Golden Grizzlies rebound to topple UIC
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
CHICAGO — Three days after squandering a lead and losing its opener to U-D Mercy Friday, Oakland University rebounded Monday with a double-digit victory over host Illinois-Chicago.
Sophomore forward Bethany Watterworth (Lake Orion), a preseason All-Summit League pick, scored 26 points with five rebounds to lead the Golden Grizzlies to a 69-58 triumph over the Flames at the UIC Pavillion.
“I am excited and proud of our team’s composure,” said Oakland head coach Beckie Francis. “We had a nice, comfortable lead and then they made a heck of a run at us, but we kept our cool. With such a young team, it was so good to see them enjoy the game and play the game it’s supposed to be played and finish it.”
OU (1-1) shot 51.1 percent from the floor (24-for-47) and 69 percent (20-for-29) from the foul line in the win. The Grizzlies shot 51.7 percent in the first half.
Oakland led 36-30 at the half and that lead ballooned to 52-38 with 12:59 left on the clock. The Flames (1-1) surged back to cut the deficit down to 62-48 on a jumper from Taylor Foulks with 1:20 to play.
Oakland, which outscored UIC 7-1 down the stretch, picked up a pair of free throws by Anna Patritto and four freebies from Watterworth to seal the game.
“Our team was just smart in getting (Watterworth) the ball,” added Francis. “I can’t recall how many times we needed a bucket and our players wisely ran our offense and knew when and how to get her the ball. It was a night where she wanted the ball and delivered.”
Patritto added 10 points and five rebounds, Brittany Carnago added nine points and six rebounds, Sharise Calhoun added nine points, three assists and two steals and Victoria contributed five points, five steals and four assists for Oakland, which is 9-3 in the second game of the season in 12 years of being an NCAA Division I program.
Brianna Hinkle led UIC with 20 points. And Jamine Bailey added 10 points for the Flames. Foulks and Katie Hannemann both scored nine for the hosts.
The Flames committed 21 turnovers and shot 32.9 percent from the floor in the game. UIC also had just nine assists on 23 field goals, as Oakland defense prevented the Flames from getting into much of an offensive flow during stretches of the game.
“You’re going to have games where you don’t shoot the ball well,” said UIC coach Lisa Ryckbosch. “When that happened, when the shots didn’t fall, we completely fell apart and we couldn’t overcome that.”
Oakland will return the Athletics Center O’Rena for a marquee matchup. The Golden Grizzlies host Penn State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
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Category: Oakland University, Uncategorized
