The Oakland University women’s basketball team (8-10, 3-2 Horizon) came from behind Thursday night to earn a well-fought road victory over Cleveland State (8-10, 3-2), 73-62. The comeback victory marked the first win of the season where trailed at halftime.

After one half of play, Oakland trailed 32-31, a half which saw Cleveland State’s lead grow to as large as 12 points at one point. OU was able to cut into that lead in the final 10 minutes by going on a 15-6 run and sway momentum in their favor going into the locker room.

“I challenged them on whether they were going to respond and they met that challenge,” Golden Grizzly head coach Jeff Tungate said. “It’s such a great sign for our team to be challenged like that and to respond, it’s a great thing for our team and gives us a lot of momentum going forward.”

Oakland took control in the second half as senior forward Bethany Watterworth scored the first five points of the half to grab the lead, and OU never looked back. Watterworth proved to be a key factor in the victory, scoring 15 points for the Grizzlies. Also leading the victory was sophomore guard Elena Popkey, who had a team-high 17 points to go along with six rebounds.

The Vikings had cut the Grizzlies’ lead to one point in the second half, when OU went on a run of their own. The Grizzlies scored nine-straight points, led by Popkey with four points and capped off by a Nola Anderson 3-pointer with 10:40 remaining. Anderson gave OU a huge boost off the bench, scoring 14 points to go along with five boards in just 22 minutes of play.

Oakland took over in the final 30 minutes of the contest, outscoring Cleveland State 57-36. While OU only shot 33 percent (12-of-36) in the first half, they were able to get their offense going in the second, improving to 52 percent on 15-of-29 from the floor. The Vikings were led in scoring by Imani Gordon, who had 27 points and 20 rebounds in the losing effort.

The Grizzlies will continue their Ohio road play as they travel to Youngstown State to face the Penguins, who are undefeated in league play, on Saturday at 4:35 p.m.