Box Score | Quotes | Notes
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Senior Jessica Pike led all players with 18 points, senior April Kidd added 15, and sophomore Brittany Carnago added 14 as the Oakland University women's basketball team (18-5, 10-2 Summit League) picked up a 67-56 victory over Centenary (4-18, 2-9 Summit League) on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics Center O'Rena.
"When we play, I tell the players that there are little wars within the game," said head coach Beckie Francis. "I felt like during the opening four minutes Centenary won the war. Then I challenged the team and I felt like we won a bunch of little wars after that. It was really fun. I told them I was proud of their mental toughness. Centenary is a much-improved team. They're feisty, they don't give up, and they're well-coached. I think that this was a good win for us."
Oakland opened the game by pushing out to an eight-point (15-7) lead just under six minutes into the contest, however, Centenary quickly erased the deficit, using an 8-0 run to knot the contest at 17-17 with 11:42 remaining. Pike responded with a 3-pointer, giving the Golden Grizzlies a three-point lead. The two teams would trade buckets over the next six minutes, but with the Golden Grizzlies holding onto a three-point (30-27) lead with 4:46 remaining in the half, OU went on a 12-3 run to close the half and took a 12-point (42-30) lead into the intermission.
Centenary was able to trim the OU lead to single digits, pulling to within six (48-42) with 13:17 remaining, but a layup by Kidd with 8:28 remaining put the OU lead back at ten (56-46) and OU led by as many as 17 over the final five minutes, with Centenary closing the gap to eleven at the end of the contest.
The Golden Grizzlies held a 44-27 advantage on the boards while holding a slight advantage from the floor, shooting 42.4 percent to Centenary's 42.0 percent.
Oakland was led by Kidd's nine rebounds, while Carnago added eight in the winning effort.
OU will return to action on Monday, Feb. 9, as they face Oral Roberts at the Athletics Center O'Rena. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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