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UNLEASH THE GRIZZ

Oakland University Athletics

Scoreboard

Maddy Skorupski @ UDM
59
Oakland Oak 6-10,4-3 Horizon
67
Winner Detroit Mercy UDM 11-4,5-2 Horizon
Oakland Oak
6-10,4-3 Horizon
59
Final
67
Detroit Mercy UDM
11-4,5-2 Horizon
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Oakland Oak 14 11 10 24 59
Detroit Mercy UDM 13 18 15 21 67

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Jordan Nelson

Baxter Earns Double-Double, Golden Grizzlies Fall to Titans to Start Road Trip

DETROIT, Mich. - In a game that embodied the spirit of the Metro Series rivalry, the Golden Grizzlies fell 67-59 in a physical, gritty game to Detroit Mercy at Calihan Hall.

Maddy Skorupski finished with a team-high 17 points, 12 coming in the fourth quarter. Lianna Baxter finished with her first double-double of the season with 10 points (4-of-6 FG) and 11 rebounds. Macy Smith was the final Oakland player to reach double-digit scoring, earning 10 points (4-of-10 FG) to go along with four assists.

For the Titans Emaia O'Brian led all scorers with 23 points (4-of-9 3FG), sling with four rebounds, three steals and five assists, while Aaliyah McQueen notched 21 points (8-of-20 FG) and 17 rebounds.

Smith started the scoring for Oakland, picking right back up where she left last game with a top of the key triple to give Oakland an early 3-2 lead.

Smith scored five of Oakland's first six points, sparking a 7-0 run as a Madison Royal-Davis layup extended the Golden Grizzly lead to 10-6.

Oakland would finish the quarter nailing five of their last seven shots, shooting .500 (6-of-12) for the entire quarter as they took a 14-13 lead after an expectedly scrappy first period.

The pace of the second quarter continued the high pace that was held in the first, as McQueen retook the lead for the Titans at 18-14 with five quick points to start the quarter.

The Titans continued to play with speed on both ends, holding Oakland to miss each of their first five shots while Detroit sparked a 10-0 run as a Myonna Hooper layup extended the Titan lead to 23-14.

After a timeout to halt the Detroit run, the golden Grizzlies swang with a punch of their own scoring eight unanswered points, capped off by Lianna Baxter and Maddy Rendall triples as Oakland trailed by just one at 22-23.

Detroit would get a few buckets back, taking a 31-25 lead into halftime.

In what was a first half full of runs and momentum swings, both squads fared relatively evenly offensively, as Oakland shot the ball at a .400 clip from the field (10-of-25 FG) and from beyond the arc (4-of-10 3FG), while Detroit shot .375 (12-of-32 FG) from the field and .385 (5-of-13 3FG) from deep.

Madison Royal-Davis and Maddy Rendall both led the way in scoring for the Golden Grizzlies after 20 minutes, notching six points each, while Royal-Davis added four rebounds to her first half tally. Baxter was also effective in the first half, amassing five points and five rebounds, along with being incredibly active on both ends of the court.

For the Titans, McQueen led the way with 14 first half points (6-of-13 FG), nine in the second quarter, and nine rebounds. O'Brian also added 13 points for the Titans, using three triples to get there.

After a bit of a scramble by Oakland to start the second half, committing four turnovers in the first few minutes, the Golden Grizzlies found their rhythm in the post as Macy Smith and Sereniti Roberts-Adams scored back-to-back buckets down low as Oakland trailed 31-35 halfway through the third quarter.

As the teams continued to jock back-and-forth in a physical quarter, Maddy Skorupski would earn her first field goal of the game with a floater as Oakland trailed 35-43 with two minutes left in the quarter.

Despite only one fewer field goal than the Titans in the quarter (5 to 6), Oakland trailed 35-46 at the end of the third quarter, leaving one frame left to rally in a tight rivalry matchup.

After a quiet first three quarters, Skorupski came out immediately looking to establish a rhythm on offense, converting a strong and-one on the first possession of the frame, followed by a pair of free throws the next time down as she ignited the comeback effort for Oakland.

She would score each of Oakland's first seven points to start the quarter as Oakland trailed 42-52.

Baxter would take a turn as the engine of the offense, scoring five straight points of her own as The Golden Grizzlies cut the deficit to single digits (47-55) with just under five minutes left to play.

Despite their highest scoring frame of the night, scoring 24 points while going 10-for-13 from the free throw line, Oakland was unable to complete the comeback, falling 67-59.

The Golden Grizzlies continue their three-game road trip, and look to snap their three-game losing skid, on Thursday, Jan. 16 as they head to Milwaukee.
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