Over Christmas break, the Oakland women’s basketball team traveled to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on the Indiana University (IU) Hoosiers. Playing at the historic Assembly Hall, the team suffered a big defeat, dropping the road game 90-55.
The loss snapped the Golden Grizzlies’ two-game win streak and marked their third loss on the season to a Big Ten opponent after losses to Michigan and Michigan State. None of these losses are bad by any means; all three teams are 9-3 or better. Notably, Michigan State had risen to No. 15 on the season before suffering their first loss to Alabama.
A quarter into the game, OU found themselves down 17-14. It was all Macy Smith early on for the Golden Grizzlies. The senior from Minneapolis scored 9 of her 12 points in the first quarter. She did a little bit of everything: driving to the rim for a layup, getting to the free throw line and nailing a three.
IU got some separation at the start of the second with a quick 6-0 run two minutes into the quarter to build their lead to nine. Oakland quickly responded with a jumper from junior Lianna Baxter and a three from senior Dani Grim. Grim led OU in scoring on the day, finishing the game with 16 points.
Indiana answered immediately, hitting a layup that started a 9-0 run. IU’s Chloe Moore-McNeil diced up the Golden Grizzlies’ defense with three straight assists. Oakland faced a 32-19 deficit with 3:30 left in the second quarter.
It was Grim again who steadied the ship, making a layup that sparked an 8-3 Grizzly run, bringing the game back into focus. The score stood at 35-27 after an amazing Maddy Skorupski steal and made jumper as time expired.
A three-point barrage from IU opened the second half as Hoosiers Sydney Parrish and Shay Ciezki each made two threes less than four minutes into the quarter. Oakland couldn’t stop the bleeding until the five-minute mark when Skorupski got a jumper off. Indiana erupted for a 19-0 scoring run that opened the game up for good, giving them a massive 54-31 lead.
Skorupski stabilized the Golden Grizzlies for a second, getting to the rim for an and-one layup before Smith got fouled on a jumper of her own for an and-one. Grim chipped in again before the end of the third, hitting a jump shot and a free throw. Oakland escaped the period with a 65-40 deficit, stabilizing themselves after a difficult start to the frame.
Grim made a small run to begin the fourth quarter, scoring six points in just over a minute to bring the game back within 19 points. Unfortunately for the Golden Grizzlies, IU kept wearing them down, especially on the glass.
Indiana outrebounded Oakland 42 to 25 in the game and forced 16 turnovers. IU capitalized on these turnovers, scoring 26 points off turnovers compared to 13 for Oakland. OU only had two points in transition to Indiana’s 26.
As the game wrapped up, the Golden Grizzlies got down big at the end and finally fell 90-55. Smith added 12 points to go along with Baxter’s 11 and Grim’s 16 as the top three OU scorers, while Ciezki of IU finished with 20 to lead all scorers. Oakland freshman Sereniti Roberts-Adams led the team in rebounding with eight boards.
Their game against Indiana marked the Golden Grizzlies’ final non-conference game of the season as they switch exclusively to conference play. Next up is a trip to Northern Kentucky on Dec. 29. Oakland will look to improve to 3-0 in conference games while NKU seeks their first Horizon League win of the season.