Oakland women trounce top-seeded Oral Roberts to advance to Summit League finals
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Last march Oakland University felt the pain of a first-round upset in the Summit League Tournament. This time around the golden Grizzlies are making amends for their previous sin.
All five starters reached double figures Monday afternoon and the fourth-seed Oakland upset top-seeded Oral Roberts 96-62 to advance to the championship game at Sioux Falls Arena.
The Golden Grizzlies will play in the school’s seventh Summit League Championship since becoming a Division I school in 1998 and will play on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET with the game televised on ESPNU.
Sophomore Bethany Watterworth, a first-team all-Summit League selection, led Oakland with 18 points. Senior Kirstie Malone added a career-high 16 points, freshman Zakiya Minifee added 15 points with seven assists and juniors Brittany Carnago and Sharise Calhoun twined 10 points apiece for Oakland (20-11), which finished the night 53.6 percent shooting from the field.
Carnago, who missed the last three regular season games, added a season-high 15 rebounds and six blocked shots. All nine of the available Oakland players scored at least five points.
“I think our team had more fun today than they did yesterday and I think we had a lot of fun yesterday,” said Oakland coach Beckie Francis. “It’s been a really fun run. We know it’s not over yet, so we’re not celebrating. We know we have one more to go.”
Oakland recorded the most lopsided win against a No. 1 seed and the second-largest margin of victory in a semifinal game in the conference history. The Golden Grizzlies led 47-34 at the break and outscored Oral Roberts 49-28 in the second half.
Oakland led by as many as 36 points in the second half to avenge two regular season losses to the Golden Eagles (21-10).
The Oakland defense held the nation’s second-highest scoring offense to just eight points over the first 13.41 of the second half and led by as many as 36 points. Carnago recorded six blocks and pulled in a season-high 15 rebounds. The OU center moves into seventh place in The Summit league with 194 career blocked shots.
Player of the Year Kevi Luper had 24 points on 8-for-22 shooting for Oral Roberts. Priscilla Cergol added 11 points for Oral Roberts, which finished the night shooting just 31.3 percent from the floor.
Senior Anna Patritto put Oakland ahead for good at 17-16 with 13:37 left and sparked an 11-3 Oakland run to put the golden Grizzlies up 26-19. The Golden Grizzlies never again trailed, but Oral Roberts did cut the lead to 28-27.
Oakland, which matched a season-high with 11 three-pointers, opened the second half with an 11-0 run to take the wind out of Oral Roberts’ sails.
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Category: Colleges / Other, Oakland University
