Oakland City, IN - The Oakland City University women's basketball team won their first 12 River States Conference contests, but lost two straight headed into their matchup against the Red Wolves of Indiana University East, in the Johnson Center. OCU battled their way to a halftime lead of 41-32, maintaining their nine-point advantage by the end of the third period, with the score standing at 65-56. However, the Oaks were unable to hold off the Red Wolves, who they earlier beat on two separate occasions on the road this season, losing by the final score of 81-77, dropping to 17-6 on the year, including a 12-3 mark in conference play.
Emilee Hope led all scorers in the contest, posting 31 points, on 12-22 shooting, including 7-13 from three point range, eclipsing the 1,000 career point mark along the way, the 19th player in OCU women's basketball history to reach that threshold. No other OCU player reached double figures, however,
Jalaya Dowell came up with nine points while grabbing a team best nine rebounds, while
Marissa Austin also posted nine counters.
Also during the game,
Taylor Dillard became passed Christa VanMeter (1994) to become the second on the career assists list. VanMeter's four-year total was 364, while Dillard stands at 368 following the game. The all-time mark was set by Casey Mills (2000) with 462.
Davina Smith led four Red Wolves players in double figures, scoring 18 points, on 7-12 shooting, while nabbing 10 rebounds, joining Tia Tolbert with a game high. Addie Brown added 17 counters, followed closely by Kennedy Griffin, who posted 16. Caitlin McEldowney came off the bench to tally 11 counters in the win.
Overall, the Oaks connected on 30-73 (41.1%) from the field, including 7-18 (38.9%) from three point range. IU East made 28-78 (35.9%) of their shot attempts, going 9-24 (37.5%) from beyond the arc. OCU went 10-13 (76.9%) from the foul line, compared to 16-23 (69.6%) for the visiting Red Wolves.
As a team, Oakland City trailed 53-44 in rebounding, including a 23-15 deficit on the offensive glass. Both teams handed out 17 assists in the contest, with OCU turning the ball over 17 times, one more than IUE. Steals also were even, at 11 apiece, while the Oaks held a 7-4 lead in blocked shots.
The Mighty Oaks will look to return to their winning ways when they travel to Owensboro, Kentucky, on Thursday, to take on the Bearcats of Brescia University. The opening game of their double-header is slated for a 5:30 tipoff.
