The floodgates opened early as the Raiders started the game on an 11-0 run. Oakland (4-15, 1-7) then made a hard charge to outscore WSU 20-10 and pull within one at 21-20 with 5:04 left in the second quarter. At the half it was only a 33-26 advantage.
The Raiders began to pick up the pace offensively during the third quarter, making the margin 54-44 entering the fourth. With 4:03 remaining in the final frame the lead would balloon to 18 at 64-46, and it was smooth sailing from there.
The victory moved WSU to 15-5 overall and 7-1 in the Horizon League, tied for the top spot with Green Bay.
It was a 51-43 rebound advantage for WSU and a noticeable mismatch on the offensive boards of 19-9, and Symone Simmons had 16 boards to pace the Raiders.
Wright State’s depth was on display as 11 different Raiders scored. Mackenzie Taylor led the way with 19 points. Michal Miller was the other double-digit scorer with 10 points.
“Offensive rebounding by Symone and Tyler (Frierson) along with double-digit scoring from Mack and Michal helped. Taking care of the ball and forcing Oakland into turnovers did as well,” Merriweather said. “Mack’s presence at the three-point line was much needed. She had a good all-around game tonight and we needed that.”
“I thought our team played well tonight. We haven’t been playing our best basketball the past couple of days, but I think tonight was a step in the right direction,” Taylor said. “It makes us so dynamic when we are all scoring threats.”
The Raiders struggle at times to make shots (35.1 percent for the game), but did enough to keep clear of Oakland, which shot 32.2 percent from the field.
“We did a good job coming out aggressive. Unfortunately poor shooting followed that. We gave up too many offensive rebounds and fouled too much,” Merriweather said. “We need to hone in on the game plan and not give up threes. Overall we did a good job of staying composed.”
The Raiders return to the Nutter Center at 2 p.m. Sunday to face Detroit Mercy.
SUNDAY’S GAME
Detroit Mercy at Wright State, 2 p.m.
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