ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland women's basketball team opens the Horizon League season with a Metro Series showdown at arch-rival Detroit Mercy on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 12 p.m. The game will be broadcast live from Calihan Hall on ESPN+ with Denny Kapp on the call.
Notes:
Overall and Metro Series History: Detroit Mercy leads the overall series 15-14. However, Oakland has won the last four consecutive meetings and holds an 8-4 mark in Metro Series match ups.
Metro Series Dominance:
Oakland has won the overall Metro Series each of the past five seasons since its inception in 2014-15. The Golden Grizzlies currently lead this year's standings 6-1 after Oakland's women's and men's cross country teams finished first and second respectively at the 2019 Horizon League Championships. Last season, the Golden Grizzlies won in dominating fashion by a 30-6 margin. In the event of a tie this year, Oakland will retain the cup.
A look at the Titans: Freshman Sylare Starks (10.1.3 ppg) leads Detroit Mercy in scoring while senior Zoey Oatis (9.2 ppg) ranks second and leads the team in rebounds (5.7). Freshman Annika Corcoran leads the team in assists (1.6).
Last time out, Oakland secures program's 800th win: Alona Blackwell poured in a career-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 4-for-7 from 3-point range to lead Oakland to a strong second half en route to a 72-53 win over Lourdes to secure the program's 800th win last week.
Kayla Luchenbach added 14 points going 6-for-12 from the field with six rebounds and two assists while
C'Erra Maholmes posted a career-high seven points with a pair of rebounds.
Charity Stripe Production: Oakland leads the Horizon League in free throw percentage (77.3) which also ranks 17th nationally.
Jalisha Terry also leads the league (87.2) and ranks 28th nationally.
Team Leader: Terry also leads the team in scoring (11.4 – 10th HL), assists (3.4 – 5th HL) and steals (1.5 – 5th HL).
Guard the Arc: The Golden Grizzlies also lead the league in 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.4) which ranks 46th nationally.
Lockdown D: The Golden Grizzlies rank fourth in field goal percent defense (39.0) and fifth in scoring defense (65.5).
I'll Take That: Oakland ranks second in steals per game (8.36) and turnovers forced (17.82).
Get that Outta Here: As a team, Oakland is fourth in blocked shots per game (2.45). Individually, Luchenbach posted a career-high in blocks (4) vs Concordia and ranks 12th in the league (0.6 bpg).
Crash the Boards: The Golden Grizzlies are third in the league in total rebounds per game (38.5), second in defensive rebounds (26.9) and third in offensive rebounds (11.6). Luchenbach (5.3) ranks 17th individually.
Pass/Protect the Rock: The team ranks third in turnover margin (1.45) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (0.83) and while Terry (1.6) ranks second.
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