The Basics
Final Score: George Mason 55, Detroit Mercy 54
Records: Detroit Mercy 3-4, George Mason 4-4
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)

DETROIT (11/30/2016) -- The gym was loud and full of children Wednesday morning for the second annual Field Trip Day, but the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team fell on the wrong side of a back-and-forth contest with visiting George Mason, dropping a 55-54 game in the final seconds.

The crowd was announced at 3,117, which was the largest draw for a Titan women's basketball game at home since Jan. 24, 2004, when Detroit Mercy welcomed 3,218 fans to Calihan Hall in a win over Green Bay.

Both teams struggled shooting the ball Wednesday with the Titans shooting 33.9 percent and George Mason nearly matching Detroit Mercy with a 34.4 percent shooting clip. The Titans were 6-of-13 on free throws, while George Mason made 12-of-24 at the charity stripe. 

As usual in 2016-17, the Titans came out of the gate strong, earning leads of 8-2 and later 14-5 in the first quarter. Haleigh Ristovski continued her hot-shooting from deep, sinking her first two triple attempts. Brittney Jackson then took over and drilled three 3-pointers in the opening quarter as Detroit Mercy led after one, 17-13.

George Mason would come back, however, to take a 25-22 halftime lead. Haleigh Ristovski scored the final points of the opening half as she and Jackson combined for 17 of Detroit Mercy's 22 points in the first half.

After trailing in the second quarter, Detroit Mercy came back to re-take the lead, 30-29, in the third quarter on a free throw by Kelsey Mitchell after senior Rosanna Reynolds tied the game with a lay-up. Haleigh Ristovski nailed another 3-pointer and Mitchell then converted on consecutive lay-ups to give Detroit Mercy a 37-33 advantage. Freshman Anja Marinkovic nailed a 3-pointer with 4:40 left in the third quarter to give the Titans their biggest lead, 40-35.

The Patriots scored five of the final seven points in the third quarter, but Detroit Mercy remained in front after three, 42-40, after junior Brianne Cohen went strong to the hole with one second left in the stanza on the fast break.

The game was tied four times in the fourth quarter and Detroit Mercy erased a four-point deficit with 3:48 remaining in the game after Haleigh Ristovski scored down low and Reynolds added a lay-up off an inbounds play with 59 seconds remaining to knot the game, 52-52. The Patriots went 1-of-2 from the line with 33 seconds left, and Reynolds converted on both free throw shots after being fouled with 7.1 seconds left.

George Mason's Kara Wright, however, found a lane and scored off the glass with just three seconds on the clock to give the Patriots the edge, 55-54. Reynolds rushed down the court  meeting contact and put up a shot as time expired, but there was no whistle and the shot came up short.

Haleigh Ristovski led the Titans with 13 points and seven rebounds. Jackson and Mitchell each added nine points off the bench for Detroit Mercy. Reynolds had a game-best six assists and three steals, while Cohen recorded seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

George Mason had the advantage in rebounds, 49-36, while Detroit Mercy made eight 3-pointers during the contest -- five of them coming in the first quarter.

Titan News & Notes
• Rosanna Reynolds moved into eighth place on the all-time scoring list, passing Molly Peterman with 1,333 points.
• It was the second-consecutive game that Haleigh Ristovski led the Titans in scoring. She's made 11 triples in the last three games.
• Reynolds has five or more assists in five contests this season.
• It was the fifth-straight game that Detroit Mercy has recorded four or more blocks.
• Brittney Jackson set a season-high with her nine points. Her career high is 12, set last season.
• It was the first meeting between the two schools in women's basketball.
• The attendance of 3,117 was the most since Jan. 24, 2004. It nearly doubled last year's Field Trip Day attendance of 1,623.

On Tap
The Titans return to the court Saturday afternoon in a road contest against Big Ten foe Minnesota. Game time is set for 3 p.m. ET and 2 p.m. CT. The game is set to be streamed live on Big Ten Network Plus.