Oakland goes inside to rout Centenary
SHREVEPORT, La. – Freshman Zakiya Minifee had a double-double effort of 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Oakland University women’s basketball team to an 87-58 road win over Centenary in Summit League action on Wednesday.
The Golden Grizzlies outscored the Ladies 62-28 in the paint.
“I was pleased with our performance,” said Oakland head coach Beckie Francis. “It was good to see our team come out and play steady in our first Summit League road game.”
For Minifee, who scored over 20 points for the first time in her collegiate career, it was also her first double-double of the season. She led the way as four of OUs starting-five finished in double-figures. Sophomore Bethany Watterworth, the second-leading scorer in The Summit League, also finished with 21 points and pulled in nine rebounds, while dishing out a team-high five assists for Oakland (9-5, 3-0).
Watterworth and Minifee both had 11 points by the halftime-break, helping OU to a 44-34 lead. The Golden Grizzlies started the second half with a 12-0 run and never led by less than 20 points for the rest of the game.
Sophomore Brittany Carnago, who had a triple-double the last time she played at Centenary, finished with 14 points, six blocks and five rebounds. With 153 career blocks, Carnago is just six blocks shy of moving into a tie for ninth place in career blocked shots. Freshman Elizabeth Hamlet added 10 points for OU, which shot 54.5 percent from the field.
Ashley Jackson had a double-double of her own for Centenary (0-9, 0-3) with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Anne Farrell also reached double-digits with 15 points for the Ladies, which shot 38.9 percent from the field.
Eight of the nine Oakland players that saw action got on the score sheet. Junior Sharise Calhoun and freshman Malika Glover both scored six points, while senior Elizabeth Hafeli scored five off the bench and senior Kirstie Malone added four.
The Golden Grizzlies remain perfect against Centenary with a 17-0 record all-time against the Ladies. Now 3-0 in league play, with an average margin of victory over 27 points in league games.
Oakland continues Summit League play at Oral Roberts on Friday at 8:05 p.m. (EDT). The game will be a matchup of the two teams that were tied for the league lead coming into Wednesday’s action.
Category: Oakland Community College, Oakland University
