ROCHESTER, Mich. – The nightcap of a doubleheader with Oakland's men's program, the Golden Grizzlies will begin their 2022-23 campaign on Monday, November 7 by welcoming in the Mid-American Conference's (MAC) Akron Zips at 8 p.m.

Oakland went 15-15 (11-9 Horizon League) a year ago, falling to the eventual champion IUPUI Jaguars in the semifinals of the conference tournament, and was picked seventh by the head coaches in the Preseason Horizon League Poll.

8^th in the 12-team MAC Preseason Coaches Poll, Akron finished 17-12 (13-7) in 2021-22, earning a spot in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), where they fell to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the first round.

Monday's action will air live on ESPN+ (subscription required), and can be accessed here.

NEW FACES FOR GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Faced with the graduations of Kahlaijah Dean, Kayla Luchenbach and Brianna Breedy, who combined to average 28.7 points and 9.9 rebounds last season, the Golden Grizzlies brought in a trio of diversely talented transfers in Raquel Ferrer-Bernad, Alexis Johnson and Linda Van Schaik.

A Southfield A&T Warriors graduate, Johnson is a junior forward who played three seasons in Conference USA (C-USA) for the Marshall Thundering Herd, while Ferrer-Bernad is a graduate student point guard who came from a different C-USA program, the Florida International Panthers.

Van Schaik, another junior, joined Oakland by way of the Sun Belt Conference's Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks and projects to provide the team with another 3-point shooting threat.

On top of the program's work in the transfer portal, the Golden Grizzlies' 2022 recruiting class features a couple of high-upside players in guard Brooke Daniels, a Miss Michigan Basketball candidate a year ago from L'Anse Creuse North, and Lianna Baxter, a 6-foot-1 forward who starred at Oconto and is one of the top-100 scorers in Wisconsin high school history.

BREANNE BEATTY HEADLINES GROUP OF RETURNING PLAYERS
Appearing in all 83 of the program's games over the last three seasons, and starting all but two of them, senior guard/forward Breanne Beatty was named to the Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team on October 18.

The pride of Worthington, Ohio, Beatty is Oakland's leading returning scorer at 9.7 points-per-game in 2021-22.

In addition to Beatty, junior guard Sug Williams and guards Kennedie Montue and Aaliyah McQueen and forward Miriam Ibezim, all of whom of sophomores, are back with the program and are in line to contribute significantly right from the season's opening tip.

JEFF TUNGATE ENTERS 10^TH SEASON
Named the eighth head coach in program history on July 16, 2013, the 2022-23 campaign is the 10^th with Jeff Tungate at the helm.

Third on the school's all-time wins list with 106, Tungate and four-year veteran assistant Crystal Davis made some changes to the coaching staff ahead of this season, bringing in Golden Grizzly Hall of Famer and former Mercyhurst Lakers head coach Deanna Richard and Tim Webb, who has extensive coaching experience at both the high school and collegiate levels in Michigan, as assistant coaches.

SCOUTING THE ZIPS
Similarly to Oakland with Dean, Akron is tasked with replacing their go-to offensive option from last season in forward Jordyn Dawson, who poured in 22.1 points and pulled down 9.1 rebounds.

The Zips do return a pair of native Buckeyes in Strongsville's Reagan Bass and Franklin's Layne Ferrell, who totaled 18.4 points and 9.9 rebounds a year ago, as well as Rachel Martindale, a senior guard from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who averaged six points-per-game in 2021-22.

Fifth-year head coach Melissa Jackson, who played collegiately as a guard for the Richmond Spiders in the Atlantic-10 Conference (A-10) from 2000-04, has a 55-56 record since taking over the reins on June 27, 2018.