Oakland City, IN - In the opening game of the River States Conference Tournament, the Oakland City University women's basketball team, the second seed in the west division, hosted the Golden Bears of West Virginia University Tech, the third seed from the east division. Both teams finished with a conference record of 11-6 during the regular season. After OCU held a 38-35 halftime lead, and fought back to maintain the lead at 56-55 at the end of the third quarter. However, a strong offensive finish by the visitors proved too much, as the Oaks lost 81-74.
Jalaya Dowell came off the bench to lead the way for OCU, scoring 19 points and hauling in a game high 11 rebounds.
Taylor Dillard added 17 counters and a game best seven assists, while
Emilee Hope chipped in with 15.
Marissa Austin struggled from the field, making just 2-10 from the field, but made a perfect 7-7 from the foul line to finish with 11 points, while
Monesjia Harvey grabbed 10 boards in the loss.
Twins Brittney and Whittney Justice scored a game high 20 points apiece, while Brianna Ball and Alanis Hill each tallied 13. Hill and Brittney Justice each nabbed a team best nine rebounds, while Ball's three assists were also a team high.
As a team, the Oaks made 24-71 (33.8%) of their field goal attempts, including 5-18 (27.8%) from three point range. The Golden Bears connected on 27-70 (38.6%) of their shots, going 5-15 (33.3%) from beyond the arc. OCU made 21-25 (84.0%) from the foul line, compared to 22-25 (88.0%) for the visitors.
Overall, Oakland City trailed 48-44 in rebounds, with each team grabbing 18 offensive boards. The Oaks held a 15-11 lead in assists, while committing 16 turnovers in the game, three fewer than the Golden Bears. There were a total of two tied scores and eight lead changes.
The loss drops the Oaks out of the River States Conference Tournament, and they will now await the NCCAA Mideast Regional Tournament, hosted in the Johnson Center. matchups, seedings, and game dates and times are forthcoming.
