5). Tip from Frost Arena is set for 6 p.m.
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