Calhoun hits game-winning free throw to lift Golden Grizzlies past IUPUI

INDIANAPOLIS – Junior Sharise Calhoun had some flair for the dramatic Saturday afternoon.

The junior guard form Oakland University hit the game-winning free-throw with 2.3 seconds left to lead the OU women’s basketball team to a 62-61 Summit League win over IUPUI on Saturday at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Golden Grizzlies have now won seven straight over IUPUI and remain tied with IPFW for second place in The Summit League standings.

“IUPUI came into this game ready to play and it showed it by shooting almost 62 percent beyond the arc,” said Oakland head coach Beckie Francis. “But our players managed to weather the storm and in the end we were able to finish the game on top.”

With less than seven seconds to play, IUPUI’s Kerah Nelson scored to tie the game at 61-61. Instead of calling a timeout, the Golden Grizzlies got the ball to Calhoun who drove the length of the court and was fouled before getting off her shot. Calhoun toed the line and knocked down the crucial one-and-one free throw. Although she missed the second attempt, freshman Malika Glover came up with the offensive rebound to prevent IUPUI from attempting a final shot.

Calhoun scored 16 points and had a career-high five steals to go along with a team-best five assists and four rebounds for Oakland (15-8, 9-3). She also led three OU players in double-digits as sophomore Bethany Watterworth scored 13 points and junior Brittany Carnago added 11 points.

Oakland led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but could not bury the Jags and Nelson tied the game at 48-48 on a 3-pointer with 7:25 to play. After the score was tied, Glover knocked down a runner to spark OU on a 7-1 run. Despite the score being tied twice in the second half, Oakland never trailed.

Nelson was 3-for-3 beyond the arc and scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Jaguars (3-17, 1-10), who went 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from 3-point-range. After a poor shooting first half, the Jaguars recovered by shooting 52 percent from the field in the second half.

Cara Mitchell was the only other IUPUI player in double-digits with 10 points.

The Golden Grizzlies shot 41.2 percent from the field and edged out the battle of the boards 35-33. Freshman Zakiya Minifee led all players with 10 rebounds and became OU’s top rebounder this season averaging seven rebounds per game.

After starting the game on a 5-0 run Oakland expanded its lead to 25-9 holding the hosts to single-digit scoring for the first 10:28. With Carnago blocking six shots in the first half, the Golden Grizzlies limited the Jaguars to just 31.3 percent shooting from the field. The 12th best shot blocker in the NCAA this season, Carnago’s 180 career blocks rank fourth all-time at Oakland and are just two shy of third place.

The Jaguars stayed in the game by going 4-for-6 from three-point-range in the first half. Trailing 30-15, IUPUI hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions and trailed just 34-24 at the half.

Oakland continues Summit League play with a road contest at Western Illinois on Monday at 8 p.m.

Tags: college women's basketball, oakland university, summit league

Category: Oakland University