ROCHESTER, Mich. - The Golden Grizzlies finally laced up on their home court once again as they looked to even the season score against Youngstown State.

Youngstown State came out against the Golden Grizzlies with a clear plan to attack the paint, as Oakland fell behind 8-2 early due to four quick points by Penguins bug Emily Saunders.

Battling back and forth in the early going, Oakland's offense responded to YSU's early stint, shooting 5-of-8 (.625) from the field and 2-of-3 (.667) from three-point range, both courtesy of Alexis Johnson, as they trailed 17-12 with 4:24 left in the quarter.

Oakland opened the game in their usual full court pressure look, preparing to hopefully create a similar amount of YSU turnovers as in their matchup just over a month ago where the Penguins flipped the ball 24 times.

In a tight offensive battle thus far, Oakland shot .500 (7-of-14) in the opening quarter. The Penguins shot a high percentage of their own, going .529 (9-of-17) as Oakland trailed 19-24 at the end of the first ten minutes.

Johnson exploded into the scoring column, going a perfect 3-of-3 from the floor, all from deep, to score a team-high nine points in the opening quarter, sparking the fiery shooting period from the Golden Grizzlies.

Oakland would have to get back on defense in transition for the remainder of the game. Despite being tied in the turnover column, the Penguins gained a 7 to 2 advantage in points off turnovers in the first quarter.

The Golden Grizzlies continued their efficient night from the floor in the second quarter, denting the YSU lead with an 8-2 run after forcing several 90-feet turnovers, creating easy transition buckets. Quarles-Daniels benefited from these steals, ending the run with back-to-back layups as Oakland trailed 29-31 with 6:34 left in the first half.

After a somewhat slow start to the quarter, the Penguins extended their lead to a game-high 10 points as a layup by Shay-Lee Kirby put YSU up 31-41 with 2:10 remaining in the half.

Oakland scored five of the final six points of the half, trailing 36-42 at halftime.
Despite trailing, Oakland had one of their better offensive halves of the season, shooting .433 (13-of-30) from the floor. Johnson finished the half with a team-high 12 points (4-of-6 3FG). Quarles-Daniels and Maddy Skorupski both poured in six points in the half as well. 

Kirby led the way for all scorers, notching 13 first-half points as she carried a large share of the scoring for YSU.

With the rebound having just a two-rebound difference, Oakland with 15 and YSU with 17, the battle down low left the Golden Grizzlies trailing in points in the paint 28 to 16. On the flip side, Oakland led the battle from beyond the arc, knocking down four triples (4-of-10) to YSU's three (3-of-9). 

A large part of the Oakland resurgence in the half was due to stints of staunch defense, swarming and forcing turnovers as a result of the full court press. Linda Van Schaik came through with several key drawn charges, and it would need to be Oakland's defense that would have to adjust in the final 20 minutes, needing to limit YSU's points on cuts behind the Golden Grizzly defense.

McCormick came out of the half determined to lead the Golden Grizzlies charge, scoring six of Oakland's first seven points of the half, countering YSU's 10 early points. Van Schaik knocked down a tough floater in the lane, following McCormick's scoring tear, as Oakland trailed 45-52 with 4:44 left in the third quarter.

The Golden Grizzlies continued to swing the momentum in their favor as Skorupski nailed a triple of a well-executed baseline out of bounds play, and Quarles-Daniels leaked out in transition the very next play for an easy layup, as Oakland capped of a 13-2 run and knotted the game up at 54 with 1:44 left in the third quarter.

After a YSU score, Skorupski drilled her second triple of the quarter, setting up in the corner as she gave Oakland their first lead of the game at 57-56 with 1:07 left in the third. The Penguins responded with back-to-back buckets, ending the quarter leading 57-60 with a tight fourth quarter on the horizon.

YSU started the final quarter with their starting center, Saunders, picking up her fourth foul just a minute in, poising Oakland to take advantage down low.

Despite the loss of Saunders for the majority of the quarter, the Penguins went on a 10-0 run as a three from Kirby pushed YSU's lead to 11 (70-59) with 6:54 left in the game. Quarles-Daniels ended the run with an and-one, scoring her 12th points of the game to bring the game back to 61-70 with 6:40 remaining.

McCormick continued to will Oakland back into the game, scoring 11 straight points in the quarter, knocking down a pair of big free throws as Oakland trailed just 72-77 with 1:43 left.

Quarles-Daniels knocked down a pair of free throws with 0:29 remaining, shrinking the deficit to five with a score of 74-79. With a chance to cut the deficit to one possession, a Quarles-Daniels layup twirled around the rim, eventually falling off and forcing Oakland to foul the Penguins.

YSU knocked down 7-of-10 free throws in the quarter, as the Golden Grizzlies fell 85-79 at home.

The Penguins hit four threes in the final quarter after making just six in the three quarters before.

"A lot of times our press is very good and strong, but we have to learn when to back off… Our defense needs to drive our offense moving forward. If we can figure that out, play a little bit smarter on the defensive end, and be more consistent on the offensive end and put it all together we're looking good;" said Acting Head Coach Deanna Richard after the game.

On what wasn't a bad offensive night, shooting .433 (26-of-60) from the field, the Golden Grizzlies finished with four players scoring in double-digits, the highest being McCormick who finished with 19 points (4-of-9), 13 of which came in the final quarter. Quarles-Daniels nearly finished with a triple-double (7-of-16), netting 16 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. Johnson netted 15 points (5-of-9) and four rebounds, while Skorupski ended with 12 points (4-of-7) and a pair of steals.



Oakland has a quick turnaround before returning to the blacktop to take on Robert Morris on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 2 p.m.

FOLLOW OAKLAND

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