The Basics
Final Score: East Carolina 83, Detroit Mercy 81 (OT)
Records: Detroit Mercy 1-1, East Carolina 2-0
Location: Greenville, N.C. (Minges Coliseum)
GREENVILLE, N.C. (11/13/2016) -- A back-and-forth battle all day was decided in overtime Sunday afternoon, with the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team falling by the narrowest of margins, 83-81, from Minges Coliseum at East Carolina University.
The Titans (1-1) never trailed in the first half, but the lead changed hands 11 times during the second half and overtime of Sunday's non-conference road game. For the second consecutive contest, Detroit Mercy began the game strong, jumping out to a 9-3 lead in the opening minutes of the contest to force an ECU timeout.
Detroit Mercy led 21-16 after the first quarter and would hold a 36-33 halftime advantage on the strength of seven 3-pointers, three of them by junior guard
Nicole Urbanick.
The second half was a see-saw affair as ECU tied it up, 36-36, just 38 seconds into the second half. Senior guard
Rosanna Reynolds scored the next five points of the game. After East Carolina again knotted the score, Urbanick hit another trey and sophomore guard
Brittney Jackson drilled a runner off the glass, followed by a free throw to put Detroit Mercy up 49-44 late in the third. East Carolina would take the lead for the first time late in the third quarter, leading 54-53 after three stanzas.
Freshman guard
Anja Marinkovic hit her second 3-pointer early in the fourth to tie the game and the lead was traded a number of times in the fourth quarter. Junior forward
Brianne Cohen gave Detroit Mercy leads of 64-63 and 66-65, the last of which came with 1:04 left on the scoreboard.
Reynolds converted on all four free throw shots in the final minute of regulation and Detroit Mercy led 70-67 with 18 ticks remaining. ECU converted on a 3-pointer, however, with 10 seconds left. The Titans had one final look at winning the game in regulation, but Cohen's quick shot in the paint on an in-bounds play with 0.5 seconds left was just too strong and off the iron.
In overtime, the Pirates took the lead, but Detroit Mercy would come back to take the lead, 77-76, on a
Haleigh Ristovski triple with 1:56 left in the game. East Carolina scored the next four points, but two Urbanick free throws and a lay-up by Cohen brought the Titans to within one point each time. Cohen's bucket with 23 seconds left cut the deficit to 82-81.
After a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play gave Detroit Mercy the ball back, Cohen was whisted for a questionable offensive charge with just five seconds left on the clock as she drove to the hoop. ECU went 1-of-2 from the line at the other end with 3.7 seconds remaining and Reynolds' deep shot at the overtime buzzer missed its mark.
Reynolds led the Titans for the second-straight game in scoring with 19 points, while adding a game-best seven assists and three steals. Cohen added 18 points and Urbanick was again in doubles with 16.
Haleigh Ristovski was one rebound shy of her career high with 16 boards. She added nine points and three helpers. Marinkovic had eight points off the bench for the Titans, with
Kelsey Mitchell contributing five points and four rebounds.
Detroit Mercy made 11 3-pointers for the second-straight game. For the game, Detroit Mercy shot 37.9 percent from the floor. Both teams had 46 rebounds.
Titan News & Notes
• Reynolds moved into sole possession of 12th place on the all-time scoring list, breaking a tie with former Titan standout Shari Hill (1997-01).
•
Haleigh Ristovski was just one rebound shy of her career-best, set last season at Oakland.
• The Titans met East Carolina for just the third time in program history, with each team taking one game prior to Sunday's meeting.
• Detroit Mercy opens with five of its first six games on the road this season.
Up Next
The Titans continue their third-game road trip to open the 2016-17 season next weekend, visiting Bradley in Peoria, Ill. for a Friday morning contest. Opening tip is set for 12 p.m. ET and 11 a.m CT. The game is set to be broadcast on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications.
