Oakland City, IN - The magic number for the Oakland City University women's basketball team to make the NCCAA Mid-East Regional tournament is nine wins. With that in mind, the Lady Oaks hosted the Fighting Scots of Ohio Valley University. After an opening quarter that saw OCU shoot 1-13 from the field, the Oaks were unable to dig themselves out of the hole they were in, losing by the final score of 85-66.
Kiare Young came off the bench to lead the way for the Oaks, scoring 17 points, despite making just 4-20 from the field.
Reanne Kietlinski posted 11 points, on 4-10 shooting, while
Malia Schmittler came up with a double-double, scoring 10 points, on 4-12 shooting, and hauling in a game high 14 rebounds.
Imani Ward had a game high 23 points for the Fighting Scots, making 8-11 of her shot attempts. Akiya Brown chipped in with 13 counters, followed by 10 each from Tanner Esposito and Nahia Urturi-Ortiz. Rachel Browne added seven points while grabbing a team best 10 rebounds.
For the game, OCU shot 21-72 (29.2%) from the field, going 4-18 (22.2%) from three point range. OVU connected on 30-68 (44.1%) of their shot attempts, despite making just 3-21 (14.3%) from beyond the arc. The Oaks made 20-32 (62.5%) of their free throw shots, compared to 22-27 (81.5%) for the visiting Scots.
As a team, the Oaks held a 52-43 rebounding advantage, thanks to a 25-12 lead on the offensive glass. The Oaks had 13 assists, one more than the Scots, while turning the ball over 20 times, compared to 16 for Ohio Valley.
The Lady Oaks will be back in action on Thursday, February 6, when they host the Grenadiers of Indiana University-Southeast. Tip off in the Johnson Center is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
