Oakland cruises past IUPUI to give coach Beckie Francis gains 100th league win
DRING IN THE LANE: Oakland's Zikaya Minifee drives past IUPUI's Jasmin Horne during Monday's Summit League women's basketball game at the O'rena.
ROCHESTER — Freshman Malika Glover scored a career-high 16 points to lead four players in double-digits for the Oakland University women’s basketball team in a 73-50 win over IUPUI on Monday at the Athletics Center O’rena to give OU head coach Beckie Francis her 100th Summit League win.
The Golden Grizzlies also extended their eight-game home winning streak.
“That was a very physical game,” said Francis. “I thought we handled the pressure well, because they had been forcing a lot of turnovers and we had been turning it over. I was happy with how we kept our composure, were strong with the ball and got to the free-throw line 27 times. It was good to get the conference win. ”
The Jaguars (3-12, 1-4) had forced their last seven opponents into 20 or more turnovers, but Oakland dealt with the pressure well and won the turnover battle 14-19. For the second consecutive game, every player that entered the game for OU scored.
BREAKING ON THROUGH: OAkland Bethany Watterworth tries to maneuver around IUPUI's Jenna Eichelberger.
Oakland (11-6, 5-1) took an early 10-3 lead, but IUPUI responded with a 9-0 run to go ahead 12-10 on a jumper by Dawn Luster. Glover, scored the next five points for Oakland to spark the Golden Grizzlies to a 22-6 run to end the half. Making just her second start of the season, Glover had 13 points by the halftime intermission as Oakland led 32-18.
Fellow freshman Zakiya Minifee added 15 points, while sophomore Bethany Watterworth and junior Sharise Calhoun added 11 points each. Calhoun, Glover and Minifee led Oakland with seven rebounds each, as the Golden Grizzlies won the battle of the boards 42-32. The seven rebounds were a new career-high for the 5-foot-5-inch Glover.
The Golden Grizzlies shot 44.6 percent from the floor, while holding IUPUI to just 35.6 percent shooting. OU also outscored the Jaguars 21-3 at the free-throw line. Janna Eichelberger led the way for the Jags with 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. IUPUI has now lost six straight and has not won on the road this season, extending a 20-game road losing streak over the last two seasons.
Junior Brittany Carnago blocked four shots to move into ninth place in The Summit League record books with 161 career blocked shots. She continues to be one of the top shot blockers in America with an average of over three blocks per game, to rank 11th in the NCAA. Carnago blocked a shot in each of her last 12 games.
Having played the last two games in the friendly confines of the O’rena, Oakland will now hit the road for a three-game road swing. The road trip begins on Saturday in Fort Wayne, Ind. with a game against IPFW at 4:30 p.m.
Category: Oakland University
