Dec. 3, 2011

Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery

OAKLAND (3-4, 1-1)

1st 2nd F OAKLAND 21 30 51 South Dakota 24 34 58 Box Score |

South Dakota (5-1, 1-1)

Highlights | Press Conference Stat Comparison South Dakota Oakland Points 58 51 FG Made-Attempted 19-52 20-57 FG Percentage 36.5 35.1 3P Made-Attempted 4-22 3-13 3P Percentage 18.2 23.1 FT Made-Attempted 16-21 8-13 FT Percentage 76.2 61.5 Rebounds 36 39 Turnovers 11 13 Individual Leaders Stat South Dakota Oakland Points Amber Hegge - 24 Bethany Watterworth - 14 Rebounds EHegge - 14 Victoria Lipscomb - 13 Assists Hegge, Alexis Yackley - 3 Lipscomb - 4 Steals Hegge, Yackley, Annie Roche, Kelly Stewart - 1 Lipscomb - 2 Blocks Jodie Boss - 3 Watterworth, Brittany Carnago, Zakiya Minifee - 1

ROCHESTER, Mich. - Bethany Watterworthscored 14 points as the Oakland women's basketball team (3-4, 1-1) suffered its first Summit League loss of the season, 58-51, to South Dakota (5-1, 1-1) on Saturday at the Athletics Center O'rena. The Golden Grizzlies held South Dakota to just 36.5 percent shooting from the floor.

"Once again I thought we had a very strong defensive game," said Oakland head coach Beckie Francis. "We held them to 36 percent shooting from the floor. I am also happy with our defense having held a team to 58 points, but if you have a cold shooting night you can't win."

Watterworth hit back-to-back 3-pointers with 7:30 remaining in the game to give Oakland its first lead of the second half. However, USD tied the game on a pair of free throws with 6:01 to play and Sam Mehrs followed up with a 3-pointer to put the Coyotes ahead for good.

Victoria Lipscomb equaled her career-high with 13 rebounds to help the Golden Grizzlies win the rebounding battle 39-36. Lipscomb also had a game-high four assists. Sharise Calhounadded 10 points for Oakland which shot 35.1 percent from the field.

Amber Hegge led all players with a double-double effort of 24 points and 14 rebounds. Hegge shot 50 percent from the field and was 7-of-10 at the free-throw line, where USD outscored Oakland 16-8. Annie Roche also reached double-digits with 13 points.

The Golden Grizzlies started the game on an 5-0 run and held USD without a basket for the first 6:12. However, the Coyotes recovered to take a 24-21 lead into halftime.

Liz Hamlet came off the bench to score nine points and helped the Oakland bench outscore the USD reserves 15-8. Three of Oakland's starters played the final 6:01 of the game with four fouls each.

It was the first Summit League win for South Dakota, a team which joined the league this season and is not eligible for postseason play.

The Golden Grizzlies are back in action on Friday, hosting Clemson in the O'rena at 6:30 p.m. Last year OU went on the road and beat the Tigers.

-OAKLAND-