ROCHESTER, Mich. – The program's second game in three days and the continuation of a four-game homestand, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will welcome in the Cleveland State Vikings for a National Girls and Women in Sports Day showdown on Saturday, January 28 at 2 p.m.

In a three-way tie for sixth with the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons and Milwaukee Panthers in the Horizon League standings at 5-6, the Golden Grizzlies will enter Saturday at 10-10 overall and on a two-game skid.

Cleveland State is in a three-way tie of their own atop the conference standings at 9-2 and the Vikings, who are 18-3 overall, checked in at No. 17 in the January 24 Collegeinsider Mid-Major Top 25.

This will be the second time these two teams have clashed this season, as Cleveland State defeated Oakland, 77-54, at the Wolstein Center on December 2 in the first league game of the campaign for both schools.

GOLDEN GRIZZLIES RUNDOWN
In double figures in seven-straight contests, freshman point guard Brooke Quarles-Daniels paces Oakland in scoring at 11.9 points-per-game, followed by junior forward Alexis Johnson at 11.3 and versatile senior Breanne Beatty at 10.8.

These three are also the Golden Grizzlies' top rebounders, all pulling down at least 5.1 per game, and sophomore Aaliyah McQueen has begun to emerge as an exciting contributor off the bench, knocking down 25 percent (9-36) of her 3-point attempts this season.

Averaging 38.9 rebounds-per-contest, the third-most in the Horizon League, Oakland has been strong on the glass all year and this has been particularly true on the offensive end, as the Golden Grizzlies' 14.9 offensive boards per game are tops in the conference.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
The highest-scoring offense in the Horizon League at 77 points-per-game, Cleveland State is led by junior guard and Preseason Conference Player of the Year Destiny Leo, who is averaging 17.4 points, tied for the second-best individual mark in the league.

Senior forwards Amele Ngwafang and Brittni Moore are the Vikings' next top scorers, pitching in 9.3 and 12.1 points, respectively.

On the defensive end, Cleveland State is known for employing a zone and this strategy has worked to the tune of the Vikings allowing just 59.1 points-per-game this season, making them one of only four teams in the conference holding the opposition under 60.

TELEVISION AND LIVE STATS LINKS
Saturday's action will air live on ESPN+ (subscription required) and can be accessed here.

Additionally, the Live Stats are available at this link.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Dating to Oakland's first year in the Horizon League on January 23, 2014, the Golden Grizzlies have squared off with the Vikings 18 times, with Cleveland State holding a 14-4 edge.

Beginning with a 70-62 triumph on December 28, 2017, the Vikings have won 10 in a row in the series.

SEASON-LONG STORYLINES

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 Quarles-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, 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 126, 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.