The Oakland Golden Grizzlies women’s basketball team fell to the Wright State Raiders on Wednesday, marking Oakland’s first conference loss of the season as Wright State pulled ahead in the fourth quarter with a final score of 61-57.
Lianna Baxter had a solid showing for Oakland, scoring an efficient team-high 18 points while coming down with seven rebounds. Additionally, Layla Gold had some impressive moments, stuffing the stat sheet with seven points, seven rebounds, three blocks and a steal.
On the other side of the court, Claire Henson led the Raiders in scoring, notching a double-double in the process with 17 points and ten rebounds. Breezie Williams
Cali Denson, who made her introduction to the starting lineup in this matchup, got things started for Oakland, banking in a three on Oakland’s first offensive possession. A minute later, Fillipa Goula added a three of her own, giving the Golden Grizzlies a 6-4 lead to start things off.
The first quarter was a defensive battle the rest of the way, as both teams struggled to find consistent offense inside the three-point line.
Gold extended the Oakland lead to 12-7 with back-to-back layups in the paint. However, the Raiders closed the first on a 7-0 run jump-started by a three from Elaina Rager, giving Wright State a 14-12 advantage.
The defensive intensity from the first carried over to the second quarter, as Oakland held Wright State scoreless through the quarter’s first four minutes of play. Despite the tough Golden Grizzly defense, Williams ended the Raider drought with a three to keep the Raiders ahead 17-16.
Williams’ three didn’t keep the Golden Grizzlies down, however, as Goula knocked down a triple on Oakland’s next possession before Gold followed up with a three of her own, shifting the game back in Oakland’s favor 22-17 midway through the second.
Oakland’s defense continued to dominate down the stretch, shutting down nearly all of the Raiders looks. Offensively, Baxter and Denson both hit threes to close the half out with the Golden Grizzlies on top, 28-22.
At the break, the Golden Grizzlies had the advantage in field goal percentage, shooting 36.78% (11-for-30) compared to the Raiders’ 31% (9-for-29) mark from the court. Oakland was even better shooting beyond the arc, making 50% (6-for-12) of their looks compared to Wright State, which made 33.3% (3-for-9) of their chances from deep.
With the third quarter underway, the Raiders inched closer towards the Oakland lead, as Rylee Sagester buried a three to tie the game 31-31. A minute later, a three from Abbie Riddle put Wright State back on top, as the Raiders led by a single point.
The Wright State lead did not deter the Golden Grizzlies, however, as Oakland closed the quarter on a 13-5 run, which featured a Denson three and a mid-range make to mark the end of the quarter with the Golden Grizzlies in the lead, 49-41.
In the fourth quarter, the Oakland offense started to stagnate, and some costly turnovers opened the floodgates for Wright State, who opened the final quarter on a 12-2 run to take back the lead.
The Golden Grizzlies found their offensive footing down the stretch, but it was too little too late, as a three-pointer from Riddle gave Wright State a four-point lead. With the shot clock turned off, Denson got off an equalizer that would have tied the game with less than three seconds to go, but she didn’t connect, resulting in Oakland’s first conference loss of the season.
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will look to bounce back as the team hosts the Cleveland State Vikings at the OU Credit Union O’Rena on Dec. 6. Tip-off is set for noon, and the match marks Oakland’s first home game in nearly three weeks.
Takeaways
Oakland’s defense in this matchup was relatively impressive, especially through the first three quarters. All-in-all, though, the Golden Grizzlies held the Raiders, who lead the Horizon League in scoring so far this season, averaging 74.8 points per game, to 61 points this game.
However, defense aside, the Oakland bench really struggled to find ways to score in this matchup, and it was costly. Makenzie Luehring was the only player to score off the bench for the Golden Grizzlies in this matchup as the bench combined to shoot 12.5% (1-for-8). In comparison, the Wright State bench put up 21 points on 38.1% (8-for-21) shooting.
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