ROCHESTER, Mich. – In the third of a four-game homestand and their second victory in their last three contests, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies defeated the Northern Kentucky Norse, 74-67, in a Friday the 13
th battle at the O'rena.
The Golden Grizzlies are now back to .500 on the season at 8-8 and 3-4 in the Horizon League, while Northern Kentucky drops to 9-7 and has the same record in the conference, giving these two teams a share of sixth place in the standings.
Coincidentally, this is the second game Oakland has had end 74-67 this year, as their campaign-opening victory over the Mid-American Conference's Akron Zips on November 7 featured the same result.
Continuing to establish herself as one of the best freshmen the Horizon League has to offer, point guard
Brooke Quarles-Daniels paced the Golden Grizzlies with 20 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists Friday, setting new career-highs in all three categories.
Fellow freshman
Cam Grant finished with 13 points and five boards, and junior forward
Alexis Johnson was the third Oakland player in double figures with 12. Standout senior
Breanne Beatty tallied seven points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Outrebouding the Norse, 49-26, the Golden Grizzlies were strong defensively throughout the night, holding Northern Kentucky to their sixth-lowest point total in their 16 games thus far and forcing 17 turnovers.
Terrific Norse graduate student guard Lindsey Duvall, the Horizon League's leading scorer at 17.6 points-per-game, was held to 12 Friday, her fourth-fewest this season.
Duvall did contribute six boards and accomplished her dozen points on 6-10 shooting. She was one of a trio of Northern Kentucky players in double-digits, with sophomores Kailee Davis and Khamari Mitchell-Steen joining her, registering 14 and 18, respectively.
This one started off as a low-scoring affair, with Oakland holding a 29-23 halftime lead, but the offenses picked it up in the second half, combining for 89 points in the final 20 minutes.
With the Norse looking to force a stop and possibly make it a two-possession game, Johnson hit a big 3-pointer with 6:18 left to extend the lead to 59-49 and swing momentum back in the Golden Grizzlies' favor. Junior
Linda van Schaik had a layup with 1:49 remaining to put Oakland up 12, the largest margin either team held all night.
There was an interesting statistic to come out of Friday and something you do not see often anymore: Northern Kentucky attempted only six 3-point shots, hitting two of them. For comparison's sake, the Golden Grizzlies shot 27, four-and-a-half times more, and made nine.
GRIZZVISION WITH PATTI CESARINI AND HEAD COACH JEFF TUNGATE
Oakland volleyball redshirt sophomore Patti Cesarini, an All-Horizon League outside hitter, was the sideline reporter for Friday's ESPN+ broadcast and spoke with head coach
Jeff Tungate postgame.
UP NEXT
Rounding out their four-game homestand to welcome in 2023, the Golden Grizzlies will play the Wright State Raiders on Sunday, January 15 at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Wright State is just 2-15 and 1-6 in conference action, but the Raiders will be coming off a road victory, as they bested the Detroit Mercy Titans, 82-69, in their Friday tilt, tying a school-record with 15 3-pointers in the process.
