Oakland University's women's basketball team lost to Oral Roberts in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament Championship game.

Oakland University’s women’s basketball team lost to Oral Roberts University, 72-55, in the Mid-Continent Conference Championship game on Tuesday, March 6. While the women lost the Mid-Con crown, they will play in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament, which starts next week. OU players Nicole Piggott and Jessica Pike were named to the all-tournament team.

"I think our players played really hard. Oral Roberts executed a great game plan and they are a great team," said OU Head Coach Beckie Francis. "Only one team gets to go to the NCAA tournament and it's disappointing but we are not saying goodbye to our seniors because we have the WNIT ahead of us."

The Golden Grizzlies earned a spot in the championship game after defeating Centenary 82-51 in the opening round of the tournament and IUPUI 75-60 in the semi-finals. Oakland entered the tournament as the number one seed.

"Our shots didn't fall," Piggott said. "Oral Roberts is a good team and they took advantage of it. If they just keep hitting them and hitting them, there's not much you can do about it."

This marks the fifth time the Golden Grizzlies have made it to the Mid-Con Championship game. Oakland won the tournament in 2006 as the number six seed.

"The coaching staff has done a great job of recruiting players who compete. That's what defines Oakland — competing," Pike said.

The women will make their first appearance in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament this year after finishing the season with a 19-11 overall record. Watch The News @ OU for more information.

OU’s men will play in the championship game tonight at 7 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

Oakland University will host watch parties for those who want to cheer on the team with other Grizzly fans. Watch parties will be held in both the Oakland Center food court and the O’rena on March 6. The watch parties are free. The O’rena will open at 6 p.m., one hour prior to the start of the game.

The OU Alumni Association will host a watch party at Rochester Mills located at 400 Water Street in downtown Rochester, on Tuesday, March 6 beginning at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call (248) 364-6136.

The tournament will be broadcast online for those who wish to take in all of the action. The Mid-Con is offering tournament games for $4.95. The package includes every men’s and women’s tournament contest, minus the men’s championship game, which will be aired on ESPN.

The Webcasts, available from the Mid-Con Web site, require a high speed Internet connection and Windows Media Player to view. For more information on the Webcast of the Mid-Con tournament, visit the Mid-Con.tv Web site. Live, free audio broadcasts are available for Mid-Con Championship games from the OU Athletics Web site.