CLEVELAND, Oh. - The Golden Grizzlies concluded their season with a tough, hard-fought, gut wrenching loss to Cleveland State in the first round of the Horizon League Championship, falling  81-80in a game for the ages.

The game featured 14 ties and nine lead changes, with Oakland outscoring CSU 42-40 in the paint. Despite forcing 18 turnovers and scoring 26 points off those, Oakland could not secure the win in the final seconds. In an impressive offensive display, Oakland recorded a season-high of 31 field goals made and achieved a season-high 19 assists in the game.

Oakland started strong in the first quarter, capitalizing on the Vikings' turnovers to build an early lead. Layla Gold opened the scoring with a layup, assisted by Filippa Goula, setting the tone for a quarter where Oakland's defense forced nine turnovers and converted them into points. Key contributions came from Makenzie Luehring, who drained a three-pointer and completed a three-point play following a fast break.

Oakland outscored CSU 14-0 from turnovers and maintained control throughout, closing the quarter with a 19-8 lead.

Oakland began the second quarter with a strong defensive presence, holding the Vikings to limited scoring opportunities early on. Gold contributed a crucial block at 8:18, and Lianna Baxter's layup at 8:49 helped maintain the momentum. Despite CSU's attempts to close the gap, Oakland responded with a 3-pointer from Luehring at 4:27, keeping a steady lead.

The quarter continued with Oakland managing to fend off CSU's advances, thanks to key defensive rebounds and timely free throws by Karinna Trotter at 3:38. The Vikings managed to narrow the gap towards the end, but Oakland maintained composure, closing the quarter with a 31-29 lead.

Oakland began the third quarter with a strong offensive push, including a key jumper by Goula at 9:12 that edged them ahead. Sereniti Roberts-Adams contributed significantly with a layup at 6:20, maintaining the close score. Despite the Vikings' efforts to counter, Oakland's defensive stops and Luehring's late 3-pointer at the buzzer narrowed the deficit. The quarter ended with CSU leading 53-51.

Oakland began the fourth quarter by leveling the score through a 3-pointer from Luehring at 8:48. The team maintained momentum with a series of successful offensive rebounds, allowing Oakland to keep pace with CSU. With effective ball movement, Luehring continued to contribute, tying the game multiple times. Luehring's standout performance was underscored by a career-high 39 points, showcasing her offensive prowess throughout the match.

As the quarter progressed, Roberts-Adams added critical points in the paint, and Gold's jumper at 1:15 gave Oakland a narrow lead. The team executed well from the free-throw line, with Baxter hitting a crucial free throw to extend the lead to three points. Despite a late push from CSU, Oakland managed to hold the score level at the buzzer, ending the quarter with a 21-19 advantage, and sending the game to overtime in a 72-72 tie.

Oakland took control early in overtime with a series of layups by Gold and Luehring, cutting the Vikings' lead to one. A defensive steal by Jazzy Dupree-Hebert set up another layup by Gold, putting Oakland ahead 80-79 with under a minute remaining.

With the game coming down to a final possession, Oakland thwarted a go-ahead attempt by CSU, but with 0.5 seconds on the clock a shooting foul was called on the Golden Grizzlies, sending Macey Fegan to the line where she would go 2-for-2 and close out a controversial 81-80 win for the Vikings.

Luehring led all scorers with a historic 39 points (14-for-30 FG), along with five rebounds and four assists. Gold added 14 points and five rebounds, while Roberts-Adams had a strong game with 10 points and seven rebounds.