ROCHESTER, Mich. – Oakland heads on the road for the first time in the 2021-22 season Monday, Nov. 22 against the No. 13 Michigan Wolverines. Tip-off at Crisler Center is at 7 p.m.

The Michigan Wolverines come into the contest undefeated in Head Coach Kim Barnes Arico's 10th season. The Wolverines played four non-conference games, one a 67-62 win against reigning Horizon League player of the year Macee Williams and IUPUI. The Wolverines are the No. 13 team in the AP Poll, coming off a season where they reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, falling to Baylor 78-75 in overtime.

Oakland is fresh off a 65-60 win on their home floor over the Robert Morris Colonials. Kahlaijah Dean scored 22 points and had some clutch steals in the fourth quarter to propel Oakland to a comeback victory. Senior Brianna Breedy had a career game, setting a career-high in free throws (6-6), including the final two points of the game to put the victory out of reach of RMU. Breanna Perry and Olivia Sims made their first starts of the season against the Colonials, as well.

The Golden Grizzlies have the third best offense in the Horizon League, putting up 70.5 points per game thus far. Their offense has been their bread and butter, they have the fourth best field goal percentage to boot. 

Defensively, Oakland has hung their hat on on-ball defense. They rank second in the Horizon in steals per game (11.25) and sophomore Lamariyee Williams sits fourth in individual steals per game (3.0). Her 12 total steals are second in the Horizon League, however. 

Michigan is led by Naz Hillmon, the Big 10's second leading scorer wih 22.7 points per game. Emily Kiser of the Wolverines is fourth in the conference in rebounds per game, pulling down 10 missed shots per game. Kiser is also a force defensively, ranking third in blocks per game (1.8) as well.

The interconference showdown can be viewed on B1G+, with live stats available here. 

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SEASON REWIND
Nov. 20: Oakland 65 // Robert Morris 60
Oakland earned their first Horizon League win this season after defeating Robert Morris 65-60 on Saturday, Nov. 20. Kahlaijah Dean scored a game-high 22 points with four 3-pointers. The biggest three came with 4:18 remaining to take a one-point lead, after trailing the entire second half. After a timeout, Dean hit a big three to put the score at 59-58. Lamariyee Williams hit 4-4 free throws down the stretch to keep the lead. Dean stole the ball from Robert Morris with 43 seconds left up by three. Brianna Breedy hit two more free throws to give Oakland the 65-60 lead, which they held onto for the five-point win.

Nov. 18: Youngstown State 79 // Oakland 68
In the first conference game of the season, Oakland struggled to create consistent offense, losing to Youngstown State 79-68. A late comeback attempt almost came to fruition, but the YSU lead was insurmountable. The loss was the second of the season for Oakland, their record is now 1-2. Their Horizon League record drops to 0-1 on the young season. The visiting Penguins rode a hot shooting night all the way to a big victory, scoring the most points as a team this season. After failing to reach 60 points in their previous game, they had 61 by the end of the third quarter, and shot 27-48 from the floor (56%) – 12/23 from deep (52%).

Nov. 13: Oakland 77 // Niagara 64
Midway through the second quarter, the Golden Grizzlies lead shrunk from 14 to nine, in danger of letting their opponent back in the game. A 10-0 run over five minutes gave Oakland the momentum they needed to hold on for their first win of the season, 77-64. Oakland finished with 20 team assists and had four players in double figures to defeat Niagara. Freshman Olivia Sims and Breanne Beatty led the team with 12 points each.  Kahlaijah Dean led the team with five steals, LaMariyee Williams led the team with four assists and Breanna Perry led the way defensively with two blocks. 

Nov. 9: Toledo 84 // Oakland 72
The visiting Toledo Rockets rode a big third quarter to a victory, spoiling Oakland's home opener with a 84-72 final score. Kahlaijah Dean recorded 27 points, six assists and four rebounds, leading Oakland in points and assists. The first-team All-Horizon league athlete lived behind the arc, hitting 5-14 3-pointers. The only other Golden Grizzly to score in double figures was Kayla Luchenbach, who scored 13 on 50% shooting. Luchenbach grabbed five rebounds as well, fourth on the team. Breanna Perry led Oakland in steals, taking the ball away twice. Breanne Beatty led the team in rebounds, pulling down seven boards. 

SUG-AR COOKIES
Lamariyee Williams set a career high in steals when she picked off five passes against Youngstown State. After facing Youngstown, Williams ranked first in steals for Oakland and fourth in the Horizon League with three steals per game. 

CAREER HIGHS VS. NIAGARA
Multiple Golden Grizzlies set career highs against the Niagara Purple Eagles on Saturday, Nov. 13. Lamariyee Williams set career highs in minutes, threes made, steals and assists in her second career start. Olivia Sims also set career highs in her second game in black and gold, scoring 12 points with two threes and three assists. Helen Staley recorded her first points at Oakland on a second-chance layup, and Aaliyah McQueen scored four points in the 2nd quarter for her first buckets as a Golden Grizzly. 

MEAN, LEAN, FIGHTING K. DEAN
Kahlaijah Dean was tied for first in the Horizon League in scoring after her 27-point outburst in the season opener against Toledo. Last season, Dean was fifth in the conference with 17.2 points per game. Her six dimes also put her tied for first in the Horizon in assists after the first game.

SIMS SPLASH
With a late three coming off a sidestep move, freshman Olivia Sims recorded her first career points, 3-pointer and field goal of her Oakland career.

DEAN EARNS PRESEASON HORIZON LEAGUE FIRST TEAM HONORS

After earning Horizon League First Team honors for the 2020-21 season, Kahlaijah Dean was voted a preseason All-Horizon first team athlete in October. Last season marked the third consecutive year Dean has garnered All-League honors after being named Sixth Player of the Year and All-League Third Team last season and named to the All-Freshman Team during the 2018-19 season. Dean is the first student-athlete to earn first team honors since Hannah Little in 2017.

OAKLAND RUNS ON DEAN

Kahlaijah Dean led the Golden Grizzlies in points, assists, rebounds and steals. She scored in double figures in 21 of 24 games, including eight 20-point performances. Her highest scoring performance came against Milwaukee on Feb. 13, where she dropped a career-high 34 points.

FANTASTIC FOUR SEED

The Golden Grizzlies finished as the no. 4 seed in the Horizon League last season, their best conference finish since 2017 (T-3). Their 12-8 record marked the best Horizon League record since 2017 as well. The 12 wins tied Jeff Tungate's career-best as head coach.

RUNNING AND GUNNING

Oakland scored 69.5 points per game in 2020-21, second best in the Horizon League. Led by Kahlaijah Dean's 17.2 points per game, the Golden Grizzlies scored as a team. In 2020-21, six Golden Grizzlies scored five or more points per game.

BOMBS BY BLACKWELL

In her second season, Alona Blackwell finished sixth in the league in 3-pointers made per game. Her 1.8 threes per game led the team and led to big scoring outbursts. Her five 3-pointers against Wright State on Dec. 19, 2020 was a career-high, and helped the Golden Grizzlies defeat the Raiders on the road, 75-69.

DIME TIME

Oakland ranked second in the Horizon in total assists (360), assists per game (15) and assist to turnover ratio (1.01). The ball movement was spearheaded by Kahlaijah Dean (106 total assists), Brianna Breedy (61) and Breanne Beatty (56). All three return this season.

PRESEASON PREDICTION

Oakland was picked fifth in the Horizon League preseason poll, after finishing as the No. 4 overall seed last season. Kahlaijah Dean was the only Golden Grizzly to be named to a preseason team, making the first team.

PADAWANS AND JEDIS

Six freshmen are on the 2021-22 roster this season, the most Jeff Tungate has had on the roster since 2014-15. In addition to six freshmen, Oakland has four seniors and a graduate student on the roster, putting their roster at 11 seniors/freshmen.

FRESHMAN FOCUS

Oakland's six freshmen athletes each come from unique places. Below is a quick summary of each freshman:

• Kendall Folley: 5'7" guard from Lebanon, Ohio.                                      
  • Third all-time leading scorer in Lebanon High School history
• Miriam Ibezim: 6'2" forward from Rochester, NY.       
  • Averaged 19.8 points and 19.5 rebounds per game in her career                   
• Kennedie Montue: 5'11" guard from Pittsburgh, PA.
  • 2020-21 Valley News Dispatch Girls Basketball Player of the Year
• Prunelle Mungo: 6'2" forward from Lebanon, Ohio   
  • Three-year letterwinner, lettered in volleyball as well
• Olivia Sims: 5'9" guard from Toledo, Ohio.
  • First-Team All-District selection and Third-Team All-State selection as a junior
• Helen Staley: 6'0" forward from Rosemount, Minn. 
  • Rosemount all-time leading rebounder, scored more than 1000 pts

FROM THE ILLINI TO THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Aaliyah McQueen joins the Golden Grizzlies after playing at Illinois her freshman season. At Illinois, she played in all 19 games, averaging 9.6 minutes per game. Her career high came against Michigan State, when she scored eight points on a perfect 3-point shooting night, 2-2 from three. 

The Flint, Mich. native was the No. 22 wing in the state coming out of high school, and was named Associated Press Division I Girls Basketball All-Michigan first team as a senior.