The Oakland University (2-1) women’s basketball team fell to Buffalo (1-2) 61-59 in the last seconds of the game at the Athletics Center O’rena on Friday night.

Freshman forward Olivia Nash earned a double-double in her third consecutive game with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Junior guard Elizabeth Hamlet finished with 12 points while freshman guard Elena Popkey grabbed eight rebounds and put up 16 points.

“They just hit some big shots and got on a roll,” head coach Beckie Francis said. “I thought we had a really nice comeback, I thought we had it there in the end, just one or two plays just didn’t go our way. We have a lot of work to do to get better.”

It took awhile for Oakland to heat up in the first half. The Golden Grizzlies shot 1-12 early on, scoring their first three points on free throw shots. Nash scored the team’s first field goal nearly five minutes into the first half.

Despite the low shooting percentage, they were able to keep the game within reach. Down 13-9, freshman guard Annemarie Hamlet hit her first of three three-pointers to cut Buffalo’s lead to one

“We just had to keep coming at them,” Popkey said.

It was Popkey’s three-pointer that gave Oakland their first lead of the game. The Golden Grizzlies went on to put up a 21-18 lead late in the first half. Buffalo answered with a 10-5 run to close out the first half and went back up 32-26.

Oakland shot just 25-percent in the first half, making 10 of 40 baskets.

Buffalo picked up where they left off to begin the second half. After junior guard Nicki Hopkins made a three-pointer, Buffalo reached their largest lead of the game with a nine-point edge over Oakland.

“It was interesting to see how we handled that kind of adversity,” Francis said. “I’m proud that they came back in the second half.”

The Golden Grizzlies slowly began to make up the difference and came within three points after a Nash three-pointer with just under nine minutes left in the game.

“I think Olivia is playing amazing for a freshman,” Francis said. “She had somewhat of a minor injury, I don’t know if anyone caught that, so I was really proud that she tried to go out there and play through that tonight. It may have affected her a little bit at the end, but I’m just really proud of her toughness.”

Junior guard Victoria Lipscomb made two-pressure packed free throws to put Oakland up by one over Buffalo with almost four minutes left in the game. The close score was a test for this young team.

“I think with what our coaches taught us and what our veterans have said to us and (how they have) taken us under their wing, that we should come up and be able to handle the pressure,” Popkey said.

In the final second of the game, freshman guard/forward Rachael Gregory made the layup to secure Buffalo’s first win of the season.

With their first loss of the season in the books, Oakland is ready to put it behind them.

“One loss doesn’t take away our momentum,” Hamlet said. “We’re a good team and we’re going to fight and come back.”

Oakland goes on the road for the first time this season, taking on Canisius Nov. 20 and Niagara Nov. 25. They will return home Nov. 26 to play UM-Dearborn at 6:30 p.m. at the Athletics Center O’rena.