Oct. 29, 2011

Box Score | Photo Gallery

ROCHESTER, Mich.- Bethany Watterworth scored 32 points to lead the Oakland women's basketball team to an 80-75 win over Ferris State in an exhibition game on Saturday at the Athletics Center O'rena. The Golden Grizzlies shot 50 percent from the field in the win.

"Ferris is a great exhibition team for us to play, because they are smart, tough and play hard," said Oakland head coach Beckie Francis. "We accomplished a lot of things and learned a lot more about our team. While there are some things we need to work on, I was excited that we were smart and improved throughout the game."

Watterworth equaled her career high in the win and was a perfect 11-of-11 at the free-throw line. Zakiya Minifee was a contributor in all facets of the game with 16 points, six rebounds, five steals and four assists.

The Golden Grizzlies used a number of lineup combinations and subbed regularly against the Bulldogs. Malika Glover came off the bench to score 10 points, going 5-for-5 from the field. Oakland shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the first half.

"Because we're so deep, we had 10 players play a lot of minutes," said Francis. "Playing different players together was a major goal of this game. I was really working hard on trying to figure out our rotations."

Ferris State knocked down 11 3-pointers including seven in the second half. Sarah DeShone was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and led the Bulldogs with 18 points and six assists. Nikki Arner and Tricia Principe each added 14 points for FSU, which shot 45.9 percent for the game.

The Golden Grizzlies will tipoff the 2011-12 season on Nov. 13 at George Mason. The first home game for OU is on Nov. 17 against Rochester College.

-OAKLAND-