ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Oakland women's basketball team hits the road for a pair of Horizon League games at UIC and IUPUI. The Golden Grizzlies and Flames tip off on Friday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. ET followed by the Jaguars on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 2 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live from the UIC Pavilion and The Jungle on ESPN+ and ESPN3 respectively.
Notes:
Last time out: Taylor Jones dished out a career-high 16 assists just missing the game school record by one and almost added a triple double with 11 points and nine rebounds while
Chloe Guingrich recorded career-highs in points (21) and rebounds (16) to lead Oakland to a 74-67 Metro Series win over arch-rival Detroit Mercy last Friday night. The Golden Grizzlies matched a season-best 24 assists on 30 made baskets and have won three straight over the Titans.
At look at the Flames UIC is 2-13 on the season and 0-4 in conference play after dropping a pair of games to Cleveland State and Youngstown State. The Flames are led by senior Brittany Bird who leads the team and ranks fourth in the league in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounds (6.2 ppg).
Scouting the Jags: IUPUI is 8-7 overall and 2-2 in league play after splitting a pair of games against CSU and YSU. The Jaguars are led by sophomore Mace Williams who has picked up where she left off after being named Horizon League Freshman of the Year last season. She leads the conference in scoring (18.7 ppg) and ranks fifth in rebounds (8.1).
Series Breakdown: Oakland has won the last seven games against UIC and leads the overall series 9-4. Despite losing the last three meetings, the Golden Grizzlies lead the overall series against IUPUI, 24-14.
So close: Taylor Jones' near triple-double against UDM would have been the first in a 10-year span since Brittany Carnago who posted a 14 point, 10 rebound, 11 block performance at Centenary (Jan. 12, 2009). Jones' career-high 16 assists was one shy of the school game record of 17 held by Margaret Boyle vs. Lake Superior St. (2/28/87) and Dawn Lichty vs. St. Joseph's (3/10/90).
Frontline Firsts: Autumn Kissman posted a career-high 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting against UDM while
Kayla Luchenbach also added a career-best 13 points going 6-for-7 from the field with two blocks.
Return to Sender: Oakland leads the league in block shots (60) and blocked shots per game (4.30) which rank 59th and 60th respectively in the nation. Individually,
Mercy Agwaniru (1.1) leads the team and is fourth in the league while
Kayla Luchenbach (0.8) is tied for sixth,
Chloe Guingrich (0.7) ranks 10th and
Nikita Telesford (0.6) 13th.
Grab and Go: The Golden Grizzlies rank second the league in turnovers forced (17.64), steals per game (8.70) with
Taylor Jones is tied for third individually (1.8) followed by
Kahlaijah Dean in seventh (1.6).
Dropping Dimes: Oakland is tied for third in the league in assists (13.50) while Jones ranks second individually (4.3) followed by
Brianna Breedy who is tied for seventh (3.0).
Pass/Protect the Rock: Breedy ranks second in conference and 20th nationally in assist/turnover ratio (2.8) while the team is sixth in assist/turnover ratio (0.8) and fourth in turnover margin (.00).
Charity Stripe Production: The Golden Grizzlies rank fourth in free throw percentage (67.6) and are making the most of their trips to the line having shot over 70 percent in four games and over 80 percent once so far this season.
#WEARtheBEAR
