The Oakland Golden Grizzlies women’s basketball team saw a strong start slip away to the Youngstown State Penguins on Saturday, January 30, at the OU Credit Union O’Rena.
The loss shifts Oakland’s record to 8-14 on the season, and 5-7 in Horizon League play. As far as placement in the conference standings, Oakland remains in seventh place, just ahead of IU Indianapolis.
Oakland was led by Makenzie Luehring, who finished with a team-leading 20 points and four assists. Layla Gold also had a solid showing, putting up 18 points and five rebounds, playing all but one minute in this matchup.
Sophia Gregory led the Penguins in scoring, contributing 15 points to go along with six rebounds. Additionally, Casey Santoro stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Angie Smith got the offense started for the Golden Grizzlies, following a Luehring steal, which left Smith a wide-open lane for a fastbreak layup. Sarah Baker responded moments later for the Penguins, taking advantage of her height for a layup in the paint.
From that point on, Oakland took advantage of some rather lax Youngstown State defense, quickly building a lead as Gold and Luehring made it rain from three, with each Golden Grizzly converting multiple three-pointers.
Throughout the rest of the first quarter, the Oakland offense continued to run smoothly, with Gold and Smith contributing late into the quarter. Heading into the second quarter, the Golden Grizzlies maintained a 19-12 lead.
At the start of the second, the Luehring and Gold continued to light it up from deep to keep the Golden Grizzlies ahead of the Penguins. Hayden Barrier wouldn’t let Youngstown State go down quietly, however, knocking down a three-pointer of her own and keeping the game competitive.
The rest of the second quarter, Oakland took advantage of a stretched-out Youngstown State defense that wanted to prevent the three, attacking the paint for easy baskets. By halftime, the Golden Grizzlies still led, 36-29.
Heading into the break, the Golden Grizzlies shot at a 38.2% (13-for-34) rate from the field while the Penguins shot at a 48% (12-for-25) clip. From beyond the arc, Oakland really shined in the box score, making 46.2% (6-for-13) of their attempts while Youngstown State converted 33.3% (3-for-9) of their looks.
At the start of the third quarter, the Penguins began to cut into the Oakland lead, attacking the paint and drawing multiple foul calls. Defensively, Youngstown State dialed in as well, holding Oakland to just four points through the first five minutes of the quarter.
On Youngstown State’s final possession of the quarter, Erica King knocked down a long three-pointer to give the Penguins their first lead of the night. However, Jasmine Dupree-Hebert responded on Oakland’s next possession with a three of her own as time expired, putting the Golden Grizzlies ahead 47-46.
Following a make from Luehring to start the fourth quarter, Sophia Gregory kick-started an 11-0 Youngstown State run with a layup. Lianna Baxter put an end to the run with a tough make inside the paint, but Danielle Cameron hit a three-pointer on the next possession, keeping the Penguins ahead.
From that point on, the Youngstown State lead continued to grow behind impressive guard play from Santoro. The Penguins ultimately came away victorious in this matchup, defeating the Golden Grizzlies 72-60.
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will take a one-game road trip to take on the Northern Kentucky Norse on Tuesday, February 3. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m. EST, and this game marks the second meeting between the two teams this season.
Takeaways
This was a rather deflating loss for the Golden Grizzlies, who undoubtedly looked like the better team through the first half.
However, there are multiple reasons as to why Oakland gave way to the Penguins in the second half.
For starters, Smith and Barrier collided midway through the third quarter. Thankfully, each athlete was able to walk back to their respective side of the court, but Oakland losing Smith for the rest of the game was devastating.
Smith has started all but one game this season for the Golden Grizzlies and ranks in the top three amongst the team in points per game, field goal percentage, steals and blocks.
Her impact goes beyond the stat sheet, however. Smith is a major part of Oakland’s playstyle. Without her on the floor, it’s difficult for the Golden Grizzlies to run their fast-paced style built on turning defense into transition offense, without losing either size or the speed needed to make things work consistently.
Minutes after Smith left the court, Youngstown State took control of the game, forcing the Golden Grizzlies to not only play out of style, but to play at the Penguins’ preferred pace. With a healthy Smith, the outcome of this game could have gone differently.
On the bright side, the Golden Grizzlies trailed for just under nine minutes in this game, a reminder that the game was within reach before momentum swung away.
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