FORT WAYNE, Ind. - In their first conference rematch of the season, Oakland looked determined from the jump. After Purdue Fort Wayne scored the first bucket, the Golden Grizzlies jumped out to a 6-0 run as Alexis Johnson knocked down a long two to put Oakland up 6-2 with 8:05 remaining. The Mastodon's would respond right back with their own 6-0 run as Sydney Garber gave PFW a one point lead (12-11) three minutes left to play

Throughout the quarter, Oakland's offense looked to be in a rhythm, needing no time to warm up. The ball was jumping out of players' hands and swinging around the perimeter, searching for the best shot.

The teams continued to trade buckets for the rest of the quarter, both shooting over .450 from the field as Oakland shot 7-of-15 (.467 FG%) and PFW went 9-of-16 (.563).

The Mastodons lived in the paint, scoring 18 points in the paint in the first quarter. Despite the scoring in the paint, The Golden Grizzlies held the league-leading shooting team to zero made threes in the quarter as PFW took a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.

With the momentum favoring the Golden Grizzlies, they took full opportunity as they once again started the quarter strong. Oakland outscored PFW 7-2 to start the quarter behind a pair of triples from Jasmine Dupree-Hebert and Linda Van Schaik, who's three with 8:01 retook the lead for Oakland at 23-21.

With the offense flying from both sides early, both teams cooled off in the second quarter as a four and a half minute scoring drought ensued after Van Schaik's triple.

Oakland's defense was stout the entire quarter, making life hard at the rim for the Mastodons after they dominated the paint in the opening quarter. PFW started 0-of-8 from the field in the second, struggling mightily largely due to Oakland's press rushing every move of the PFW offense.

The Mastodons would take the lid off the basket late in the half, hitting their first two threes of the game in the final two minutes of the second quarter. With PFW threatening to sway the game in their favor with the half winding down, Oakland's defense provided them with some much needed points as Markyia McCormick snatched the ball and threw a transition dime to Madison Royal-Davis with just seconds left in the half, cutting PFW's lead to 35-33 going into halftime.

After a hot-shooting first quarter from both sides, Oakland went 6-of-17 from the floor (.353 FG%) int he second frame, while the Mastodons went just 4-of-14 (.286 FG%). Despite the cold shooting numbers, the Golden Grizzlies managed to knock down two more triples than the Mastodons, knocking down four from deep (4-of-12 3FG) compared to PFW's two (2-of-8 3FG).

"The ladies played consistent on both ends of the floor in the first half. Especially defensively by only allowing two threes, which were both late in the second quarter", said Oakland Acting Head Coach Deanna Richard.

The Golden Grizzlies pressured PFW in their first meeting, and did the same throughout the first half, taking away nine steals and forcing 12 turnovers in the first half.

McCormick (2-of-4 3FG) and Quarles-Daniels (4-of-8 FG) lead Oakland in scoring with eight points a piece in the first half. Shayla Sellers (3-of-6 FG) and Amellia Bromenschenkel (4-of-6 FG) ended the half with nine points each for PFW.

The second half began with PFW hitting an early run, going on a 7-0 run while Oakland remained scoreless for the first three and a half minutes of the third quarter. Miriam Ibezim would claw Oakland back into the game to keep them close, going on her own 5-0 run as she scored an and-one followed by a layup the very next possession to end Oakland's cold streak and pull the golden Grizzlies to within four (38-42) with 5:42 remaining in the quarter.

The game continued to sway back-and-forth, with Oakland turning up the offense with yet another 7-0 run as McCormick scored her tenth point on a scooping layup with 1:31 left in the quarter to cut the PFW lead to two at 47-49.

Ibezim scored nine of her game total nine points in the quarter. The biggest differentiator in the quarter were the turnovers. Oakland turned it over four times in the period, reaching a total of 15 in the game. The Mastodons seemed to adjust to the Golden Grizzlies' ball pressure, going the entire quarter without a turnover as they took a 47-51 lead headed into the final quarter.

With the game in the balance, both teams adjusted headed into the final quarter. Oakland drew back out of their press, deciding to trap and fly around in the half court, while PFW went back to their first quarter strategy by scoring almost exclusively in the paint.

McCormick started the fourth quarter off by continuing her good offensive night, scoring Oakland's first five points of the quarter. On the other side, PFW's offense started moving the ball faster than Oakland could recover as a triple from Audrey Emerson pushed the Mastodons' lead to double-digits for the first time all game as they led 64-52 with 5:33 remaining as they outscored the Golden Grizzlies 18-to-5 in the first six minutes of the quarter.

Putting the full-court pressure back on, the Golden Grizzlies fought until the very end. PFW's early run served to be too much as they came away with a 59-79 victory, sweeping Oakland in their two regular season matchups.

The Golden Grizzlies finished the game with three players in double-figures, led by McCormick's 17 points (3-of-6 3FG), season-high four steals, and three assists. Quarles-Daniels pitched in with 13 points (5-of-10 FG), five steals, and nine rebounds. Ibezim finished with 10 points (6-of-11 FT), two blocks, and eight rebounds.

PFW's Bromenschenkel led all scores with 19 points (9-of-13 FG) as Shayla Sellers also finished with 16 points (6-of-10 FG) for the Mastodons.

Oakland drops to 2-4 in league play this season, but turn their focus to a big rivalry matchup against Detroit Mercy as they play game number two of the Metro Series this Saturday, Jan. 13 at the OU Credit Union O'rena.

"Detroit is playing really  good basketball. Our team is ready to be back on the blacktop with our fans and our band. It will be a fantastic atmosphere and there's not a better game to come home to than a rival game against Detroit," said Richard. "However, Detroit is playing really good basketball.  We will need to be locked in on the task at hand and play our game this second time around".

FOLLOW OAKLAND

Stay up to date on everything Oakland basketball via social media platforms Instagram and Twitter @Oaklandwbb.