Dec. 13, 2009

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ROCHESTER, Mich. - Freshman Bethany Watterworth registered her second career double-double with 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, and freshman Victoria Lipscomb tallied a career-high 14 points, but it was not enough to overcome seven second-half lead changes as the Oakland University women's basketball team (2-6, 0-1 Summit League ) lost a 71-64 heartbreaker to Purdue University (4-5, 0-1 Big Ten) in the final minutes Sunday afternoon at the Athletics Center O'Rena.

"I was actually really proud of our team," said head coach Beckie Francis. "I thought we battled and they have some size and experience on us. I was really proud that we came out and fought when the game was at a two possession difference and they kept working hard. I was proud of their improvement."

The Boilermakers got on the board first at 18:11 and led by as many as 10 points with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half. But the Golden Grizzlies went on a 9-0 scoring run, including five straight points by Lipscomb to slash Purdue's lead to one point, 16-15, with 9:18 to go in the first half.

Purdue held on to a one possession lead for the next three minutes until senior Melissa Jeltema sank a jumper with 6:39 to go to give Oakland a 19-18 advantage, a lead that would extend by as many as eight points before going into halftime with a 30-26 lead over the Boilermakers.

The game then see-sawed between five ties and seven lead changes for most of the second half, with neither team leading by more than five points. Senior Riikka Terava banked a 3-pointer off the glass with 4:57 remaining put Oakland up by four, 59-55. After Purdue whittled the lead to a 59-59 tie, junior Stacey Farrell with connected a free throw at 3:25 to put Oakland up by one.

But Purdue proceeded into a 7-0 scoring run, capped off by FahKara Malone's three-pointer at 1:29 to give the Boilermaker's their largest lead of the half, 67-60. Oakland cut the lead down to four, 68-64, with two Jeltema free throws with 37 seconds left, but Purdue went 3-3 from the charity stripe in the final 30 seconds to seal the game's 71-64 final score.

OU placed four players in double figures with Watterworth (15), Lipscomb (14), Jeltema (12) and sophomore Sharise Calhoun (10). Purdue's Brittany Rayburn tied her career-high and led all players on the floor with 26 points and Malone notched a season-high 18.

The Golden Grizzlies were out-rebounded 40-32, though they held a 14-13 advantage on the offensive glass, and committed fewer turnovers with 12 compared to Purdue's 19. The Boilermakers also held a 44 to 36.7 shooting advantage from the floor.

Oakland will next host Atlantic 10 opponent Saint Louis University on Thursday, Dec. 17 for a 6:30 p.m. tip. The game can be followed via video on All Access or on Gametracker at www.ougrizzlies.com.

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