WOMEN”S BASKETBALL: South Dakota State downs Oakland to earn NCAA bid

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – With a depleted lineup, Oakland was trying to win three games in three days to make up for an up-and-down season.

South Dakota State had other plans for the Grizzlies.

The Jackrabbits built a four-point lead at the half, then closed the door on Oakland’s postseason bid with an 61-54 triumph in the Summit League Tournament finals at Sioux Falls Arena.

Third-seeded South Dakota State advances on the NCAA Tournament for the third time in three years — twice with a victory over OU in the conference finals.

“I just want to say that my team is great I am so proud of them,” said Oakland coach Beckie Francis. “We had a 20-win season with a very young team. Our three freshmen Zakiya Minifee, Malika Glover and Elizabeth Hamlet had great games. I am proud of our toughness.”

Minifee had a double-double and sophomore Bethany Watterworth scored 17 points the fourth-seeded Grizzlies, who tied for third in the final conference standings but drew the No. 4 seed.

Oakland hammered top-seeded Oral Roberts 96-62 less than 24 hours earlier and beat Southern Utah (65-58) on Sunday. The Grizzlies ran out of steam against the Jackrabbits, playing in their home state in front of mostly home partisan crowd.

Trailing 55-45, the Golden Grizzlies (20-12) connected on a pair of 3-pointers from Senior Anna Patritto and one from Watterworth to make it 57-54.

Oakland could not score in the final 2:06, as the Jackrabbits close with a 4-0 run. South Dakota State has won all nine games in three years when the tournament has been contested in their home state.

Minifee tallied her second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Watterworth scored a team-high 17 points and Sharise Calhoun added 12 points. The Golden Grizzlies shot 40.4 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Coming out of halftime, South Dakota State pushed the lead to seven points, before Oakland responded with an 8-2 run, pulling to within 42-41 on a 3-pointer by Watterworth. The Grizzlies had the ball with a chance to take the lead, when a scoreboard malfunction stopped play for approximately three minutes.

Following the delay, SDSU went on an 11-4 run.

Kristin Rotert had 17 points for the Jackrabbits, which shot 45.3 percent as a team. Jennie Sunnarborg added 13 points and nine assists and Katie Lingle chipped in with 13 points each.

Rotert was named the Summit League Tournament Most Valuable Player. Watterworth and junior Sharise Calhoun were both named to the All-Tournament for Oakland.

Oakland started the game 4-for-6 from the field and led five minutes into the game, 13-9. South Dakota State took its first lead at the 11:45 mark on a basket by Jennie Sunnarborg and built the lead to as many as seven points in the first half.

The Jackrabbits could not shake Oakland until the waning seconds.

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Tags: college women's basketball

Category: Colleges / Other, Oakland University