In a matchup against the bottom-ranked Milwaukee Panthers at the OU Credit Union O’Rena on Saturday, the Oakland women’s basketball couldn’t capitalize, losing to the Panthers 61-49.
The loss comes off the heels of Oakland’s loss to the Green Bay Phoenix earlier in the week, where the Golden Grizzlies fell 75-39 in a game where Green Bay had control from the starting tip.
Macy Smith led the Golden Grizzlies in scoring, notching 18 points, with nine coming from beyond the arc. Maddy Skorupski was the only other Oakland player to reach double-figures in scoring, as Skorupski finished the game with 11 points, seven boards, three assists and three steals.
On the other side of the court, Kallie Peppler led Milwaukee in scoring, putting up 12 points off the bench. Jada Donaldson also had a solid showing for the Panthers, notching nine points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Panthers jumped ahead of the Golden Grizzlies early in the first quarter, quickly establishing a 10-4 lead. Despite this, Smith responded, converting on two straight three-pointers to tie the game midway through the first.
With the game tied, Peppler delivered a pair of three-pointers of her own as the quarter began to come to a close. However, on Oakland’s final possession of the frame, Skorupski sank a jumper, leaving the Golden Grizzlies just behind the Panthers, 18-14.
As the second quarter got underway, offensive issues started to mount for the Golden Grizzlies. Through the first five minutes of the quarter, Jasmine Dupree-Hebert was the only Oakland player to score a bucket as the Panthers’ lead grew to an eleven-point advantage.
The Golden Grizzlies showed some fight in them down the stretch, as a free throw from Leah Bullard narrowed the Oakland deficit to seven points. However, Milwaukee scored on all four of its possessions in the final two minutes of the quarter, giving the Panthers a 38-23 lead heading into the break.
The third quarter was surely one the Golden Grizzlies wished they could have gotten back. Throughout the quarter, the Golden Grizzly defense had five steals, as Oakland held the Panthers to just seven points.
Despite Oakland’s stifling defense, their inconsistency on offense carried over from the second. In a quarter where the team could have turned things around, the offense supplied just nine points the entire quarter, as Milwaukee still led 45-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter of play, the Golden Grizzlies showed some signs of life, cutting down the Panther lead to eight points with five minutes to go after a layup from Skorupski.
However, Milwaukee showed no signs of slowing down as they quickly took back a double-digit lead, and time started to become Oakland’s most valuable resource. Skorupski, once again, cut the Panther lead to single digits with two minutes remaining, but the Golden Grizzlies didn’t have enough time to capitalize down the stretch, resulting in the loss.
Notably, the loss marks Oakland’s fourth in a row and its seventh in its last eight games.
Oakland’s lack of efficiency really showed up from the box score. The team shot 31.6% from the field, 20% from deep, and 58.8% from the free throw line. In comparison, the Panthers shot 44% from the floor, 30% from three and 84.6% at the charity stripe.
Up next, the Golden Grizzlies will have a chance to get back in the win column with a game on the road against the Wright State Raiders on Wednesday, Feb. 19. With Oakland still in the hunt for a top-four finish in the Horizon League, the game against the Raiders will be a must-win at this stage of the season.