On Saturday, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies women’s basketball team stormed back for a 71-61 victory over the Robert Morris Colonials at the OU Credit Union O’Rena.
The win stands as one of Oakland’s most important to date, moving the team into eighth place in the conference standings and clinching a first-round Horizon League tournament spot, avoiding the play-in. Additionally, the win means Oakland will finish this season with a better record than last season.
Makenzie Luehring delivered another impressive outing, finishing with 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Filippa Goula also had a solid showing, putting up 16 points along with five rebounds and four assists in the win.
For the Colonials, Eva Levingston led the team in scoring, pouring in 21 points and six rebounds. Bailey Kuhns was also impactful, nearly tallying a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Levingston got things started for Robert Morris early in the first quarter, knocking down a mid-range shot to give the Colonials the early advantage. Goula responded on Oakland’s next possession, hitting a stepback mid-range shot to tie the game.
Although the Golden Grizzlies had a lead of their own in the opening stages of the quarter, Robert Morris closed the first on a 9-2 run, using their size and length to their advantage to get looks in the paint. By the end of the frame, the Colonials led 17-11.
In the second quarter, Robert Morris held on to their lead, but Oakland showed it wasn’t going anywhere as Luehring and Jasmine Dupree-Hebert knocked down a pair of three-pointers to keep the Golden Grizzly offense afloat.
The Colonial lead expanded to double digits as Levingston began to heat up, scoring six consecutive points for Robert Morris. Oakland wouldn’t go into the locker room quietly, however, as Goula converted from deep to cut the Colonial lead to 30-22.
Heading into the break, the Golden Grizzlies shot at a 33.3% (9-for-27) rate from the field while the Colonials made 37.9% (11-for-29) of their looks. From deep, Oakland struggled, shooting at a 16.7% (2-for-12) clip compared to Robert Morris, which made 33.3% (4-for-12) of their attempts.
In the third quarter, the Golden Grizzlies got back on track, mainly thanks to Luehring, who became scorching hot from the three-point line. Through the quarter’s first six minutes, Luehring made four three-pointers to go along with a layup to give Oakland its first lead since the first quarter.
Late in the third quarter, Luehring knocked down another three-pointer before Layla Gold converted a layup on Oakland’s next possession. Still, Noa Givon showed the Colonials weren’t going anywhere, making a three-pointer of her own to make it a single-possession game in favor of the Golden Grizzlies heading into the final quarter.
Oakland’s offense carried its momentum into the fourth quarter. Luehring continued to provide steady offense along with Goula, who showed no hesitation, sinking a couple of mid-range shots to expand the Golden Grizzlies lead.
Down the stretch, with Oakland in control, Robert Morris couldn’t keep up with the Golden Grizzlies, who slowed the game down after building a comfortable lead. As the final buzzer sounded, Oakland came away on top, 71-61.
Takeaways
This was an impressive win for the Golden Grizzlies, who have now defeated two teams consecutively that are ahead of them in the Horizon League standings. What once looked like a slipping season now has some life.
As the season has progressed, we’ve seen more and more out of Luehring as a player, and in this matchup, she showed how she can completely take over a game; a remarkable feat for any player, much less a freshman.
Notably, Luehring’s 31-point outing marks the second time this season she has scored more than 30 points. To date, she remains the only player in the Horizon League to do so this season.
Luehring’s scoring wasn’t the only difference, but Oakland’s adjustments at the half also played a major role.
The Golden Grizzlies completely kept the Colonials off the glass in the second half. In the first half, Robert Morris had 22 rebounds, with five of those coming off the offensive glass, but in the second half, Robert Morris only snagged 10 rebounds, with four of them being offensive rebounds.
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