ROCHESTER, Mich. – Their third victory in their last four games, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies defeated the Wright State Raiders, 73-68, on Sunday, January 15 at the O'rena.
Sunday marked the end of a four-game homestand for the Golden Grizzlies, who moved back above .500 at 9-8 and are now even in Horizon League play at 4-4.
A valiant effort in their quest for a 2-0 road trip after previously topping the Detroit Mercy Titans on Friday the 13
th, Wright State is now 2-16 and 1-7 in the conference.
Scoring in double figures for the fourth consecutive contest and registering her second-straight double-double, freshman point guard
Brooke Quarles-Daniels tallied a game-high 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
A trio of Oakland players joined her in double-digits, with senior
Breanne Beatty ending up with 15 points, junior
Alexis Johnson with 11 and sophomore
Kennedie Montue with 10 on 2-6 from 3-point range.
For Montue, this was her first multi-triple game since the New Year's Eve road clash with the Milwaukee Panthers and her sixth time in double figures this season.
Graduate student guard Izzy Bolender, who previously played for second-year Raiders head coach Kari Hoffman with the Cedarville Yellow Jackets in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), led Wright State with 15 points and six boards on 4-10 shooting and 6-6 at the free throw line.
Senior and Coopersville, Michigan native Cara VanKempen and freshman guard Makiya Miller also reached double-digits for the Raiders, both finishing with 10.
Wright State held a one-point advantage, 14-13, after 10 minutes of play, but the Golden Grizzlies took a six-point edge, 32-26, into the halftime break.
Continuing the theme of building a slight cushion only for the Raiders to fight their way back and erase it, Oakland led by eight, 59-51, with 7:55 to play, but Wright State went on a 13-4 run to move back ahead by a point, 64-63, with 4:19 remaining.
Tied at 68 with just 1:29 left, Beatty drove to her left and finished at the rim, marking her best showing since a 21-point performance against the Green Bay Phoenix on December 29.
The Golden Grizzlies recorded their final three points on a Johnson free throw and a pair of foul shots by junior
Linda van Schaik, who had a six-point, six-rebound afternoon.
Sunday was also notable for being graduate student point guard
Raquel Ferrer-Bernad's birthday, and she made her ninth consecutive start and knocked down her 12
th 3-pointer of the campaign.
Oakland outrebounded the Raiders, 39-29, and distributed 12 assists to Wright State's 10.
GRIZZVISION WITH SYDNEY CARIEL AND HEAD COACH JEFF TUNGATE
Sydney Cariel, Oakland's ESPN+ sideline reporter, spoke with head coach
Jeff Tungate postgame.
QUARLES-DANIELS HIGHLIGHT
Showcasing her ballhandling and court vision, Quarles-Daniels produced one of the most impressive moments of the day, resulting in a Johnson layup with 6:22 to play.
UP NEXT
In what will be their first road tilt of the 2023 calendar year, the Golden Grizzlies will head to Calihan Hall to play Detroit Mercy on Wednesday, January 18 at 7 p.m.
On a two-game skid, the Titans will enter play at 3-14 and 1-7 in the Horizon League.
