After an up and down start to the season, the Golden Grizzlies’ women’s basketball team took to the court Thursday for the start of the Summit League season and a matchup with Southern Utah.

In a game it never trailed, Oakland University (4-3) knocked off the Thunderbirds (2-5), 68-39, behind the strength of sophomore Bethany Watterworth’s 23-point performance.

“What was really nice about tonight’s game is the way that our players’ hard work in practice carried over into the game,” head coach Beckie Francis said. “I really enjoyed watching our defensive intensity in both halves.”

The Grizzlies shot a season-high 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from behind the 3-point arc, and cut down the number of turnovers committed (14), a statistic that had plagued the team through much of the early portion of the schedule.

“Our team is really competitive and we have certain goals. One of them is to have fewer turnovers than our opponents every game,” Francis said. “Since we had that flurry, we really worked on that in practice.

After gaining the lead with 17:55 remaining in the first half, the Grizzlies never relinquished control of the scoreboard. Oakland led by as many as 18 points in the first half, and entered the break with a 36-19 lead.

The second half was no different, as OU cruised to its first Summit League win of the season. With the victory, Oakland improved to a perfect 13-0 against Southern Utah at the O’Rena in the all-time series.

“We couldn’t overcome our first-half struggles,” Thunderbirds head coach JR Payne said. “We fell behind a good team in Oakland, a team that had a good night shooting. We didn’t have an answer for Watterworth.”

In addition to her game-high scoring output, Watterworth collected six rebounds and made five assists. She also demonstrated the range on her jumpshot, hitting twice from the 3-point line.

“I had a little space and the shot clock was running low, so I just got my confidence going with the (3-pointers),” Watterworth said,

Redshirt freshman Elizabeth Hamlet turned in a strong performance by scoring 13 points, including 3-for-4 shooting from behind the arc.

Brittany Carnago also contributed nine points and six rebounds, most of which came in the second half. Her two blocks moved her sole-possession of 13th place in conference history.

Offensively for the Thunderbirds, Challis Pascucchi and Andrea Jones scored 10 points apiece.

Up next for Oakland is a Saturday matchup with conference rival UMKC (3-4). The game will preceed the men’s team’s matchup with the Kangaroos as part of an afternoon doubleheader.