ROCHESTER, Mich. – Remaining unbeaten in four home contests this season, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies utilized a strong second quarter to defeat the Robert Morris Colonials, 71-59, on Thursday, January 5.
Returning to the O'rena after playing 10 of their last 11 games on the road to round out the 2022 calendar year, the win moves Oakland back to .500 at 7-7 and 2-3 in the Horizon League, while the Colonials now possess the same overall record but are just 1-4 in the conference.
Playing 28 minutes off the bench and hitting four 3-pointers, junior
Linda van Schaik tallied a team-high 15 points for the Golden Grizzlies, with classmate
Alexis Johnson adding 14 and senior
Breanne Beatty and freshman
Brooke Daniels both finishing with 13.
Despite her smaller stature, Daniels led Oakland with nine rebounds, followed by van Schaik with six and Beatty and sophomore
Kennedie Montue, both of whom had five.
Robert Morris held a four-point advantage, 18-14, after 10 minutes of play, but the Golden Grizzlies began to take control of the contest with a second quarter that saw them outscore the Colonials 22-8 and take a 36-26 lead into the halftime break.
Headed by sophomore and native Canadian Phoenix Gedeon, who registered a double-double with a game-best 20 points and 14 boards, Robert Morris made some runs in the second half, cutting it as close as five in the fourth, but Oakland was able to keep enough distance and move within one game of even in league play.
Showcasing a style of play well beyond her young age, Daniels came up with a bucket seemingly whenever the Golden Grizzlies needed one in the fourth, recording eight of her 13 points in the final frame.
Following three-straight sub-50-point performances, Oakland broke through Thursday to reach the 70 mark for the seventh time this season. Including 34.5 percent (10-29) from behind the arc, the Golden Grizzlies shot 42.4 percent (28-66).
The rebounding battle was close as could be, with Oakland pulling down 38 and the Colonials 37, and the Golden Grizzlies distributed 14 assists to Robert Morris' nine.
GRIZZVISION WITH PATTI CESARINI AND HEAD COACH JEFF TUNGATE
Patti Cesarini, a redshirt sophomore outside hitter for Krista Rice's volleyball program at Oakland, handled the sideline reporting duties for Thursday's ESPN+ broadcast and spoke with head coach
Jeff Tungate postgame.
UP NEXT
Continuing a four-game homestand to welcome in 2023, the Golden Grizzlies will play the Youngstown State Penguins on Saturday, January 7 at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.
Receiving eight of the 11 first-place votes, the Penguins were the favorite in the Preseason Horizon League Coaches Poll and are off to a 10-4 (4-1) start.
