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UNLEASH THE GRIZZ

Oakland University Athletics

Scoreboard

WBB vs YSU
64
Winner Oakland Oak 6-7,2-3 Horizon
58
Robert Morris RM 6-9,2-4 Horizon
Winner
Oakland Oak
6-7,2-3 Horizon
64
Final
58
Robert Morris RM
6-9,2-4 Horizon
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Oakland Oak 14 16 21 13 64
Robert Morris RM 17 11 16 14 58

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Jordan Nelson

Sharpshooting Third Quarter Lifts Oakland over RMU

Moon Township, Penn. - Looking to rise up the conference rankings, Oakland headed east to take on Robert Morris in another Horizon League clash.

Things looked different for Oakland to start, inserting Maddy Skorupski and Cam Grant in the Sunday matinee game.

The offensive woes looked to spill over from their previous game, with the Golden Grizzlies opening the game shooting just 1-5 FG. After Brooke Quarles-Daniels made the first bucket of the game with a quick spin move in the lane, Robert Morris sprung out on a 10-0 run as Danielle Vuletich hit a floater with 7:11 left in the first quarter. The Colonials found early success working the middle of the paint and scoring down low.

Down double-digits early, Oakland's offense appeared to heat up with an 10-1 run on the back of Miriam Ibezim. Ibezim scored five of her seven first-quarter points during the run, including back-to-back buckets and an and-one with 3:52 left on the clock to cut the RMU lead to one (11-12).

Oakland was able to shake off their cold start with solid play on both sides of the ball, climbing back within striking distance to trail just 14-17 at the end of the first quarter.

Oakland opened up the second quarter looking like a team playing to their full potential. Offensively the Golden Grizzlies went on an immediate 7-0 run, taking a 21-17 lead after a Kennedie Montue layup with 7:32 left in the quarter.

Oakland improved their shooting by 8% in the second quarter, shooting .438 FG% (7-16) to take a 30-28 lead going into halftime.

Oakland's ability to full-court press and speed up RMU granted them a huge advantage, turning over the Colonials seven times in the second frame, 10 times total in the half. Oakland finished the half with advantages in fastbreak points (7-to-2) and points off turnovers (13-to-11) as well. 

Not only was Oakland's press stifling the Colonials offense, but their half court defense was phenomenal as well. Oakland caused several tie ups and loose balls, trapping RMU and forcing bad passes and decisions with the ball.

Kennedie Montue had one of her best halves of the season, scoring seven points (3-6 FG) in the first 20 minutes, all coming in the second quarter. She led the charge of Oakland's second unit, which doubled RMU's bench scoring (16-to-8). Ibezim (3-5 FT) also notched seven points in the first half after a stellar first quarter.

The Golden Grizzlies also continued their recent tear on the glass, grabbing 17 rebounds to RMU's 12 in the first half. Ibezim led the way with five rebounds in the half.

With the third quarter on hand, Oakland began to get more and more comfortable on offense, flowing thorough sets and creating high-quality looks for anyone looking to score.

Montue continued her hot-streak, scoring six straight Oakland points as she slid traffic for a tough layup with 5:39 left in the third quarter to give Oakland a 37-33 lead. Alexis Johnson and Skorupski also had scoring streaks of their own for the Golden Grizzlies in the quarter. Both had stints of five straight points as the entire Oakland offense had the hot hand, going 8-12 FG (.667 FG%). Johnson's five straight came with 3:43 left in the quarter as she drained a three to put Oakland up 44-39, while Skorupski took a steal for a layup for her fifth straight point with 1:06 left in the frame to put Oakland up 49-43.

Linda Van Schaik scored her first bucket with just two seconds left in the quarter, using a eurostep to get to the basket and give Oakland their biggest lead of the game and a 51-44 lead headed into the final quarter of play.

Looking to put the game away, Oakland put their foot on the gas and continued to push the pace of the game. Drawing fouls and getting to the rim, the Golden Grizzlies got into the bonus just four minutes into the final quarter, including forcing RMU's leading scorer and rebounder, Vuletich, to commit her fifth and final foul with 4:56 left in the game.

Oakland went 7-15 from the charity stripe in the final quarter, 13-26 (.500 FT%) throughout the whole game. While plenty of points were left at the line, the Golden Grizzlies drained enough to create separation.

With the clock winding down inside the final minute and the score 63-58 in favor of the Golden Grizzlies, RMU moved the ball around looking for a three to pull them closer. With 11 seconds left Colonials' Allana Louella put up a corner three, but Quarles-Daniels leaped over to block the triple, securing an eventual 64-58 victory for Oakland.

Leading the way for Oakland was Montue, who finished with a game-high 14 points (5-9 FG) along with a pair of steals and three assists. The Pittsburgh native had an impressive game in her return to her home state, giving Oakland timely offense whenever they needed it. 

Skorupski finished with a very efficient 11 points (5-6 FG) missing just once from the field, as well as three steals. McCormick notched double-digit points as well with 10 (3-9 FG) while tying her season-high with four dimes and pulling down three rebounds. Ibezim tied a season-high in points with nine as she did her usual work on the glass snagging eight rebounds.

"It was a fantastic team win! We had so many contributors today. Kennedie Montue being one of the big ones. She shot the ball really well, attacked when we needed and knocked down the 3 when we needed," said Oakland Acting Head Coach Deanna Richard after the game. " Our rebounding was phenomenal with Brooke and Miriam leading the way. Miriam really set the tone early with crashing hard. We got key buckets at key moments from several guards, Maddy (Skorupski), Lex (Johnson), and Marky (McCormick), to mention a few. Our energy prior to the game was contagious and continued throughout the entire game for all of our players on the court and on the bench".

This game embodied the true capabilities of this Oakland team, standing out on both sides of the ball in a gritty, grind-it-out game that will surely be seen more this season.

Oakland secures road win and conference win number two of the season. They now turn their focus to a rematch with Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 10 for their final road game of a three-game stretch.

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