Core returnees will be key for the Golden Grizzlies to make the leap in the standings this season
After coming off a 13-17 season in 2022-23, head coach Jeff Tungate is looking to get his team over the hump in his 11th season at the helm for the Golden Grizzlies. With a career record of 130-165 and an 8-12 record in the Horizon League last season, Tungate will look to take a leap forward this upcoming season and lead the Oakland Golden Grizzlies back to the promise land.
“Just building on what my principles have always been.” That was Brooke Quarles-Daniels on her mindset for her upcoming season with the Golden Grizzlies. WXOU Sports Media Director, Giovanni Moreci also asked Kennedie Montue on what it is like being a leader for Oakland this year. “I’m the veteran, I have to help people, guide people and I’m just here to be the leader I need to be.” The 2023-24 season promises to be an exciting one for Oakland’s women’s basketball team and let’s take a look at who will be taking the court for the Golden Grizzlies this year.
Lineup
#0 | Naveyah Damon – A freshman from Miami, Florida, Damon attended Miami Country Day High School where she was named MVP and led her team to a state championship. She is working to become a physician’s assistant in the future and will look to prove herself as a building block for this Golden Grizzlies team moving forward.
#1 | Jasmine Dupree-Herbert – A freshman from Dayton, Minnesota, Dupree-Herbert will look to make her mark for the Golden Grizzlies this season. In high school she racked up an impressive number of awards including three all-conference team appearances, two academic mentions, two honorable mentions and two Minnesota state championships. She has a love for fashion and is determined to pursue both her passion for fashion and basketball.
#2 | Maddy Skorupski – A transfer from Michigan State University, Skorpski is looking to continue to grow as a sophomore this year. She is from Clarkston, Michigan and attended Clarkston high school where she earned all-conference, all-state and all-area first-team honors as a senior in high school. Skorupski is looking to make her impact on the Golden Grizzlies this season and is a welcomed addition to the team.
#3 | Linda van Schaik – A senior from Oud-Beijerland, Netherlands, van Schaik is looking to reach new heights in her senior year for the Golden Grizzlies. She appeared in all 30 games and averaged 8.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 22.3 minutes per game last season for Oakland and led the Golden Grizzlies with 42 three-pointers last year, while also having the fifth best three-point percentage on the roster.
#5 | Brooke Quarles-Daniels – A sophomore from Macomb, Michigan, Quarles-Daniels is looking to build off her incredible 2022-23 season for the Oakland Golden Grizzlies. As a freshman, she was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year (first in Oakland history), Second Team All-Horizon League honoree, recognized as Oakland’s Women’s Newcomer of the Year during the Golden Grizzlies’ Black and Gold Awards on April 17 and she played for the Michigan Crossover in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. In her freshman year, Quarles-Daniels averaged 12.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists.
#10 | Markyia McCormick – A graduate student from Pickerington, Ohio, McCromick spent her first two seasons playing with the Detroit Mercy Titans from 2019-21. In her career with Detroit Mercy, she played in 44 games and averaged 7.8 points per game, 1.9 rebounds per game and 1.5 assists per game in 22.8 minutes per game. McCormick then transferred to the University of Charleston, where she put up impressive numbers including 14.7 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game and 2.1 assists per game in 53 games.
#12 | Kianni Westbrook – A graduate student from Augusta, Georgia, Westbrook has spent the last two seasons playing for Tennessee State where she appeared in a total of 57 career games. In her time at Tennessee State, Westbrook averaged 4.8 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game across two seasons. She played her high school basketball at Burke County High School and has aspirations of being a teacher one day.
#13 | Eva Pardo-Campillo – A sophomore all the way from Asturias, Spain, Pardo-Campillo hit a 3-pointer in her collegiate debut against the Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin Center on November 15 last season. She was also a Galacia Champion in 2022 where she averaged 14 points and eights rebounds, and was a Galacia Champion in 2020 as well, where she put up 9.8 points and five rebounds a game.
#21 | Madison Royal-Davis– Entering her first season with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, Royal-Davis played the first two seasons of her college career for the Butler Bulldogs. In her high school career, she averaged 28 points and nine rebounds as a junior in 2019-20 and then 25.7 points, eight rebounds, 7.5 assists and six steals as a senior for Toledo Christian. She played 10 career games at Butler, where she totaled two points, a rebound, three steals and a block in 19 minutes. As a junior, Royal-Daviswill look to show her defensive intangibles and basketball IQ on the court this season for Oakland.
#23 | Alexis Johnson – A senior from Farmington Hills, Michigan, Johnson is looking to build off of what was an incredible 2022-23 season for her. As a junior, she averaged 11 points per game, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game while starting 25 of the Golden Grizzlies 30 games. From 2019-2022, Johnson played for the Marshall Thundering Herd, where she played 59 career games averaging 4.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 12.7 minutes per game.
#25 | Kennedie Montue – A junior looking to take on more of a veteran role for the Golden Grizzlies in 2023-24, Montue is poised for a big season for Oakland this year. As a sophomore, she averaged 7.7 points per game and had 11 double-doubles as a sophomore. Going back to her high school career, Montue averaged 23.3 points per game as a senior and earned many awards and accolades in her high school career. She is majoring in Criminology and is looking to play a big role for the Golden Grizzlies this upcoming season.
#33 | Miriam Ibezim – One of seven Golden Grizzlies to play in all 30 games last season, Ibezim, a junior will look to continue to take on an expanded role with Oakland this season. All the way from Rochester, New York, she averaged 3.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.5 blocked shots in 15.6 minutes in her sophomore season for the Golden Grizzlies. The growth Ibezim saw from her freshman to sophomore year was incredible, as she appeared in only five games as freshmen, but then started in 29 games as a sophomore.
#40 | Lianna Baxter – A sophomore from Marinette, Wisconsin, Baster is looking to build off her freshman season for the Golden Grizzlies this year. In 22 games last season, she totaled 23 points, 21 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots in 127 minutes. In high school, Bazter put up some incredible numbers, including 19.8 points per game, 11.3 rebounds per game as a senior in 2021-22. She will look to lock down the paint this year as a center for Oakland and continue to grow throughout the season.
#45 | Cam Grant – A sophomore from Washington, Michigan, Grant played her high school ball at Macomb Dakota. The 6-1 forward averaged 15.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and 4.3 blocks as a senior in 2019-20, helping the Cougars to a district title. As a freshman for Oakland, she averaged three points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game playing in Oakland’s 28 of 30 games. Grant will be looking to increase her production as a sophomore in 2023-24 and play a key role for this Golden Grizzlies team moving forward.
Key Matchups
November 8th vs. Michigan State University at 7 PM
November 14th vs. University of Michigan at 7 PM
December 9th vs. Central Michigan University at 2 PM
HoriZone Roundtable Prediction
9th Place
Miss anything from Preview Week? Check it all out below:
Predictions
Men: Preseason Poll | All-League
Women: Preseason Poll | All-League
Podcasts
Preview Week Recap Part 1 | Preview Week Recap Part 2
Men
IUPUI | Green Bay | Cleveland State | Milwaukee | Robert Morris | Detroit Mercy
Youngstown State | Wright State | Oakland | Northern Kentucky | Purdue Fort Wayne
Women
Green Bay | Cleveland State | Milwaukee | Robert Morris | Youngstown State
Wright State | Oakland | Northern Kentucky | Purdue Fort Wayne
