Oakland pulls away from Western Illinois
MACOMB, Ill. – Sophomore Bethany Watterworth had 17 points and junior Sharise Calhoun scored 16 to lead the Oakland University women’s basketball team to a come-from-behind , 56-47, Summit League win over Western Illinois on Monday at Waste Management Court.
The Golden Grizzlies shot 50 percent from the field in the second half to erase an 11-point first-half deficit.
“Western Illinois put us behind early with their good play,” said Oakland head coach Beckie Francis. “I was proud of our players for keeping their composure and responding in the second half. Bethany Watterworth and Sharise Calhoun showed great poise with their second-half efforts.”
Calhoun picked up her game-high fourth steal with 5:50 to play and drove down the court for a layup breaking a 41-41 tie and sparking a 7-0 run that put the Golden Grizzlies (16-8, 10-3) ahead for good. Watterworth and Calhoun scored 12 points each after the half, as Oakland outscored the Fighting Leathernecks 38-26 in the second half. Calhoun also had game-highs of nine rebounds and four assists.
Western Illinois (7-15, 5-7) led the entire first half as Oakland shot just 25 percent from the field after starting 2-for-21 from the floor. The Golden Grizzlies eventually tied the game 26-26 on back-to-back baskets by junior Brittany Carnago at the 16:48 mark. The Golden Grizzlies took their first lead 33-32 on a pair of free throws by Watterworth with 13:00 left.
Trailing 17-6 in the first half, Oakland got back-to-back baskets from freshman Zakiya Minifee to spark a 10-0 run, as OU cut the lead 21-18 at the end of a defensive first half. After starting 2-for-21 from the field Oakland converted on 6 of their last 11 shots to end the half. Both teams had scoreless stretches from the field for over seven minutes in the first half.
Despite struggling to shoot the ball, Oakland held WIU to just 21 points on 33.3 percent shooting in the opening half. Carnago had three of her four blocks in the first half as she moved into third place in the Oakland record books with 184 career blocks. She currently ranks 10th in the NCAA with an average of 3.2 blocks per game.
Sadie Webb led the Leathernecks with 17 points, while Kelly Valencia finished with 10. Western Illinois’ defense forced OU into 15 turnovers, including nine in the first half.
Oakland returns to the Athletics Center O’rena for a Summit League showdown with IPFW on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Golden Grizzlies are tied with the Mastodons for second place in The Summit League standings.
Category: Oakland University
