Dec. 31, 2010
Box Score | Notes
TULSA, Okla. - Sophomore Bethany Watterworth had 19 points, but it wasn't enough as a season-high 26 turnovers cost the Oakland women's basketball team (9-6, 3-1) in a 96-74 loss to Oral Roberts (7-7, 4-0) in Summit League play at the Mabee Center on Friday. The Golden Grizzlies first Summit League loss of the season came in a game where the team made a season-high 11 3-pointers.
"Oral Roberts played very well," said Oakland head coach Beckie Francis. "Tonight they showed why they were picked as the preseason favorite in The Summit League."
Watterworth had a game-high eight assists to go along with her 19 points, but she missed significant minutes after picking up a second foul with 9:44 to play in the first half. Junior Sharise Calhoun finished with 15 points, while freshmen Zakiya Minifee and Malika Glover both reached double-digits with 12 and 10 points respectively. Oakland shot 40 percent from the field and was 11-for-25 from 3-point-range.
The first half was back-and-forth with nine lead changes and five ties. The Golden Grizzlies led 26-25 with 6:42 to play before Oral Roberts went on a 23-8 run to end the half with a 48-34 lead. Averaging just 17 turnovers per game this season, the Golden Grizzlies had 19 turnovers in the first half.
Kevi Luper, the leading scorer in The Summit League, led all players with 29 points. Jordan Pyle added 14 points and nine rebounds to help the Golden Eagles win a 42-36 rebounding edge. Jaci Bigham scored 13 points and had six steals for ORU, which scored 30 points off of turnovers. Savanna Buck also reached double-digits with 11 points, as Oral Roberts shot 47.9 percent from the field and hit on 11 of 29 attempts from 3-point range.
Junior Brittany Carnago had five points and five rebounds for Oakland, picking up a block to give her 10 consecutive games with a rejection and 154 blocked shots for her career. Senior Anna Patritto added six points and a game-high nine rebounds for OU, which had every active players score for the first time this season.
Oakland finished its longest road stretch of the season with a 2-2 record. The Golden Grizzlies return to the friendly confines of the Athletics Center O'rena, where they are 6-1 this season and have not lost in regulation all year. OU will host Western Illinois in a Summit League game on Jan. 8 at 3:30 p.m.
-OAKLAND-
