North Dakota State
4-7, 2-1Summit
Oakland
10-4, 2-1Summit
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 20 | 27 | 47 |
| Oakland | 31 | 30 | 61 |
1/3/2009 7:15:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ROCHESTER, Mich.--Oakland University jumped out to a big lead early and posted a 61-47 victory over North Dakota State University in a Summit League women's basketball game played Saturday, Jan. 3, before a crowd of 595 at the Athletics Center O'Rena.
North Dakota State (4-7, 2-1 Summit) is scheduled to play IPFW (2-10, 1-2 Summit) at 6 p.m. (Central) Monday, Jan. 5, in Hilliard-Gates Sport Center. The Bison and Mastodons enter the game with four-game losing streaks. IPFW lost to No. 21/24-ranked South Dakota State 71-48 on Saturday.
The Bison trailed 31-20 at halftime and by as many as 16 points early in the second half, but closed to within seven points with under eight minutes to play.
Jill Zaruba hit back-to-back jumpers to cut the deficit to 43-36 with 7:45 left to play. The Bison came up with a turnover on the next possession, but a chance to close the gap went by the wayside following a NDSU miscue.
Oakland shot 50 percent in the first half, but could only manage six field goals and a 21 percent shooting touch in the second. The Golden Grizzlies went without a field goal for nearly 13 minutes in the final period.
However, OU put it on the line, hitting 18 of 25 free throws in the second half and 20 of 28 overall. NDSU made 8 of 11 free throw attempts. Sharise Calhouhn and Melissa Jeltema each made 5 of 6 free throws for Oakland.
The Golden Grizzlies also held a 40-30 advantage on the boards including 17 offensive rebounds. April Kidd scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while Jeltma had 10 points and seven rebounds. Kidd and Jeltema combined for 11 offensive rebounds.
North Dakota State was led by Katie Birkel's team-high 13 points including a career-high three three-point field goals. The Bison shot 38.6 percent from the field including 35.7 percent from the three-point line. NDSU was hurt by a season-high 24 turnovers that turned into 20 points for Oakland. OU had 13 turnovers.
The Golden Grizzlies jumped out to an early 11-0 lead before Ashley Samuelson hit a jumper with 14:07 left in the opening half. Including the final 5:47 against Creighton, the Bison went scoreless for nearly 12 minutes.
Oakland (10-4, 2-1 Summit) was able to score inside led by Brittany Carnago, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the first half. She connected on 6 of 7 from the field in the opening period.
Despite trailing 19-4 midway in the first half, North Dakota State battled back and cut the deficit to single-digits at 29-20 with 1:23 left when Samuelson hit 1 of 2 free throws. Samuelson finished with eight points.
