ROCHESTER, Mich. – The Oakland women's basketball team rings in the 2021 new year with a pair of Horizon League games against Green Bay on Friday, Jan. 1 at 3 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 2 at 1 p.m. Both games are presented by Henry Ford Health System and will be broadcast live from the Blacktop at the O'rena on ESPN3 with Jason Ross Jr. on the call.


 
Notes:
LAST TIME OUT: Kahlaijah Dean reached double figures for the sixth time in seven games with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 3-for-3 from the free throw line while Brianna Breedy added seven points as Oakland fell, 94-56, at No. 25 Michigan State on Tuesday (12/22). Dean also had a team-best four steals defensively and grabbed a team-high five rebounds along with Kayla Luchenbach.
 
PARTY LIKE ITS 1989: Oakland's 75-69 win at Wright State (12/19) snapped a 16-game skid vs WSU and was the first win over the Raiders since Feb. 11, 1989. The win also moved the Golden Grizzlies to 3-0 in Horizon League play for the first time in program history and marked the first time since the 2009-10 season the team opened league play with three consecutive wins. Kahlaijah Dean scored 19 of her 20 points in the second half while Alona Blackwell poured in 19 first-half points along with 12 points and eight rebounds from Chloe Guingrich as the trio combined for 51 points.
 
A LOOK AT GREEN BAY: Green Bay leads to overall series 11-5. Since the 2014-15 season, Oakland's five Horizon League regular season wins over Green Bay are the most for any Horizon League school over that period of time. The Phoenix are 1-4 and 0-2 in conference play and haven't seen action since Dec. 13 after two games against Youngstown State were canceled. Redshirt senior and Pre-season All-Horizon League Second Team selection Caitlyn Hibner leads Green Bay in points (16.6 ppg) and rebounds (6.2) while redshirt senior Meghan Pingel also leads the team in assists (2.6).
 
2019-20 SEASON REWIND VS THE PHOENIX:
Game 1 (1/9/20): Kahlaijah Dean, Jalisha Terry and Autumn Kissman combined for 71 points to lead Oakland to a thrilling 93-88 win over Green Bay at the O'rena which snapped a four-game skid against the Phoenix. Dean scored a season and game-high 27 points with six assists followed by a career-high 25 points from Terry and first career double-double by Kissman with a career-best 19 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Game 2 (2/16/20): Alona Blackwell scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game with a team-high 11 points while Kayla Luchenbach and Jalisha Terry each added nine points as Oakland fell 76-51 at Green Bay at the Kress Events Center. Luchenbach also grabbed a team-high seven rounds followed by six from Chloe Guingrich. Autumn Kissman had seven points with five rebounds while Kahlaijah Dean chipped in with six points.
 
HISTORY VS GREEN BAY: During the 2016-17 season, Sha'Keya Graves stole the inbounds pass and rumbled coast-to-coast converting the game-winning layup with 2.2 seconds and completed the 3-point play from the free throw line to secure Oakland's 74-71 upset win over No. 21 Green Bay on the Blacktop at the O'rena (2/2/17). The win marked Oakland's first home win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 21 South Dakota State (1/5/09). The win also snapped the Phoenix 11-game win streak and marked the second consecutive year the Golden Grizzlies defeated Green Bay while being nationally ranked.
 
During the 2015-16 campaign, Oakland's 58-56 upset win at No. 22 Green Bay (1/28/16) was the program's first road win over a ranked opponent in the Division I era. The win also snapped Green Bay's league-best 14-game win streak and 16-game home win streak dating back to when the Golden Grizzlies won on (2/4/15) and marked the first time the Phoenix have lost to the same team at home in back-to-back seasons under head coach Kevin Borseth. The Golden Grizzlies completed the season sweep with a 77-69 win (3/5/16) becoming just the second team to sweep the season series over the Phoenix in league play since YSU in 2013-14.
 
In the 2014-15 season, Oakland's 76-70 road win (2/4/15) was the program's first win over Green Bay and also was the only loss in league play for the Phoenix.
 
QUAD THREAT: Kahlaijah Dean leads the team in scoring (16.4 ppg – 4th HL), steals (2.3 – T-4th HL), rebounds (5.0 – 16th HL) and tied for the lead in assists (2.4 – 11th HL).
 
DO IT ALL DEAN: Dean averaged 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds (11 total), with three assists and two steals to lead Oakland to a weekend spit at Wight State. She scored 19 of her 20 points in the second half with six rebounds and two assists to lead the Golden Grizzlies to the historic 75-69 win. Against UIC, she averaged 18.0 points, with 16 rebounds (8.0), 10 assists (5.0) and seven steals to lead Oakland to a weekend sweep to open Horizon League play. She poured in a game-high 28 points, just missing her career-high of 30, while going 9-for-12 from the free-throw line with eight rebounds, five assists and four steals in the 76-70 win in game one. She added eight points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals in the 81-55 series finale win.
 
DYNAMIC DUO: Dean and Blackwell are the only two players averaging in double figures at 16.4 ppg and 10.7 ppg respectively. Dean is shooting 39.4% from the field while Blackwell is shooting at a 36.5% clip.
 
GETTIN' BUCKETS: Oakland ranks fifth in the Horizon League in scoring (64.5 ppg) and field goal percentage (38.3).
 
FROM LONG RANGE: Blackwell leads the team and ranks fifth in the league in 3-point field goals per game (2.0). As a team, Oakland ranks seventh in 3-point field goal percentage (26.1%).
 
I'LL TAKE THAT: Oakland ranks second in steals per game (8.17) and sixth in turnovers forced (17.86).
 
PASS/PROTECT THE ROCK: Oakland ranks third in assist/turnover ratio (0.78) and fourth in turnover margin (1.86).
 
CHARITY STRIPE PRODUCTION: Dean ranks eighth in free throw percentage (71.4) and 40th in the country in free throw attempts (42) and 48th in free throws made (30).
 
DROPPIN' DIMES: Oakland ranks fourth in assists per game (12.43) while Dean (2.4) and Breedy (2.4) lead the team and rank 11th and 12th respectively.
 
BREEDY POSTS CAREER HIGH IN UIC SWEEP: Brianna Breedy posted a career-high 16 points hitting a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc while going 5-for-6 from the free-throw line to lead Oakland to a series sweep over UIC in Horizon League play (12/13).
 
"C" IS FOR CLUTCH: Jalisha Terry added all of her 13 points in the fourth quarter capped off with a clutch 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining to move Oakland ahead for good in the 76-70 Horizon League opening win over UIC (12/12.)
 
SUG IN THE BOOKS: Freshman Lamariyee "Sug" Williams recorded her first collegiate points scoring six while adding three rebounds, two assists and a steal against UIC (12/13).
 
BLACKWELL BLASTS OFF VS ROCKETS: Alona Blackwell poured in a career-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting as the Golden Grizzlies fell, 71-59, at Toledo (11/29). She also matched a career-best with four rebounds.
 
RANKED OPPONENTS: Oakland has played two nationally ranked opponents on the 2020-21 schedule hosting No. 25 Michigan (11/27) and at No. 25 Michigan State (12/22).

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