The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 77, Eastern Michigan 64
Records: Detroit Mercy 4-5, Eastern Michigan 3-5
Location: Ypsilanti, Mich. (Convocation Center)
YPSILANTI, Mich. (12/6/2016) -- Senior guard
Rosanna Reynolds scored a season-high 30 points and the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team jumped out to an early lead and controlled the contest in a 77-64 road victory over host Eastern Michigan on Tuesday.
Reynolds turned in a big game for the Titans (4-5), shooting 11-of-16 from the floor and totaling eight rebounds, a career-high-tying five steals and five assists. Junior forward
Brianne Cohen added 16 points, sinking 12-of-16 foul shots, while freshman
Anja Marinkovic added 13 points off the bench for Detroit Mercy, which earned its third win away from Calihan Hall this season.
Detroit Mercy made 31-of-41 free throws in the game, the most FT makes in the
Bernard Scott era and the most as a team since sinking 31 on Feb. 28, 2002 against Cleveland State. It was the most free throws attempted by the Titans since 1991 against Marquette.
Per usual this season, the Titans jumped out to a lead early. Detroit Mercy earned a double-digit advantage midway through the first, 17-7, forcing EMU into a timeout after
Anja Marinkovic connected on a 3-pointer from the wing, off a feed from Reynolds. The Titans were 10-of-11 on free throws in the first quarter with Marinkovic making all seven foul shots in the opening 10 minutes.
The Eagles cut into the Detroit Mercy lead in the second quarter, but Reynolds would take over in the second half of the frame, scoring six-straight points and eight overall in the final 3:07 on the second quarter as the Titans held a 41-32 halftime advantage. Reynolds hit a tough look in the lane with three seconds left before the buzzer and had 15 points at the break.
The Titans made 13-of-17 free throws in the first half for their nine-point halftime edge. Both teams had 18 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes of the contest.
Reynolds continued her dominance in the second half, scoring four points in the first minute of the third quarter and finishing the third quarter with 10 points total. She had at least five points in each quarter during the game on her way to a season-best 30 points.
Eastern Michigan would cut the Detroit Mercy lead to four points, but the Titans opened their lead back up to 14, 58-44, with 2:46 left in the third quarter. Detroit Mercy used a 12-2 run in that span, which included six points from Reynolds.
The red, white and blue were 18-of-24 from the foul line in the second half to help seal the victory and prevent an Eastern Michigan comeback. Detroit Mercy had a lead as large as 22 points in the fourth quarter to help put the game away.
The Titans finished the game 38.9 percent shooting from the floor, making 4-of-15 from beyond the 3-point line. Detroit Mercy secured 41 rebounds and had eight steals and three blocks.
In her first collegiate start with the Titans, guard
Gracie Roberts totaled a season-best seven points, three rebounds and three assists. Senior forward
Haleigh Ristovski led Detroit Mercy with nine rebounds, while
Kelsey Mitchell added five points, four rebounds and two blocks.
Sasha Dailey led Eastern Michigan (3-5) with 31 points.
Titan News & Notes
•
Rosanna Reynolds moved into third place all-time in career assists (443) and into seventh place on the all-time scoring list (1,383 points).
• It was the second 30-point game in Reynolds' career and first since her career-best 33 at Fort Wayne during the 2014-15 campaign.
• Marinkovic has scored in double figures in back-to-back games.
• Roberts made her first career start and notched the third, three-assist game of 2016-17.
• Reynolds has four times reached five steals in her career in a single game.
• It's the seventh time this season and fifth-straight game that Reynolds has dished out five or more assists.
• The 16 free throw attempts by Cohen tied her career-high, set last year against Milwaukee.
• With its game against Eastern Michigan, Detroit Mercy opened a three-game stretch against Mid-American Conference opponents.
• The Titans are 2-0 against MAC opponents this year following the win over the Eagles.
• Detroit Mercy and Eastern Michigan were meeting for the 26th time in the 40 years of Titan women's basketball.
• It was the 11th meeting between the two schools in the past 11 seasons (Detroit Mercy is 5-6 in that stretch).
On Tap
The Titans return to the court on Saturday, hosting Western Michigan University for a 1 p.m. contest from Calihan Hall. The game is set to be streamed live on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications with
Denny Kapp calling all of the action.
