Nov. 9, 2009
Box Score
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Senior Melissa Jeltema shot 13-of-16 from the floor, scoring 28 points, while freshman Bethany Watterworth contributed 14 points with seven rebounds, senior Hanna Reising added 12 points with six boards, and junior Kirstie Malone scored 11 points as the Oakland University women's basketball team rolled to an 88-54 exhibition victory over Western Ontario on Monday at the Athletics Center O'Rena.
"I'm happy with our performance and I thought we had great depth off the bench," said head coach Beckie Francis. "We've got some things to work on for Friday, but I thought this was a great team to play because we feel they might be similar to what we'll face on Friday."
The two teams traded baskets and leads over the first five minutes of the contest, but after Western Ontario knotted the contest at 10-10 at the 15:10 mark, Oakland went on a 9-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Reising to take a 19-10 lead with 11:12 remaining in the opening half. UWO cut the OU lead to single digits, but Kristin Turner buried a jumper to push the OU lead back to 10 (30-20) with 4:51 remaining in the half, and a layup by Watterworth in the closing seconds of the half extended the Oakland lead to 18 (40-22) at intermission.
In the second half, UWO quickly cut the OU lead down to 13, holding the Golden Grizzlies off the board for the first two minutes, but OU quickly responded, pushing the lead to 20 (52-32) at the 12:28 mark and using a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 61-32 after Reising converted a 3-point play at the 10:53 mark.
Oakland led by as many as 37 points over the final few minutes, with UWO closing the margin to 34 at the end.
Jeltema led all players with her 28 points. OU held a 35-29 advantage on the rebounding glass, including a 12-3 advantage on the offensive boards. Oakland shot 51.4 percent from the floor for the game, firing at a 57.6 percent clip in the second half. OU forced 29 UWO turnovers on the strength of 16 steals, led by freshman Karli Harris' five steals. Junior Anna Patritto led OU with five assists and no turnovers, while junior Stacey Farrell tied for the team lead with five assists.
Watterworth's seven rebounds led OU, while Reising added six boards and Jeltema added five.
The Golden Grizzlies will open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 13 as they host the University of Detroit at the Athletics Center O'Rena. A 2 p.m. tip is scheduled.
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