MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Oakland walks away from their Wisconsin road trip with a victory, getting a big late-season win against Milwaukee.

The Golden Grizzlies appeared to shake off last game's rough shooting, starting out on fire against Milwaukee, hitting five of their first seven shots to start the game. As Oakland trailed 11-12 halfway through the opening quarter, they seemed to be locked in on both sides of the ball.

Noticing a recipe for success in their last matchup where they forced the Panthers into 21 turnovers, Oakland came out in a high-pressure full court defense, picking up ball-handlers from 94 feet and making them uncomfortable.

Alexis Johnson sparked the big offensive start for the Golden Grizzlies. She reached nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting, knocking in a contested midrange bucket to tie the game at 15 with 2:18 left in the quarter.

Brooke Quarles-Daniels found Madison Royal-Davis for a cutting layup with 21 seconds remaining in the quarter, capping off Oakland's 8-of-16 (.500) shooting frame as the teams ended the first ten minutes tied at 17 a-piece.

Despite six early turnovers, the Panthers caught fire from deep, going 3-of-5 (.600) in the quarter, keeping them afloat.

Opening up the second quarter the Golden Grizzlies kept up their pace, taking their first lead of the game at 19-17 as Quarles-Daniels spun to the rim for a bucket with 8:45 left in the second quarter.

Milwaukee responded with an 8-0 run behind five points from Kendall Nead during the run as she knocked down a triple to put the Panthers up 25-19 with 6:17 left. Markyia McCormick ended the run with her first triple of the game, bringing Oakland back within three (22-25).

After another Nead triple, bringing her point total to 14 (4-of-4 3FG) in just 13 minutes, Quarles-Daniels scored on back-to-back possessions, pulling Oakland an inch closer and trailing just 26-28 with 3:41 left to play in the first half.

In a fast-paced, high-scoring first half Oakland outscored Milwaukee 11-6 in the final 4:30 of the half, shooting .450 (15-of-33) for the half, as they trailed 33-35 going into halftime.

The Golden Grizzlies halted a lot of scoring opportunities by the Panthers. The only thorn in their side was Nead, who scored 11 of Milwaukee's 18 second-quarter points as she reached 16 points.

Alexis Johnson shined bright in the half for Oakland, scoring 14 points with no misses, going a perfect 6-of-6.

Oakland's defense in the first 20 minutes was locked-in, scoring 17 points off of 11 Milwaukee turnovers, grabbing eight steals in the opening half. Even with the turnover problems, the Panthers shot over .500 from the field. 

After a McCormick three was taken away due to a foul away from the ball early in the third quarter, Milwaukee initiated a 7-2 stint to start the second half, taking a 36-42 lead with 5:44 left in the third.

Quarles-Daniels halted the run, putting in her fourth field goal of the game as the Golden Grizzlies stayed within striking distance, trailing 38-42 with 4:49 left in the third frame. The sophomore guard helped spark an 8-2 run by Oakland, where she would cap the run off with a pair of free throws to tie the game at 44 with 1:51 left in the quarter.

After a Jada Donaldson triple put Milwaukee ahead 49-46 with 0:36 left in the third quarter, Maddy Skorupski hit a three right back with just 0:03 left, scoring her first points of the game and knotting the game up at 49 with just one quarter left to go.

Quarles-Daniels took over in the third quarter, scoring nine of her 15 points, five from the free throw stripe (5-of-7). Her physicality and attacking mindset set the tone for a Golden Grizzlies team who refused to go quietly.

Oakland started 0-of-5 from the field to start the fourth quarter as the game moved at a slower pace, but the cold streak wasn't long as Skorupski threw an incredible high-speed dish to Quarles-Daniels for the and-one finish, retaking the lead at 52-51 with 7:04 left to play.

Johnson continued her hot night, giving Oakland their biggest lead of the game as a jumper put Oakland up 59-56 with 3:09 left to play. The Golden Grizzlies took advantage of a three minute long scoring drought by the Panthers.

With all the momentum, Oakland continued to go ahead. Linda Van Schaik grabbed a huge rebound off of a missed Kennedie Montue free throw, and then relocated for a top-of-the-arc triple to cap off an 8-0 Oakland run, expanding the lead with a score of 63-56.

The Golden Grizzlies held onto the lead down the stretch, securing a big late-season win 66-58 in Milwaukee.

The Golden Grizzlies were physical all game, outscoring Milwaukee 32 to 26 in the paint, while shooting 16 more free throws (23 to 7 FTA) as a result of their assertive play.

The physicality was set on both sides of the ball as Oakland forced 25 Milwaukee turnovers, the fourth most by any Oakland opponent this season. The Golden Grizzlies capitalized on the turnovers as well, scoring 30 points off the takeaways.

"Our plan didn't change much from the first time we played them. We wanted to see if we could make Milwaukee turn the ball over and we succeeded. The difference was this time we scored much more off of their turnovers," said Richerd. "Coach Davis put a great plan together and our girls executed it. We were excited and our energy was high. We came together and played well. We are excited to come home and play two games at home and make it possibly three for the league tournament... that was our message before the game".

Quarles-Daniels' exceptional second half sparked her team-high 19 points (7-of-12 FT) to go along with eight rebounds and six assists. Johnson ended the game with 18 points (8-of-13) and three rebounds.

Madison Royal-Davis also stepped up for some huge minutes down the stretch. She finished with five points, six rebounds, and three blocks.

With the win, Oakland  is now 7-11 in conference play and steps into a tie with Northern Kentucky after NKU's loss to Youngstown State.



The Golden Grizzlies return to the OU Credit Union O'rena to play their final two games of the regular season at home, starting with a matchup against Wright State on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m.

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