Dec. 21, 2009

Box Score

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Melissa Jeltema came just shy of a double-double with 24 points and nine rebounds and had a career-high five steals, but it wasn't enough for the Golden Grizzlies as the Oakland University women's basketball team (2-9) fell victim to a 15-0 second half scoring run and came up short to Penn State (8-3) 69-64 Monday Night at the Bryce Jordan Center.

"Our players were excited to play here and I think they showed that," said head coach Beckie Francis. "We're upset we lost the lead but I think Penn State's Tyra Grant showed why she is a big time player. They also started lobbing the ball inside in the second half and taking advantage of the height difference."

The Golden Grizzlies went on a 9-3 run to start game and extended their lead to 13-5 before two straight PSU 3-pointers cut the lead to 13-11 with 13:24 in the half. But from there, OU went on an impressive 19-5 tear to rocket Oakland's lead to by as many as 15 points with a 32-17 edge with 2:53 to go. From PSU's basket at 8:37, Oakland held the Lady Lions without a point for over seven minutes and went into the locker room with a 34-22 halftime lead.

Penn State went on a 6-0 run to start half to cut lead to 34-28, but the Golden Grizzlies held on their multiple-possession lead until PSU went on a 15-0 run, including 11 points by Grant, to give Penn State their first lead of the game, 50-48, at 9:52. Sophomore Sharise Calhoun would tie the game at 50 apiece with a basket at 9:23, but PSU went scored seven straight points to put them up 57-50 with just over seven minutes left.

A six-point run by Oakland, capped off by a layup by freshman Bethany Watterworth, would cut Penn State's lead to just three points, 64-61 with 2:23 remaining. But a three-pointer by Alex Bentely would put PSU on top by six, 67-61 with just under two minutes to go.

OU would snap the deficit back to three with 53 seconds left with a free throw by freshman Victoria Lipscomb, but the Lady Lions clamped down defensively and scored two more points to secure the 69-64 victory.

In addition to Jeltema extending her double-digit scoring streak to 26 consecutive games, Watterworth nearly had a double-double with 15 points and nine boards. Senior Riikka Terava tied her season-high with six points and junior Anna Patritto also scored six points and tallied a season-best seven rebounds.

The Lady Lions were led by Grant with 21 points, with 15 of those coming in the second half. Julia Trogele also registered double-digits for PSU with 13 points.

Oakland won the battle of the boards, 44-39, and shot 44 percent from the floor while Penn State went for 39 percent. The Lady Lions committed fewer turnovers with 14 compared to OU's 16.

The Golden Grizzlies will wrap up non-league play on Tuesday, Dec. 29 when they face Rochester College at the Athletics Center O'Rena, the first of a three-game home stand. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. EST tip and can be viewed through All Access or followed via Gametracker at www.ougrizzlies.com.

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