OXFORD, Ohio – Taking to the court competitively for the first time in 13 days, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies made the approximately 280-mile trip to John D. Millett Hall and knocked off the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks, 82-74, on Saturday, December 17 for their second-straight victory.

With these back-to-back wins, Oakland is now 5-4 (1-1 Horizon League) in 2022-23, while the RedHawks fall to 4-6.

Playing 31 minutes, the most she has seen in a Golden Grizzly uniform, junior Alexis Johnson led the offensive charge for Oakland, tallying a career-best 25 points and seven rebounds.

This career-high for Johnson includes the three seasons she spent in Conference USA with the Marshall Thundering Herd and is the most by any Golden Grizzly in a game this season.

Although Johnson's performance stood out, Saturday was far from a one-woman show, as senior Breanne Beatty registered her first double-double of the campaign and second of her career with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore Kennedie Montue and freshman Brooke Daniels joined them in double figures, finishing with 11 and 13, respectively.

Junior Linda van Schaik recorded eight points and freshman forward Cam Grant, who is gradually playing her way into a larger role, ended up with five points and four boards in her 20 minutes.

Paced by senior Peyton Scott's 21, Miami had a trio of players reach the double-digit mark, with sophomores Ivy Wolf (15) and Maddi Cluse (19) also crossing the threshold.

Like Beatty, Cluse's effort resulted in a double-double, as the Northfield, Ohio native also pulled down 13 rebounds.

Featuring 10 instances where the contest was tied and the same number of lead changes, Saturday's action was knotted at 38 at the halftime break. Oakland began to take control by outscoring the RedHawks by eight, 22-14, in the third quarter and kept Miami at bay for the final 10 minutes.

This is the second-most points the Golden Grizzlies have totaled this season, trailing only their 83 in the November 27 victory over the Stonehill Skyhawks, and the team shot 31.6 percent (6-19) from 3-point range, highlighted by Beatty and Johnson burying two apiece.

Raising their season average to 69.2 percent (139-201), Oakland had an extremely strong showing at the free throw line Saturday, hitting 14 of their 17 attempts (82.4 percent).

The battle on the glass was close to even, with the Golden Grizzlies grabbing 40 boards and the RedHawks 38, but Oakland nearly doubled Miami up in the assist column, 16-9, with the team's two point guards, Daniels and graduate student Raquel Ferrer-Bernad, both dishing out five.

UP NEXT
After seven consecutive tilts away from the O'rena, the Golden Grizzlies will return home to host the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Madonna Crusaders on Monday, December 19 at 7 p.m.

A member of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC), Madonna is 1-12 this year, but did pick up their first win, a 51-43 triumph over the Judson Eagles, in their most recent action on Tuesday, December 13.