Jan. 25, 2014

Box Score | Notes

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Bethany Watterworth scored a team-high 21 points but it was not enough as the Oakland women's basketball team (8-11, 3-3 HL) dropped a Horizon League matchup to league-leading Youngstown State (9-9, 5-0 HL), 79-64, Saturday evening at the Beeghly Center. OU finishes 1-1 on its Ohio road trip but fall to 3-7 on the road.

"I'm really disappointed in how we came out in the first half," said head coach Jeff Tungate. "Give Youngstown State credit, they played harder and were very well prepared. We didn't quit which is a good sign, but we can't keep digging ourselves in such a deep hole and expect to climb out of it every time. We need to learn how to compete consistently at a high level. We have to learn quickly with Green Bay coming in next."

Watterworth tallied her third 20-plus point performance in league play while also grabbing a team-best nine rebounds. Elena Popkey scored 13 points and had five assists. Olivia Nash added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting.

Oakland trailed 43-21 at halftime after shooting just 20.0 percent (6-30) in the opening period. The Golden Grizzlies went 11:28 between made field goals before Nash hit a 3-pointer with 6:40 remaining to make the score 23-8. The 20.0 percent match a season-low shooting percentage in a half.

The Golden Grizzlies came out hot in the second half with a 14-5 run and eventually cut the YSU lead to six points after a Kim Bee layup with just over eight minutes left in the game. Youngstown State however would not allow OU to finish the comeback as they used a 9-1 run to push the lead back to double-figures. Oakland shot 53.1 percent from the floor in the second half.

The Penguins were led by Heidi Schlegel with 25 points and nine rebounds and Liz Hornberger who finished 6-of-9 from behind the arc. YSU finished the game shooting 50.0 percent (12-24) from 3-point range.

OU will return home next week as they host Green Bay inside the Athletics Center O'rena on Thursday Jan. 30, starting at 7 p.m.

#FightOakland