ROCHESTER, Mich. - In a battle between two undefeated teams in the Horizon League standings, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies came out on top against the Cleveland State Vikings for the first time since the 2016-17 season with a final score of 71-68 from the OU Credit Union O'Rena.

Maddy Skorupski and Macy Smith were nearly unstoppable all night for the Golden Grizzlies, with Skorupski scoring a team-high 25 points and Smith right behind her with 22 points and a team-leading six assists. 

For the Vikings, Sara Guerreiro led the team in points and rebounds with 18 points and seven rebounds. Mickayla Perdue was another Viking who turned things up for the team, scoring 15 points and dishing out five assists.

Around two minutes into the first quarter, Smith got on the board first for the Golden Grizzlies by splashing a midrange jumper near the charity stripe. Grim followed Smith up a few possessions later with another midrange jumper just outside the paint.

The Golden Grizzlies struggled to find open looks against a tough Cleveland State defense throughout the rest of the first, while the Vikings found success scoring inside the paint and in transition. By the end of the quarter, the Vikings led the Golden Grizzlies 15-10.

Despite the first-quarter deficit, Oakland let the Vikings know they weren't going anywhere to start the second. 'Jazzy' Dupree-Hebert knocked down a long-range three before Smith cashed in on another jumper on the next possession, tying the game at 15-15.

The rest of the second was a tight-knit battle, with multiple lead changes in the quarter's final minutes. With just under a minute to go, Macey Fegan converted a contested layup at the rim, giving Cleveland State a 31-29 lead heading into halftime.

At the break, Oakland had a slight edge in the rebounding battle, outrebounding the Vikings 18-15. However, Cleveland State bested the Golden Grizzlies in field goal percentage, shooting at a .444 clip (12-for-27), while Oakland shot at a .387 rate (12-for-31). The Golden Grizzlies held a slight advantage from beyond the arc, converting .286 of its threes (4-for-14) compared to the Vikings, who shot .167 (2-for-12) from deep.

In the third quarter, neither the Golden Grizzlies nor the Vikings could build a comfortable lead. Cleveland State was able to jump ahead to a seven-point lead midway through the quarter, but Lianna Baxter answered at the line with two free throws for Oakland.

Toward the end of the quarter, Skorupski and Smith started to catch fire as they closed in on the Cleveland State lead. In the final three minutes of the quarter, every single Oakland point came from Skorupski or Smith, as the Golden Grizzlies finished the quarter down by just a point.

With a close ball game heading into the final quarter, the Golden Grizzlies and the Vikings traded the lead through the quarter's first five minutes. The largest lead in that span was a three-point lead for the Vikings.

The game hung in the balance towards the end of the quarter, with Oakland up 71-68, thanks to a pair of free throws from Kylie Buckley with seven seconds left. On Cleveland State's final possession, Perdue missed a game-tying three at the buzzer, giving the Golden Grizzlies the win.

At the end of the game, the Vikings won the rebound battle 29-26, but the Golden Grizzlies outshot the Vikings from the field, converting at a .500 (27-for-54) mark while knocking down .456 (9-for-25) of their three-point attempts.

With the win, Oakland goes 4-0 in conference play for the first time since joining the Horizon League in 2013.

Next, the Golden Grizzlies will host the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on Sunday, Jan. 5, as the team searches for their fifth conference win on the season. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. ET, and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.