Oakland’s second-half surge sends Grizzlies past Southern Utah, 64-60

CEDAR CITY, Utah – Bethany Watterworth was light out in the second half and Amy Carlton had a career day Monday night. The result was Oakland University recording a much-needed road victory.

Watterworth finished with 20 points, including 16 in the second half, and Amy Carlton scored a career-best 12 points in aiding OU;s 64-60 road victory over Southern Utah in Summit League women’s basketball play.

This was the two team’s final meeting in conference play, as Southern Utah is departing the conference this summer.

Oakland (9-9, 5-4) outscored the Thunderbirds, 38-26, in the second half after trailing, 34-26,

“This is a tough place to play and I am proud of the effort our team showed tonight,” said Oakland head coach Beckie Francis. “Even when we were down 10 points in the second half our players never quit. It was a truly resilient effort by the entire team, especially our players that contributed off the bench.”

The Golden Grizzlies were down 49-41 with 8:03 left, before going on a 16-1 run over the next 6:37 to take the lead for good. Brittany Carnago hit a free throw to tie the game and Watterworth knocked down a 3-pointer to give OU its first lead since the 17:21 mark of the first half.

Oakland trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, but Carlton hit a 3-pointer and a jumper on back-to-back possessions to keep the game close. The OU bench outscored Southern Utah (5-15, 1-8) by a 14-2 count in behind Carlton’s career-high effort.

After both teams shot over 40 percent from the field in the first half, Oakland held Southern Utah to just 25.7 percent shooting in the second half. The Golden Grizzlies also outrebounded the Thunderbirds 33-14 in the second half and won the battle on the offensive glass 11-8, after being beaten 21-11 on the boards in the first half. Victoria Lipscomb led OU with nine rebounds to go with her nine points and team-high six assists.

Carli Moreland led Southern Utah with a double-double effort of 18 points and 16 rebounds. Andrea Jones hit four 3-pointers and led the Thunderbirds in scoring with 22 points, as Southern Utah finished the game shooting 34.9 percent from the field, while Oakland hit 36.8 percent.

In the first half, Southern Utah rushed out to an early 15-7, but the Golden Grizzlies bounced back to cut the score to 18-16. However, the OU defense failed to control a Thunderbirds offense that at one point scored on six straight possessions. Southern Utah held a 34-26 lead at the half.

After making the longest road trip of the season, Oakland returns to the Athletics Center O’rena on Saturday for the school’s homecoming weekend. The Golden Grizzlies will tipoff against North Dakota State at 3:30 p.m.

Tags: Basketball, oakland university women's basketball, Southern Utah Women's Basketball, Summit League Women's Basketball, Women's Basketball

Category: Campus Clips, Colleges / Other, Oakland University