Oakland City, IN - In a matchup of the top two teams in the River States Conference west division, the Oakland City University Mighty Oaks hosted the Eagles of Midway University. OCU held a perfect 12-0 record in RSC play, while Midway carried a 10-2 mark into the contest. In their first matchup, the Oaks were able to defeat the Eagles 70-67 on November 15, to open up River States Conference play. However, this time the Eagles built a 25-20 lead by the end of the opening quarter, extending their lead to 42-36 at the halftime break.
Midway came out firing in the third quarter, leading 66-50 entering the final quarter of play. OCU cut into the lead with a frantic comeback bid, but fell short, losing 87-79.
Emilee Hope led the way for the Oaks, scoring 17 points, making 4-12 from the field, including 3-6 from three point range, while going 6-6 from the foul line.
Davinique Campbell added 14 counters on 5-8 shooting, followed by
Marissa Austin's 12 point effort, on 4-12 shooting, going 4-4 from the free throw stripe.
Erin Whitehead came off the bench to score 10 points while nabbing a game high nine rebounds in the loss.
Dezeree White made 11-19 from the field, including 2-6 from beyond the arc, while scoring on all five free throw attempts, scoring a game high 29 points. Jalyn Jackson and Aleigha Mucker each scored 13 counters, followed by 10 points from Semaj Adams.
As a team, the Oaks made 27-65 (41.5%) from the field, going 3-15 (20.0%) from three point range. Midway connected on 32-64 (50.0%) of their shot attempts, including 3-13 (23.1%) from distance. OCU made 22-26 (84.6%) from the free throw line, compared to 20-29 (69.0%) for the visiting Eagles.
Overall, OCU held a 42-33 rebounding advantage, including a 15-8 lead on the offensive glass. The Mighty Oaks handed out 16 assists, one more than the Eagles, but turned the ball over 23 times, nine more than their opponents.
The Oaks will return to action on the road when they face IU Southeast, in New Albany, Indiana, on February 4. Tip off of the women's game is scheduled for 1:00 pm, followed by the men directly afterwards.
