Depending on how you look at it, Monday’s women’s basketball game against Western Ontario can be viewed as an impressive sign of things to come, or a meaningless preseason game with an unfortunate development.

 

The Grizzlies defeated Western Ontario 88-54 in OU’s second and final preseason contest.

 

The good news was that the team was dominant in their final tune-up for the regular season, which begins Friday. The bad news, however, is that starting center, Brittany Carnago suffered what appeared to be a serious injury just two minutes into the game.

 

Head coach Beckie Francis declined to comment specifically on the injury, saying only that “it looked bad.”

 

Carnago landed awkwardly on the court and immediately clutched her left knee in obvious pain. She was attended to for several minutes by Francis and the team’s medical trainer before being helped to the locker room, putting no weight on her left leg.

 

With senior Melissa Jeltema leading the way with 28 points, OU took command of the game midway through the opening half and didn’t look back.

 

“It was really good for (Jeltema) to get into a flow,” Francis said. “We’re very excited about her. She worked hard in the offseason and it showed tonight.”

 

Freshman Bethany Watterworth received extended minutes in Carnago’s absence, and made an impression on Francis by recording 14 points and seven rebounds.

 

After the game, Francis said that the exhibition season confirmed her belief that the team had a lot of quality depth behind the starters.

 

“I was happy with all of our freshmen. I thought it was a great exhibition game to get freshmen in and get some reps,” Francis said.

 

Two other Grizzlies finished with double-digit points, with senior Hanna Reising contributing 12 points and six rebounds, and junior Kirstie Malone scoring 11 points.

 

While Western Ontario had trouble keeping the game close, the team found success from 3-point range, connecting on nine shots from beyond the arc.

 

The Grizzlies will begin the regular season in a matchup with the University of Detroit-Mercy Friday at the O’Rena. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.