An 18-0 third-quarter avalanche buried the Oakland Golden Grizzlies women’s basketball team on Saturday, as they fell 62-44 to the Wright State Raiders at the OU Credit Union O’Rena.
Oakland’s slump has now reached five games. Additionally, the loss moves the Golden Grizzlies down from eighth place to ninth place in the Horizon League standings, putting the Raiders ahead of them in eighth place.
Makenzie Luehring led the Golden Grizzlies in scoring, putting up 14 points, five rebounds and two steals. Freshman Karinna Trotter had a solid game off the bench, finishing the game with a career-high 16 rebounds, tied for the second-most rebounds in a game among Horizon League players this season.
Wright State was led by Breezie Williams, who led her team in scoring and on the boards, recording an efficient 24 points and seven rebounds. Claire Henson joined Williams in the double-digit scoring club with 11 points while also dishing out three assists.
Filippa Goula got things started for the Golden Grizzlies, sinking a three-pointer on Oakland’s first possession of the game. Williams responded moments later for the Raiders, converting a tough jumper in the paint to put the Raiders ahead early.
From there, Oakland struggled to find consistency on offense. Wright State played with a ton of physicality on defense and made smart rotations, forcing a handful of Golden Grizzies turnovers. By the end of the quarter, the Raiders led 12-8.
Through the early stages of the second quarter, Wright State continued to build on its lead. After holding the Golden Grizzlies to just four points in the first five minutes of the quarter, Maja Dilen gave the Raiders their first double-digit lead of the night at the free-throw line.
Wright State’s defense kept Oakland out of rhythm through the remainder of the quarter. However, the Golden Grizzlies went into the locker room with some momentum thanks to Luehring, who knocked down a long three at the buzzer as Oakland still trailed, 27-17.
At the break, Oakland made just 24% (6-for-25) of their looks from the field while the Raiders converted 34.4% (11-for-32) of their attempts. From beyond the arc, the Golden Grizzlies shot at a 27.3% (3-for-11) clip, while Wright State shot at a rate of 37.5% (3-for-8).
The Golden Grizzlies showed some fight at the start of the third quarter, clamping up defensively and turning that defense into offense. After an and-one courtesy of Lianna Baxter, Oakland trailed the Raiders by just a single possession.
Despite Oakland’s strong start to the third quarter, Wright State had an offensive surge, led by Williams, to cap off the quarter. In the last four minutes of the frame, the Raiders went on an explosive 18-0 run. A last-second layup from Grace Okih ballooned the Wright State lead to 51-29.
Although the Golden Grizzlies played an impressive defensive fourth quarter, Oakland couldn’t stop the bleeding as their offense still fell flat. Wright State’s third-quarter barrage proved insurmountable for the black and gold to overcome, resulting in a 62-44 loss.
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will take on the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons on the road this upcoming Wednesday, February 18. With a tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m., the Mastodons will prove to be a tough test as they rank third in the Horizon League standings.
Takeaways
In yet another important matchup for the Golden Grizzlies down the stretch of this season, they came up short.
At this point in the season, there’s little to no margin left. Oakland isn’t just playing to add a win to their tally, they’re playing to avoid an uphill battle in March.
Teams that finish in the bottom three lose the opportunity not only to receive a first-round bye in the Horizon League tournament, but they also have to play the first round on the road, forfeiting any chance of home-court advantage the rest of the tournament.
If this was one of Oakland’s more manageable games remaining, the road ahead looks steep. Notably, heading into this matchup, the Golden Grizzlies were a spot above the Raiders in the conference standings.
With four games remaining, all against top-six teams in the Horizon League, Oakland is going to have to dig deep and punch above its weight to close the regular season.
Enjoyed this article? Help keep HoriZone Roundtable going.
👉 Donate here: https://horizoneroundtable.com/donate
👉 Join us on Patreon: https://patreon.com/horizoneroundtable
Subscribe to our emails, and get our latest posts in your inbox, plus a weekly digest of everything we've published!
