Golden Grizzlies return to Championship Game

By: Rob Tate
Senior Reporter

TULSA, Ok -The Oakland University women’s basketball took care of business on Monday and put themselves one step close to a 2007 championship with a 75-60 thumping of the IUPUI Jaguars.

“We just wanted to go out there and get back to the championship game,” sophomore guard Jessica Pike said. Pike doesn’t know what its like to lose the Mid-Con tournament as she came off the bench as a freshman on last season’s Mid-Con title season.

Pike continued her success against IUPUI the season, showing poise and having an excellent shooting day. Pike went for 23 points on the game, one short of her career high that she clinched back in February at IUPUI.

Pike was selected to the All Mid-Con Conference team, but her scoring production had tailed off slightly at the end of the regular season. Pike only tallied 12 points over the last three regular season games, but has turned it up a notch for the tournament.

Freshman forward Hanna Reising had a solid game as well, netting 14 points on the afternoon, a grabbing a career high nine rebounds. The 5-11 Reising had a tough cover defensively for parts of the game, being matched up on IUPUI 6-5 freshman center Julia Whitted.

“Hanna doesn’t play like a freshman, so when I think about Hanna, I don’t think of her as a freshman. I just know she is going to step up and play really big,” Pike said of her teammate.

Senior Nicole Piggott didn’t have her greatest day offensively, but the win is all that matters. Piggott only shot one for nine on the game but made up for it with a career high nine free throws made to total 11 points.

“I think the nice thing about our team is that if you struggle it doesn’t matter because somebody else is there to have your back and pick up the slack,” Piggott said.

The Golden Grizzlies will do battle with Oral Roberts from Tulsa, OK for the championship tomorrow afternoon at 1:30. The game can be seen on ESPNU or Comcast Local.