Oakland City, IN - The Oakland City University women's basketball team improved to 10-8 on the season, including a 6-3 mark in River States Conference play, by defeating Ohio Christian University 79-65 in the Johnson Center. The Oaks used a strong second quarter effort to take a 47-35 lead into the locker room at halftime, and maintained their advantage throughout the second half, earning their third straight win.
Taylor Dillard led all scorers in the ballgame, making 8-15 from the field, posting 20 points to go with a game high seven assists.
Malia Schmittler came up with a double-double for the OCU side, scoring 10 points and nabbing a team high 10 rebounds.
Marissa Austin and
Tabby Klem each also scored 10 points in the victory.
Rachel Gillum paced the Trailblazers, scoring 19 points, on 8-13 shooting, and grabbing a game high 14 rebounds. Rachel Bolyard added 16 points, making 7-21 from the field, followed by 12 points from Darcy Mitchell, and 10 counters by Haley Cox.
As a team, the Oaks grabbed 48 rebounds, 10 more than Ohio Christian, including an 18-13 lead on the offensive glass. Oakland City handed out 15 assists, three more than the visitors, while winning the turnover battle 19-18.
Overall, Oakland City connected on 27-65 (41.5%) of their field goal tries, going 5-16 (31.3%) from beyond the arc. The Trailblazers made 25-67 (37.3%) of their shot attempts, including 3-22 (13.6%) from three point range. The Oaks made 20-27 (74.1%) from the foul line compared to 12-17 (70.6%) for Ohio Christian.
The Mighty Oaks will be back in action on January 25, when the travel to Richmond, Indiana, to take on the Red Wolves of Indiana University East. After that, OCU will square off against the Bearcats of Brescia University, in Owensboro, Kentucky, on January 27.
