Last week, in my article on women’s basketball, I talked about the daunting stretch that remained on their schedule. After taking care of the Detroit Mercy Titans last Saturday, February 1, they had a date with the best team in the Horizon League: the Purdue Fort Wayne (PFW) Mastodons. PFW was 13-0, riding a 15-game winning streak.
And now, after their game last Thursday, the Mastodons are 14-0 in conference play, owing to a 75-46 dismantling of Oakland.
Going into the game, OU had every reason to feel good. They just dispatched their rival, the Titans, by 14 points at home, and guard Maddy Skorupski had a career-high 38 points. It was a great way to start the month.
But reality came crashing back down just a couple of days later.
It was only really a game in the first quarter. Oakland managed to hang on for the first 10 minutes of the game, only down 18-11 after the first quarter. But then the floodgates opened.
The Mastodons quickly put the game away, going on a 19-7 run in the second quarter. PFW guard Audra Emmerson hit two threes within just 30 seconds to begin the frame. Her teammate, Sydney Graber, got two baskets of her own in quick succession. OU had no answers on the offensive end, missing numerous jumpers and lacking any spark to begin a scoring run. The Golden Grizzlies headed into the half down 37-18, searching for any answers at all.
Unfortunately, the second half began in much the same way. PFW hit two threes on back-to-back possessions, capped off with a layup to put an exclamation point on the start of the half.
Golden Grizzlies Macy Smith and Dani Grim were able to sink two jumpers to stop some of the bleeding, but the Mastodons quickly responded before any run could start.
I always like to say that and-one layups, where someone gets followed and hits the free throw, stop all momentum that the defending team has. Amelia Bromenschenkel of Fort Wayne did just that, followed soon after with yet another Emmerson three-pointer.
The game would stabilize as Oakland stayed down 25 for most of the quarter. Both teams began trading baskets, and OU ended the quarter down 59-32.
As the game dragged on, PFW’s size slowly wore down the Golden Grizzlies. By the time the final buzzer sounded, OU had been outrebounded 49-29, surrendering 19 offensive rebounds. Five Mastodons had five or more rebounds in the game, compared to only two players for Oakland.
Skorupski was largely contained for the duration of the game. Oakland’s star was held to just six points on 2-11 shooting with three turnovers. Senior Macy Smith was probably the biggest bright spot on the team with 15 points, but she committed five turnovers herself.
It’s no wonder the Mastodons sit atop the Horizon League standings, as they had seven players who scored seven or more points in the contest. Dominating the glass and scoring efficiently are trademarks of great teams. A 75-46 win over the Golden Grizzlies is proof of their quality as a team.
Next up for Oakland is a road trip to Cleveland State on Saturday, February 8.