ROCHESTER, Mich. - Western Illinois (5-10, 2-3) women's basketball dropped a road Summit League contest on Monday night inside the O'rena to Oakland (7-8, 3-3), 75-71.

The Golden Grizzlies used 26 points from Sharise Calhoun and a 20-for-25 (80%) clip from the charity stripe to collect their third League victory. Western kept it close throughout and outscored the Grizzlies 38-35 in the second half.

The Purple & Gold earned a quick 6-0 lead and forced Oakland to burn an early timeout with 18:48 on the clock. The Golden Grizzlies answered with 12 straight to regain the lead and the momentum with 16:55 left in the first half.

The run continued as Bethany Watterworth knocked down a triple at the 15-minute mark giving Oakland a 17-10 advantage.

Strong defense and a three from Saule Kontautaite with 13:25 left before break put Western within two at 17-15.

Valencia Kelly found a seam and found enough room for an easy layup with 10:50 before halftime cutting the advantage to 24-20.

Oakland extended its lead to 28-20 at the 7:42 mark and Calhoun drilled a deep ball to give the Grizzlies a 31-20 lead with seven minutes before the break.

Sadie Webb collected her first triple of the night at the 5:30 mark, giving Oakland a 33-25 lead. Kelly followed with an offensive rebound and a bucket making it 33-27, Golden Grizzlies.

A Kelly steal and fastbreak layup with 1:36 before halftime cut the lead to 37-33 for the home team and regained some momentum for the Leathernecks.

The half ended with Oakland leading 40-33 powered by 15 points from Calhoun and 13 from Watterworth. Nine points from Webb paced Western while Kelly contributed eight and Kontautaite chipped in seven points.

Michele Salvatori opened the second half with a triple cutting the OU lead to 40-36 with 19:48 on the clock. She followed with an acrobatic layup keeping the deficit at four, 42-38.

Oakland again had the answer, scoring six unanswered points to stretch its lead to 48-38 with 16 minutes left in the game.

Kelly found Kontautaite standing alone under the basket for an easy basket to stop the run, giving Oakland a 50-43 lead at the 14-minute mark.

However, Oakland regained its 10-point advantage, 53-43, after two free throws from Julia Vestin with 12:11 left in regulation.

Webb knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key with 9:59 on the clock, making the score 55-48. After an OU basket, Salvatori found Rachel Evans for an easy basket with 9:01 remaining cutting the Grizzlies' lead to 57-50.

Lindsay Carroll cut the difference to 57-53 with a triple before Oakland responded with a three-point play from Calhoun at the eight-minute mark.

The Grizzlies continued to execute its offense and find solid looks and held a 65-56 lead at the five-minute mark. Jackie Rieger knocked down two free throws with 4:32 remaining to cut the OU lead to 65-58.

Kelly converted a layup and Webb followed with two free throws at the 2:19 mark cutting the OU lead to 69-62.

Timeouts and free throws allowed Western Illinois to cut the OU lead to 75-71 after a free throw from Carroll with 3.1 seconds remaining.

Webb led Western with 17 points, while Kelly just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds and also dished out five assists. Kontautaite poured in 13.

Joining Calhoun in the offensive attack was Watterworth with 17 points and Brittany Carnago with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Western Illinois will return to Western Hall on Saturday (Jan. 14) for a 4:30 p.m. battle with the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah, the first game of a doubleheader. 

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