The Golden Grizzlies women’s basketball team delivered a rivalry win on Sunday, January 18, taking down the Detroit Mercy Titans 80-70 at Calihan Hall in the first of two Metro Series games this season.
The win marks Oakland’s sixth on the season and third in the conference, lifting the Golden Grizzlies to seventh in the Horizon League standings.
Freshman Makenzie Luehring played a massive role in securing Oakland’s win, scoring a season-high 25 points while dishing out four assists. Layla Gold was another Golden Grizzly who shined in this matchup, putting up 13 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
The Titans were led by Myonna Hooper, who scored an efficient 22 points. Jasmine Edwards also had a solid showing for Detroit Mercy, finishing the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Oakland didn’t take long to establish their offense in this matchup, as Angie Smith converted a layup on the Golden Grizzlies’ first possession. Minutes later, Filippa Goula kept Oakland’s offense afloat, making both of her attempts at the charity stripe.
Detroit Mercy kept pace with Oakland throughout most of the first quarter, but the Golden Grizzlies started to pull ahead as Goula and Gold made fast cuts to the basket, leading to open looks from inside the paint to give Oakland a 16-9 advantage.
The Golden Grizzlies’ lead didn’t deter the Titans down the stretch, however, as Detroit Mercy clawed back with a 6-2 run to end the quarter. Despite the effort put forth by the Titans, the Golden Grizzlies still led 20-18.
Through the early stages of the second quarter, Detroit Mercy’s momentum from the end of the first quarter carried over, as the Titans tied the game at 23 points apiece three minutes into the second.
Although the Titans continued to keep things competitive, the Golden Grizzlies reclaimed their lead midway through the second as Luehring continued to find scoring opportunities, forcing the ball downhill. Heading into the break, the Golden Grizzlies led 37-35.
At the half, the Golden Grizzlies shot at an efficient 48% (12-for-25) clip from the field, as did the Titans, who made 50% (15-for-30) of their looks. Oakland held the advantage from deep, however, making 50% (4-for-8) of their attempts compared to Detroit Mercy, which converted just 16.7% (1-for-6) of their looks.
With the third quarter underway, the Golden Grizzlies got back to building their lead. At multiple points, Oakland led by eight points thanks to a deep three from Lianna Baxter and a midrange make from Goula.
Detroit Mercy just wouldn’t go away, however, as Hooper proved to be the engine behind the Titans’ offense. On the Titans’ last possession of the quarter, Hooper converted a tough layup to bring Detroit Mercy within four points of the Golden Grizzlies heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, Oakland really turned up the tempo on offense, turning Titan misses into quick looks inside the paint, as the Golden Grizzlies took advantage of a Detroit Mercy defense that struggled to get set in a timely manner.
As the Oakland offense continued to flourish, the Titans had trouble keeping up the pace, leading to a Metro Series win for the Golden Grizzlies, who finished on top 80-70 in this matchup.
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will take their annual trip to Wisconsin, starting with a game against the Green Bay Phoenix on Thursday, January 22. With two straight wins under its belt, Oakland will look to upset a Green Bay team that is still undefeated in conference play.
Takeaways
As far as rivalries go, this was a statement win not just for the Golden Grizzlies but for head coach Keisha Newell as well.
A rivalry game usually doesn’t bode well for coaches in their first season in any sport, much less on the road. Still, Newell and the Golden Grizzlies came away convincingly on top, and they now have the chance to take the season sweep over the Titans for the first time since 2022-23.
Although the Golden Grizzlies still remain without Cali Denson, it’s abundantly clear now that a variety of Oakland’s guards have stepped up to make up for her absence.
Luehring has had her best four-game stretch as far as scoring goes, averaging 18 points as she emerges as Oakland’s top offensive threat. Jasmine Dupree-Hebert has also done a great job of picking up offensive slack, particularly in this matchup, as she finished with 10 points, with nine of those points coming from beyond the arc.
With the Golden Grizzlies trending upwards, as Luehring and Dupree-Hebert emerge, it will be more challenging now to further climb the Horizon League standings.
As it stands, every team ahead of Oakland in the standings has played at least one, if not two, more conference games than the Golden Grizzlies. Additionally, the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, who are a place ahead of Oakland, have a two-game lead over the Golden Grizzlies.
That gap isn’t insurmountable for this Oakland squad, but it does mean that now more than ever, the Golden Grizzlies will need to capitalize on the momentum they have built through these last two wins.
Subscribe to our emails, and get our latest posts in your inbox, plus a weekly digest of everything we've published!
