Rochester, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies hosted their second of three straight MAC opponents, taking the court against the red-hot Rockets of Toledo.

Both teams came out the gate with a clear emphasis on defense, with full court defenses being played throughout the entire first half. Oakland forced difficult shots by the Rockets, forcing Toledo to shoot just 4-13 FG (.307) in the opening quarter.

Oakland's offense didn't lack in the opening quarter either. Down 7-2 with 8:11 left to play in the first quarter, Oakland erupted on a 14-0 run as Alexis Johnson hit her second three of the quarter with 4:51 to give Oakland a 16-7 lead.

While Oakland's offense was in a groove, they held Toledo scoreless for nearly four and a half minutes.

Toledo would climb back with a 6-0 stint of their own, cutting the deficit to five (13-18) as the Golden Grizzlies headed into the second quarter with the upper hand. 

Despite six first quarter turnovers, Toledo weathered the Oakland run and remained within striking distance, and the top-of the conference MAC team showed poise to open the second quarter.

The teams continued to battle on the defensive end, and with the score still tight, Toledo ended the half on a 8-2 run as a pair of Khera Goss free throws gave the Rockets a 29-28 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.

"We had a phenomenal first half. The girls played with a lot of grit and I think we caught them (Toledo) off guard," said Acting Oakland Head Coach Deanna Richard. 

Toledo slowed the game down as the first half went on, methodically moving the ball up the court with a rhythmic press-breaking offense. As Oakland applied their defensive pressure, foul trouble ensued. The head of the snake for the Oakland defense, Brooke Quarles-Daniels, and their leading scorer Markyia McCormick picked up their second fouls relatively early in the second quarter, forcing Oakland to scale back on defense.

Still, because of their fouls Toledo was put in the bonus, and began to assert their dominance in the paint. The Rockets went 11-13 from the free throw line in the first half, while Oakland trailed far behind going 3-4. Toledo was using their size, constantly rotating their bigs keeping fresh legs in the paint all night to stifle Oakland in the paint.

Oakland was determined to limit the Rockets from deep, and they succeeded. Toledo did not make a single three point shot in five attempts in the first half, while Oakland knocked down five triples, including three from Johnson whole ended the half with a team-high nine points.

Even with a distinct size disadvantage in the frontcourt, Oakland kept pace with Toledo in the rebounding column, as both teams ended the half with 16 rebounds.

With the second half underway, the tide would shift in favor of Toledo, as the Rockets sprung a 12-2 run, capitalized by a pair of Nan Garcia free throws with 3:17 left in the third quarter to give Toledo a 44-34 lead over Oakland. Linda Van Schaik would stop the bleeding for Oakland with a run-halting triple with 2:31 left in the quarter, but Toledo outscored Oakland 20-10 in the third quarter, extending their lead to double digits as the final quarter approached.

The foul bug bit Oakland once again in the quarter as they sent Toledo to the line another ten times in the quarter, resulting in eight points.

Headed into the final quarter down double-digits, Oakland dug deep to see if they had yet another big comeback in them. Quarles-Daniels surged Oakland's offense and took it upon herself to initiate the plays, Hitting tough shot after tough shot, the sophomore scored 12 of her 16 points in the final quarter in hopes to keep Oakland in the game. Maddy Skorupski also joined in the late-game effort, scoring seven of her nine points in the quarter as well.

Oakland shot a very efficient 8-14 FG (.571) in the fourth quarter, but Toledo's size wore them down, as the Rockets grabbed six offensive rebounds in the quarter, including several by Emmi Rinat and Hannah Noveroske, who combined for six offensive boards for the Rockets.

Oakland's late offensive surge was too little, and a rough night at the free throw line for the Golden Grizzlies (going 16-26) left too many points on the board as they fell 78-65 to Toledo, suffering just their second loss at home this season.

"I think the one thing we have to do is defend without fouling, and free throws hurt us big tonight," said Richard. "We have to build on what we just did. We are going to break down some film and build on what we've started…. I think we've really established what our identity is with our press and our defense. It's never perfect, but the effort is there so we'll continue to learn and build with that".

Quarles-Daniels led the team in points with 16 (6-13 FG), while Johnson pitched in 13 points (5-8 FG) and eight rebounds. 

Oakland moves forward to take on their final MAC opponent of the season as Miami (OH) will visit the OU Credit Union O'rena in one final game before the holidays on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m.



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