After a regular season marred with injuries, Oakland (9-19, 3-13 Summit) will go to Sioux Falls as the No. 8 seed against top-seeded South Dakota State (22-7, 14-2 Summit) Saturday, March 9.

The Grizzlies have been without Summit League Preseason Player of the Year Bethany Watterworth the entire season. Junior guard Zakiya Minifee, who earned second-team honors prior to the season, has been out for the season since Feb. 20.

Head coach Beckie Francis said that the team has taken on the identity of ‘a hardworking team’ and a group of women that never give up.

“I love this team,” Francis said. “We’ve had some adversity. They want this season to keep going. This team is hungry and I think it’s a real attribute to the leadership of the team that we’re still wanting to play and it’s March.”

Oakland boasts a young team with freshmen guards Elena Popkey, Annemarie Hamlet, Halle Wangler and forwards Sinclair Russell and Olivia Nash. The upperclassmen have become leaders, taking the freshmen under their wings.

Junior guard Elizabeth Hamlet said that the young players need to just keep doing what they’ve been doing.

“We just want you to play, have fun, do what you do,” Hamlet said. “There is no pressure. Just go out and do what you’ve been doing the whole season.”

After finishing the regular season with a four-game losing streak, the Grizzlies are stressing the importance of moving forward and approaching the Summit League tournament like a new season.

“We’re all at the same playing field. Everyone is 0-0,” junior guard Victoria Lipscomb said. “You kind of have to put what happened through the last two months behind you and just look more into the next five days and take every game one step at a time.”

The Grizzlies are aware of their underdog status against the No. 1 seeded South Dakota State, but they’re turning it around and using it to their advantage.

“It’s a lot of pressure,” Francis said of being ranked number one. “I think it’s even more pressure for South Dakota State since it’s in their state. I’ve never been an eight seed ever, so I have zero pressure. It’s fun, actually. Our players are just having fun in practice and I think that’s going to show on Saturday. Anything can happen.”

The numbers next to the team names hasn’t fazed Popkey.

“South Dakota State is the number one seed and that can be intimidating,” Popkey said. “But if you don’t let it be intimidating, then it’s just like any other game. You just go into it head on.”

Popkey finished the regular season second in the Summit in three-point percentage (42.9) and led the Grizzlies with 324 points. Popkey attributes much of her success to her teammates and her own will.

“I see the spark in my teammates and how much they love the game and want to win and that rubs off on me a little bit,” Popkey said. “It’s just wanting to win and just wanting that ball and another chance to score or get our team a win.”

Popkey and her teammates will tap into that energy Saturday and will take notes from a past Oakland women’s team who were in a similar situation. In 2011, the Grizzlies defeated No. 1 Oral Roberts by 30 points.

“That’s been a theme the last couple of days,” Francis said. “We’ve been talking about how it can be done any given day, David and Goliath. That’s what we are focusing on.”

Francis pointed to ‘a lot of high character people’ on the team with positive attitudes. Rather than making anything feel different, Oakland will continue with the same approach they have in the past.

“The way we’re preparing is the way Oakland women’s basketball always prepares going into the tournament,” Francis said. “It’s not about the opponent, it’s getting the team ready to win.”

 

Contact Sports Editor Lindsay Beaver via email at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @lindsaybeavs