MUAC women take turbo-charged game
PLYMOUTH — Facing one of the highest-scoring teams in the country, Marian University Ancilla College took a win over Oakland Community College’s 119-99.
Oakland came into Saturday’s contest averaging 92.4 points per game. At halftime, Marian Ancilla led 64-43, on pace to set offensive records and hold the Owls under their average. However, a rugged third quarter saw Oakland outscore the Chargers 33-20, cutting the lead to 8 headed into the final period.
The fourth quarter got a bit tense and saw a combination of four technical fouls, one flagrant foul, and nearly 45 minutes of length by the time it was decided. But somehow, the Chargers dug deep, got key stops, and knocked down 47 of their 62 free attempts to pull away for good and ensure the victory.
Freshman guard Annika Davis and sophomore guard Nasiya Gause were incredible offensively, scoring 38 and 37 points, respectively. Davis was 9-16 from the field and 20-24 from the charity stripe, while Gause was 9-17 and 19-21 from the same areas. Additionally, Davis added eight rebounds, three assists, and five steals, while Gause posted a double-double with 15 rebounds, five of which were offensive, plus she picked up three steals.
Freshman forward Santana Eubanks posted another double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds, with a whopping 10 caroms coming at the offensive end of the floor. She also handed out five assists. freshman Jadyn Harris (12 points, eight rebounds), freshman Aaliyah Keil (11 points, 6 rebounds), and sophomore De’Mour Watson (10 points, six rebounds) all scored in double figures as well in this high-scoring affair.
Like many of his players, Head Coach Ryan Gould sounded exhausted after this contest.
“Oakland is a very unique team to play against,” he said. “They sub constantly, they shoot a ton of 3s, and they like to pressure the ball everywhere on the floor. They want to get you to play their way and disrupt your normal rhythm, and I thought our ladies did a nice job of slowing the tempo when we could and taking the best shots for us. Yes, we had turnovers, but in context, we also had probably 30 or 40 more possessions than we are used to in a typical game.”
The Chargers now get a week to prepare for the start of MCCAA play. They host #25 Southwestern Michigan on Saturday in a 1 p.m. start. This will pair with the Men’s game for a conference double-header to begin the MCCAA season, and you can hear both games on MAX 98.3
