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UNLEASH THE GRIZZ

Oakland University Athletics

Scoreboard

wbb vs udm
55
Detroit Mercy UDM 11-7,4-3 Horizon
89
Winner Oakland Oak 7-8,3-4 Horizon
Detroit Mercy UDM
11-7,4-3 Horizon
55
Final
89
Oakland Oak
7-8,3-4 Horizon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Detroit Mercy UDM 15 9 14 17 55
Oakland Oak 26 16 26 21 89

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Jordan Nelson

Golden Grizzlies Rout Detroit Mercy, Extending Metro Series Home Win Streak to Six Games

Rochester, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies extend their Metro Series home-winning streak to six in amazing fashion as they dominated Detroit Mercy.

Out for revenge in this Metro Series matchup, Oakland came out on fire against the Titans. The Golden Grizzlies began the game on a 9-2 run, powered by an Alexis Johnson triple right off the tip-off and a Brooke Quarles-Daniels and one on her patented stepback midrange jumper with 8:40 remaining in the quarter.

Oakland was not only hot offensively, starting 5-of-7 from the floor, but their defense was really disrupting the flow of the Detroit offense, manufacturing five steals, eight Titans turnovers, and even more bad possessions in the first few minutes where Detroit hoisted bad shots at the end of the shot clock due to Oakland's ball pressure. The frustration was visible on the court and on the bench for Detroit Mercy early as Oakland snuffed out their play calls and broke down possessions.

Oakland used their steals to score nine points off turnovers in the opening quarter. They also dominated the offensive boards as they usually do, grabbing eight offensive boards to Detroit's three.

Oakland rode their starters almost the entire first quarter as they jumped out with the lead. The bench subbed in after an and-one from Miriam Ibezim to put Oakland up 21-10 with 2:12 left in the quarter. The bench came in and fed off the starters' minutes to keep Oakland arms length away from the Titans.

Off yet another Detroit Mercy errand pass, Kennedie Montue threw a speeding pass to Cam Grant in the middle of the paint as Oakland took their largest lead of the game going up 26-15 at the end of the first quarter.

Oakland showed no signs of stopping in the second quarter. Montue scored seven straight points on three consecutive buckets to open the quarter. A jumpshot by Quarles-Daniels put Oakland up a game high 22-points (39-17) with 4:33 as Oakland capped off a 13-2 start to the second quarter.

The Golden Grizzlies kept up their season-high scoring pace, as a free throw from Ibezim sank Detroit Mercy, giving Oakland a 42-24 lead going into halftime.

Oakland continued their hot shooting in the second quarter, going 7-of-13 (.538) on their shots. Montue would score seven of her nine points in the quarter, while Ibezim ended the half with nine points and eight rebounds. Van Schaik led the way for all scorers as she tallied 10 points (4-of-7) in the opening half.

Oakland held Detroit Mercy to just 4-of-14 (.286) from the field in the second quarter. While Oakland finished the half with eight steals, their disruptiveness often didn't show up on the stat sheet. Throughout the entire quarter they forced the Titans into quick, low quality shots that ended up in points in transition for the Golden Grizzlies. 

Looking to extend the lead and put Detroit Mercy away early, The Golden Grizzlies kept the momentum in their favor, going on a 10-0 run early in the second quarter as Johnson hit her second three-pointer of the game with 6:27 remaining in the third quarter to keep Oakland up by 21 (52-26) with 6:27 remaining in the quarter.

The dominance of the Golden Grizzlies remained imminent. A play where a steal on a loose ball led to a leak out in transition by Van Schaik where she threw a wrap-around assist to McCormick summed up their performance, taking a dominating 61-33 lead with 3:46 left in the quarter.

Montue would add onto her impressive night with a pair of big triples in the final minute and a half of the quarter, including a last second shot from deep to balloon the Oakland lead to thirty points as they took a 68-38 lead going into the final quarter.

With their fate all but sealed, the Titans had their best scoring quarter of the night in the final frame with 17 points, but the Golden Grizzlies were still able to outscore them by marking 21 points in the final quarter to win their sixth consecutive home game against Detroit Mercy with a 89-55 victory.

Oakland shot .484 FG% in the rout over their rivals, their second highest percentage of the season. The Titans were never truly able to get a grip on the Oakland defense, turning the ball over 21 times as Oakland scored 25 points off those turnovers.

The stars of the night for Oakland were Montue and Ibezim. Ibezim finished with a career-high 14 points (4-of-6 FG) and 11 rebounds, pulling down double digit boards for the second time this season. Her rebounding has immensely improved the Golden Grizzlies' presence in the paint.

"Her intensity and her rebounding is tenacious. I can't speak enough about how proud I am of her and how far she's come," said Acting Oakland Head Coach Deanna Richard post-win.

Montue finished with a team-high 20 points (6-of-10 FG) while knocking down a season-high four triples (4-of-7 3FG). Montue has shown to be Oakland's best source of instant offense and can score in bunches.

"She is playing with more maturity than I've seen her play with in a long time. She started off the year slow, but she's on fire now," said Richard. "I told her it's not how you start, it's how you finish it and she's coming along great".

As a part of Oakland's five players who scored in double-digits, Van Schaik finished with 12 points (5-of-10 FG) after a potent first quarter, Quarles-Daniels used a big-time second quarter to finish with 11 points (5-of-10 FG) and four steals, recording multiple steals in ten games this season. Johnson finished with a strong 10 points (4-of-6 FG), and Cam Grant also had her highest scoring output of the season, tallying eight points (3-of-6 FG) and five rebounds.

After blowing out a top team in the Horizon League, the Golden Grizzlies are confident that this is just the start of their story this season.

"This is a level we always knew we could get to. Everything clicked. We came together players one through 14. We set the tone from the get-go and the chips all fell into place," said Richard about her team's potential.

Detroit Mercy has now lost three of their last four games, and is scrambling to keep up their hot start to the season.

Oakland looks to keep the positivity flowing as they next host Milwaukee on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.



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