COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: League-leading SDSU rolls over Oakland
ROCHESTER HILLS– League-leading South Dakota State simply overmatched Oakland University Thursday night and the Jackrabbits cruised to a 64-43 Summit League victory over the Golden Grizzlies at the Athletics Center O’rena.
Elena Popkey’s scored nine for Oakland (7-9, 1-3).
“I thought we had some really good moments, especially pulling to within eight in the second half,” said OU coach Beckie Francis. “I like the fight our team showed and I felt like, even though I had four freshmen on the floor going against their veteran players for long stretches, we competed for most of the game.”
Oakland took an early lead on a Popkey layup and led 6-5 at the 15:36 mark of the first half on a basket by Shelby Herrington. SDSU (12-5, 4-0) responded with a 7-0 run and never allowed OU to regain the lead.
The Jackrabbits led 32-22 at the break.
In the second half, Annemarie Hamlet hit a layup to cap a 5-0 run that pulled Oakland to within 39-31 with 14:49 to play. It was as close as Oakland would get, as SDSU hit three consecutive 3-pointers to take a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game. The Jackrabbits hit 10 3-pointers.
Popkey led the team in scoring for the fifth consecutive game, but no OU player reached double-figures. Olivia Nash added eight points and seven rebounds, while Sinclair Russell had six points and seven boards. The Golden Grizzlies shot 32.7 perccent from the field and Hamlet finished with seven points.
SDSU shot 36.8 percent from the field and won the battle of boards 45-35. Megan Waytashek led the Jacks with a game-high 13 points, while Ashley Eide added 12.
The Golden Grizzlies are back in action on Saturday against North Dakota State at 2 p.m. at the O’rena. It is the inaugural Awareness Without Fear Game, which will benefit CARE House of Oakland County and Haven.
Category: Campus Clips, Colleges / Other, Oakland University
