Ohio native Breanne Beatty has been an immediate impact for the Golden Grizzlies. The freshman guard has played in 18 games, scoring a total of 95 points. 

“I am from Worthington, Ohio, and it is a very supportive community, very diverse, great academics, and most of my long lasting friends live there,” she said. “Everyone in Worthington wants to see you succeed, for sure.”

That supportive community helped Beatty be recognized during her high school career for her 1,000 points scored, having the most scored points in a season her senior year.

It was not only the supportive community that helped her, but her parents as well.

“My parents got me into basketball — mainly my father — they put me in a couple different sports and that was the one that stuck,” Beatty said.

Playing college basketball was not always her top choice, as she was involved with other sports and activities.

“I didn’t want to always play college basketball, I went to a really good basketball camp and they asked if anyone was interested in playing college basketball, I was hesitant to raise my hand,” she said. “I was playing soccer and running track at the time which made me unsure of what I wanted to pursue, but after my sophomore year, I knew I wanted to play Division I basketball.”

Oakland caught the eye of Beatty while she was playing at an AAU tournament.

“Oakland was my first and only offer that I had gotten, but I’m glad I had made it,” Beatty said. “There was no need to wait for any other offers because Oakland had followed me for a couple years.”

Beatty knew Oakland would be her second home when she accepted her offer. She was going to make her mark here.

“The campus was beautiful, diverse, I liked the team atmosphere, and of course the black top,” she said.

In Beatty’s eyes, the team is like another family to her away from home, and that is what she looked for most while in the recruiting process.

“I’ve built a great bond with my team, especially through hardships,” she said. “This is my family. They get on my nerves, but I love them to death. I’d definitely go to bat for any and everyone of them.”

Beatty and the Golden Grizzlies have been getting down to hard work as they are in the middle of conference, and trying to pursue her personal and team goals.

“I want to become more consistent in an offensive sense like being more of a threat from the 3-point line,” she said. “I also want to be dependent in a defensive sense where my team is able to depend on me and know I will be a lock-down defender. Our team goal will always be to win the conference championship and punch our ticket to the NCAA tournament.”

The Golden Grizzlies return home Saturday, Feb. 1 at 3 p.m. as they take on Detroit Mercy. They continue their weekend home Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. as they take on the University of Illinois-Chicago.