East Lansing, Mich. - Oakland drops to 1-1 on the season after falling to MSU in East Lansing.

Both teams came out with a clear emphasis on the defensive end. Oakland snagged two steals and caused three turnovers in the first three minutes, while Michigan State immediately came out in a full court press.

Oakland was able to handle MSU's full court pressure, moving the ball and finding open spots when the Spartans trapped the ball. With the game tied 5-5 early, Oakland used a few good off-ball cuts to create a bucket as Alexis Johnson found a cutting Kianni Westbrook for an easy layup. The very next possession a Linda Van Schaik deep ball put. Oakland up 10-5 on the Spartans with 5:04 left in the opening quarter. MSU responded with a pair of quick transition layups to cut the Oakland lead to one (10-9) with 4:18 left in the first.

Oakland made nothing easy for MSU on defense, scrambling and rotating on defense while hustling for every loose ball. The Golden Grizzlies' defense was suffocating and showed tight contests on every shot MSU put up. As good as Oakland's defense was early, MSU found ways to fly in transition, using a last second steal and score by point guard Deedee Hagemann to take a 16-15 lead going into the second quarter.

The teams went back-and-forth to start the second frame, trading buckets and free throws. The physicality of the game turned up a level as the first half progressed, with the aggressive defense of both teams escalating, even resulting in a technical foul to MSU's Hagemann as the game got chippy.

MSU took control of the game in the second quarter, going on an 11-2 run, stamped by a corner three from Abbey Kimball (3:01) to go up 31-23. Gabby Elliot was the catalyst for the Spartans, manufacturing behind six points during the run.

Michigan State did major damage on the offensive glass, grabbing seven offensive boards and creating 10 second chance points in the first half. Hagemann scored 14 points (5-6 FG) for MSU in the first 20 minutes, while Moira Joiner knocked down a pair of threes (2-4 3FG) in the opening half, giving MSU a 41-29 led heading into the locker room.

Oakland's deficit at half was not due to a lack of effort. Sophomore Brooke Quarles-Daniels only had four points, but her defensive effort was as high-level as ever, causing jump balls, deflections, and just setting a hard-hustling tone. Graduate Student Markyia McCormick was effective offensively in the first half, scoring nearly half of Oakland's points with 14 points, eight of them coming from the free throw line (8-8 FT).

MSU continued their push ahead, starting the second half on an 8-2 run. Oakland's offense was creating good looks at the basket, the ball just simply wasn't finding the bottom of the net. 

Oakland was able to take the lid off the basket to start the fourth quarter with  threes from Kennedi Montue, Maddy Skorupski, and McCormick, finding the same offensive rhythm they seemed to have at the start of the game. With 4:29 left, Van Schaik snuck through traffic to emphasize a 12-0 Oakland run as they looked to close the game how they started. During the run, Quarles-Daniels and Skorupski poured in a combined nine consecutive points in a three minute span.

"In the first and fourth quarter we played how we were supposed to play. We battled and played hard," said Oakland Head Coach Jeff Tungate. "In the fourth quarter I thought we really competed. We play non-conference games to learn those lessons."

The Spartans' size ended up overpowering the Golden Grizzlies down low, grabbing 40 rebounds to Oakland's 37 on the night. Hagemann caught fire for MSU, finishing with 23 points.

"It's not easy when we had three post players that are hurt. We had guards battling in the post trying to front. In the first and fourth quarter I was proud of how we played, and i the second and third quarter I thought we were fatigued and felt sorry for ourselves, and we can't do that because it's going to be tough when it's conference time and we're traveling on the road and we have to find a way to turn around in 48 hours and win a basketball game. We're going to take this and be much better for it down the road," said Tungate.

McCormick ended as Oakland's lead scorer, putting up 15-plus in back-to-back games to start the season with 18 points (3-5 3FG). Freshman Jasmine Dupree-Hebert also saw her first action of the season, putting in a perfect-shooting five points (2-2 FG). Quarles-Daniels was Oakland's second leading scorer with nine points, despite a somewhat off-night from the field. Skorupski had an impressive outing at her former school, scoring 14 points (6-11 FG), showing off her handles and finishing on all three levels.

Oakland gets a bit of time to rest and recover before their next game on Tuesday, Nov. 14 as they head to Ann Arbor to take on another Big Ten opponent in the University of Michigan.