ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies emerge victorious in another thriller as they take down the visiting Wright State Raiders.

The Golden Grizzlies asserted themselves early offensively, attacking the paint for high-quality looks. Oakland started the game 4-of-7 from the field as Markyia McCormick scored four of the team's first eight points to start the game.

Wright State's early offense mirrored Oakland's as they scored several times off of back door cuts and give and go's as the Raiders started the game 5-of-7 from the floor, going on an 8-0 run to take an early 12-8 lead with 4:48 remaining in the first quarter.

In a very even first quarter, Oakland outscored the Raiders 7-4 in the final three and a half minutes, closing the gap to trail by only two at the end of the opening ten minutes, 17-19.

Oakland's defense was disruptive, per usual, forcing seven Wright State turnovers and snatching five steals in the first quarter.

The second quarter started off with much of the same play as the first, with the teams trading buckets in the first six possessions.

Cam Grant came off the bench and put in work for Oakland, dominating the offensive boards and defensive interior. She grabbed several offensive rebounds in succession, leading to a bucket to cut the Wright State lead to two points (24-26) with 4:25 left in the first half. Grant racked up five points (2-of-5), four rebounds, and two blocks in eight minutes of play, with just over half of the second quarter gone by.

The Raiders continued to shoot efficiently, ending the first half 13-of-23 (.565) from the floor, keeping their lead at the end of the second quarter, leading 28-33 at halftime.

Despite the deficit, Oakland played a very good two quarters of basketball. Madison Royal-Davis came in and scored a team-high six points in the second quarter, getting points in transition off some of the 10 turnovers forced in the half. Grant and Brooke Quarles-Daniels both scored five points in the half. 

In the first two quarters Oakland stayed steady, scoring off turnovers and in transition. With a whole half left to come back, the Golden Grizzlies definitely looked to take their game plan to the next level and apply the same pressure that led them to a win in Milwaukee.

The Raiders started off the half on a 10-2 run, taking a quick double-digit lead as they took their largest lead of the game at 43-30 after a Rachel Loobie jumper with 7:24 left in the quarter.

McCormick stopped the run, knocking down a midrange jumper as Oakland trailed 32-43 with 6:55 left in the third.

The teams continued to trade buckets in the quarter, with Linda Van Schaik scoring six of her ten points in the third quarter as Oakland trailed 54-46 at the end of the period.

The Golden Grizzlies had their highest scoring quarter thus far, scoring 18 points on 7-of-14 (.500) shooting. The Raiders also had their best quarter, scoring 21 points on 7-of-11 (.636) shooting. The biggest differentiator between the sides was the offense beyond the arc as Wright State knocked down five triples (5-of-10) in the first three quarters while Oakland was still without a triple through the first three quarters.

Van Schaik quickly ended the three point drought in the final quarter, knocking down two consecutive from deep in the first minute of the quarter, bringing the deficit to just six points with the score 52-58 with 8:51 left in the game.

The Senior from the Netherlands continued her hot streak, spinning into a tough layup for her 20th points of the night, cutting the score to 60-65 with 3:41 left to play.

With the game tight down the stretch, Oakland took off on an 11-4 spurt, capped off by a Quarles-Daniels layup on an assist by Maddy Skorupski to pull Oakland within a single possession at 65-67 with 0:36 left to play.

With Wright State in possession and a chance to seal the game, Royal-Davis came up with a huge block, her third of the game, on Alexis Hutchinson. The block led to a Quarles-Daniels layup with 0:03 left to tie the game at 67. 

The Golden Grizzlies came up with another huge stop in the final seconds, sending an Oakland game into overtime for the second time this season.

Van Schaik continued her career-high night, draining a pair of free throws to start overtime, giving Oakland a 69-67 lead. Wright State responded with four straight points, retaking the lead at 71-69 after a pair of free throws with 3:40 left to play.

After two more Wright State free throws, Van Schaik continued to torch the Raiders as she  sliced to the bucket for points number 29 to re-tie the game at 73 with 2:08 remaining.

Van Schaik got to the line once again, knocking down two more free throws with 0:41 left to give Oakland a 75-73 lead. With both teams now in the bonus, Oakland committed a foul on Wright State, sending them to the line as they drained a pair of free throws with 0:31 left to tie the game back up at 75.
Oakland's defense came up with another huge stop on the Raiders, halting a scoring opportunity at the buzzer to send the game into a second overtime.

Van Schaik shouldered the offensive load in the overtime period, scoring all eight Oakland points as she added to her career-high scoring night, ending the first overtime with 31 points.

Quarles-Daniels moved her scoring total to 19 on the night, hitting a tough post fadeaway to give Oakland a 77-75 lead at the start of double overtime.

After a Skorupski steal and score the Golden Grizzlies went back up by three, taking a 79-76 lead with 2:26 left to play. 

After a relatively quiet last couple of quarters, Hutchinson evened the game at 79 with a triple with 1:13 left to play. McCormick took the lead right back for Oakland, and Quarles-Daniels added onto the lead with a layup as Oakland led 83-79 with just 0:24 left to play.

Lauren Scott drained a three for Wright State, closing the Oakland lead to just one point at 83-82 with 0:19 left.

After Skorupski drained another free throw, Oakland's defense stood up and delivered their third game-saving defensive possession, forcing a Wright State turnover and regaining the ball with three seconds left, eventually pulling out an 84-82 victory.

Van Schaik led all scorers with a career-high 31 points (11-of-22) to go with four assists and two steals. Quarles-Daniels scored 21 points (8-of-15) with six rebounds and three steals. Oakland had six players with two or more steals, including Kennedie Montue (2), Skorupski (3), McCormick (2), and Royal-Davis (2) who also ended with three blocks.

"I can't say enough about our ladies, they pulled through and persevered. Linda took over…her and Brooke did an amazing job. Defensively, Madison Royal-Davis stepped up big time for us tonight, guarding Hutchinson and getting blocks and steals. It was overall just a really great team win," said Acting Head Coach Deanna Richard after the win.

Oakland has a knack for coming out on top in close games, with several key clutch moments this season. 

Richard said, "It's kind of our trait… Kennedie said in the huddle, 'we win games like this'. I know that we are going to fight until the bitter end and that's refreshing. Tonight they pulled it out, stuck together and it was exciting".



Oakland turns around in just two days and plays their final regular season game of the year, looking to stretch their winning streak to three games as they host IUPUI on Saturday, Mar. 2 at 2 p.m.

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