Providence works overtime to edge Oakland

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — Providence simply has Oakland University’s number.

The Friars defeated Oakland by just one point for the second straight season on Tuesday night. This time Providence held on for a 51-50 non-conference women’s basketball victory at the Athletics Center O’rena in a game that took overtime to decide.

The Friars outscored Oakland 6-5 in the extra session to prevail in a game that featured eight ties and 10 lead changes. Providence won last year’s meeting, 50-49.

“We played them last year and it was a one-point game. We kind of got lucky because (they) missed a late lay-up (last year),” recalled Providence Phil Seymore. “We came in here knowing they were going to compete and we were going to have to play some good solid basketball to come out with a victory.”

Providence (2-3) opened overtime with as 4-0 spurt to grab a 49-45 lead with 3:54 left. OU’s Brittany Carnago responded with a three-point play of her own for OU to cut the deficit to 49-48.

Malika Glover gave Oakland (2-2) its last lead at 50-49 when she made a layup with 1:24 to go. Alicia Cropper gave the Friars its 51-50 advantage with 1:02 left when she drained a short-range jumper.

Providence, which forced Oakland into 21 turnovers, held Oakland to only 3-for-8 shooting in the overtime and forced three turnovers in that session.

“I think our length did cause some problems, but I think that God had a hand in some of those misses that they had,” laughed Seymore. “I thought early in the first half they had a lot of good looks. (Beckie Francis) is a really good coach, they run a tough system, and their transition is really good. We had to make an adjustment to get back on the transition offense that they run because they have a lot of guards (coming at you). They push it really well. We were hoping our length would help, but at the end, we actually had our smaller team in the game.”

Oakland was able to muster three shots on three separate possessions in the final minute, but Elizabeth Hamlet’s three-point attempt from the corner with two seconds left was off the mark.

Bethany Watterworth came in averaging 22.0 during the Grizzlies’ 2-1 start and finished with a game-high 24 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Oakland, which had problems finding a second scorer on the night. OU shot just 31.3 percent (15-for-48) for the game and Watterworth was the only player to even make a field goal in the first half for the Grizzlies.

Still, Providence kept Watterworth off the scoreboard for all of overtime and to only two points over the finalm14 minutes of regulation, but they were crucial. Watterworth nailed two free throws with 21 seconds left in regulation, which tied the game and sent the contest into overtime.

“We were kind of rushing ourselves. We had some layups that were kind of rushed and throughout the game we had a lot of turnovers,” said Watterworth. “I almost think that we beat ourselves. We can still take positives out of this. We out-rebounded them and we fought the whole game, that was encouraging. We’ll bounce back.”

OU played again without senior guard Sharise Calhoun and sophomore forward Jenna Bachrouche, both out with injuries. Outside of Watterworth, no other player

“I was really proud of the team. They gave everything they could,” said Francis. “I just said the basketball gods weren’t with us. They had more bounce, where their (last) shot went in and ours bounced out. That means that something it’s supposed to come back to us the rest of the year.”

Teya Wright was thorn in the Grizzlies’ side all night, scoring 20 with 13 rebounds. Alicia Cropper chipped in with 13 points and five steals and Rachel Barnes scored eight with four assists and three steals for the Friars, who shot 37.7 percent (23-for-61).

Providence led 24-19 at the half, taking advantage of the cold-shooting Grizzlies. Oakland shot just 4-for-20 from the field (20 percent) and only 11-for-16 from the foul line (68.8 percent) in first half

Oakland came out of the locker room with as 10-2 run, grabbing a 29-26 lead with 15:54 to play. Back-to-back three-pointers from Watterworth and Zakiya Minifee aided the run, but the Grizzlies could not sustain the momentum.

Neither team could build more than a four-point lead in second half.

“We have a whole team of scorers. We just had an off night offensively,” said Francis.

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Tags: college women's basketball, Non-Conference College Women's Basketball, oakland university women's basketball, Providence College Women's Basketball

Category: Campus Clips, Colleges / Other, Oakland University