ROCHESTER, Mich. – With five different players knocking down at least one triple, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies shot 37.5 percent (9-24) from 3-point range in a 74-71 victory over the Milwaukee Panthers on Friday, February 3 at the O'rena.
Snapping a three-game skid, the Golden Grizzlies move back to .500 on the season at 11-11 and are now in sole possession of sixth place in the Horizon League at 6-7. Milwaukee, meanwhile, has dropped four-straight and is 7-14 and 5-8 in the conference.
Four Oakland players scored in double figures, led by senior
Breanne Beatty and freshman
Brooke Quarles-Daniels with 16 points apiece. Also pulling down nine rebounds and dishing out six assists, the latter finished just shy of her fourth double-double of the season.
Sophomore
Kennedie Montue had 14 points, her second-best showing of the campaign, and standout junior
Alexis Johnson tallied 12 and four boards.
Aaliyah McQueen, another sophomore, was impactful in her 12 minutes, registering four points and three rebounds.
Playing all but two minutes, sophomore Kendall Nead scored a career-high 24 for the Panthers, her first time crossing the 20-point threshold. Promising freshman point guard Kamy Peppler had 11, six assists and four boards and fellow sophomore Angie Cera pitched in 10 points.
Friday started out with some high-scoring action with the two teams combining for 48 points in the first quarter. The pace slowed down a bit in the second frame and the Golden Grizzlies took a 36-32 lead into the halftime break.
Oakland was up by 11, 57-46, with 2:40 to play in the third quarter, but Milwaukee fought their way back to tie it at 63 on a layup by redshirt sophomore Grace Crowley with 4:23 remaining.
Beatty recorded a couple of buckets on strong takes to the hoop in the final three-and-a-half minutes and Johnson dialed up a big 3-pointer, her 18
th of the year, with 1:54 left to stretch the margin back to six, 72-66.
Paced by Beatty's 3-5 effort, the Golden Grizzlies' 37.5 3-point percentage was their highest in a game this season and their nine triples were their second-most, trailing only the 10 in the January 5 victory over the Robert Morris Colonials.
Oakland won the rebounding battle, 31-30, and the Panthers racked up nine more assists, 21-12.
GRIZZVISION WITH PATTI CESARINI AND HEAD COACH JEFF TUNGATE
Patti Cesarini, a redshirt sophomore outside hitter for the Golden Grizzly volleyball program and the sideline reporter for Friday's ESPN+ broadcast, spoke with head coach
Jeff Tungate postgame.
UP NEXT
Rounding out a four-game homestand, Oakland will battle the Green Bay Phoenix on Sunday, February 5 at 2 p.m. on ESPN+ (subscription required).
Winners of four in a row, the Phoenix are tied with the Cleveland State Vikings atop the Horizon League standings at 11-2.
Sunday will also be noteworthy for the halftime banner-raising ceremony recognizing Helen Shereda-Smith.
Set to become the first women's basketball player to be permanently recognized in the O'rena, Shereda-Smith starred for Oakland, then known as the Pioneers, from 1976-80 and is still the program's all-time leading rebounder and No. 2 scorer.
