The Basics
Final Score: Detroit 85, Valparaiso 65
Records: Detroit 12-12 (8-5 HL), Valparaiso 8-16 (4-9 HL)
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
DETROIT (2/13/2016) -- Three Titans set or tied career-highs and five players scored in double figures as the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team cruised to an 85-65 win over visiting Valparaiso on Saturday at Calihan Hall. The Titans wore pink uniforms and shoes in their annual Pink Game to support the fight against cancer.
The Titans (12-12) improved to 8-5 in the Horizon League with the victory, including sweeping the season series with the Crusaders.
Sophomore
Brianne Cohen (Toronto, Ont. / York Memorial) set a career-high with 23 points, while adding 11 rebounds and four blocks. Freshman
Lola Ristovski (Sterling Heights, Mich. / University Liggett) knocked down 5-of-6 triples and finished with a career-best 17 points and junior
Rosanna Reynolds (Canton, Mich. / Divine Child) notched her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and a career-best 10 assists.
Freshman
Brittney Jackson (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Nazareth) hit four 3-pointers for a career-high-tying 12 points. Sophomore
Chea Taylor (Bellbrook, Ohio) was the fifth member of the Titans in double figures with 10 points, while totaling seven rebounds and junior
Haleigh Ristovski (Sterling Heights, Mich. / University Liggett) had six points and eight boards for Detroit.
Detroit shot the ball well from downtown all afternoon and finished 11-for-25 from beyond the arc. The Titans sank 12-of-13 free throws for a season-high 92.3 percent success rate. The Titans improved to 12-2 when hitting 40 percent of shots or better as Detroit finished at 45.6 percent for the contest (31-of-68).
Detroit took the lead early in the first quarter and never relinquished it. The Titans' offense was clicking on all cylinders in the first quarter as Detroit jumped out to a 14-6 lead at the first media timeout. Reynolds scored six points in that stretch, while
Lola Ristovski hit the first of five 3-pointers early in the stanza.
Lola Ristovski and Jackson hit back-to-back treys late in the first quarter to take a 21-15 lead at the end of the frame.
Jackson opened the second quarter with a triple and Detroit continued its hot-shooting in the first half, opening a 16-point advantage late in the second quarter. Freshman
Taylor Malone (Chicago, Ill. / Whitney Young) and Cohen made consecutive buckets for a 38-22 advantage late in the half and Detroit had a 14-point lead at the break, 38-24. Detroit sank 7-of-13 shots from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, and all eight Detroit players tallied points in the first half.
The two sides combined for 52 third-quarter points as Valparaiso outscored its entire first-half output in the third quarter, tallying 27 points. Detroit kept pace with the Crusaders, however, scoring 25 points in the frame. Valparaiso cut the Detroit lead to eight points two times, but the Titans scored the final four points in the third quarter on back-to-back buckets from Reynolds and sophomore
Nicole Urbanick (Grosse Ile, Mich. / Divine Child), and led after three, 63-51.
Valparaiso scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, but Detroit used an 18-7 run to take a commanding 81-62 advantage with 1:50 left.
Lola Ristovski started the scoring with her fifth 3-pointer of the game. Cohen led the Titans with nine points in the fourth.
Detroit led by as many as 21 points in the final quarter. The Titans held the advantages in rebounding (42-38), assists (20-14), blocks (6-4) and bench points (37-26).
Jasmyn Walker led the Crusaders (8-16, 4-9 HL) with 12 points.
Titan News & Notes• The Titans improved to 6-0 when scoring 80 or more points this season.
• Detroit is 7-3 when leading at the half this season.
• Detroit is 12-2 when shooting 40 percent or better from the floor.
• It was Reynolds' first career game of 10 or more assists and first career double-double of points and assists.
•
Lola Ristovski's previous career-high came earlier this year at Milwaukee, when she tallied 10 points.
• UDM hit 10 or more triples for the seventh time in 2015-16.
• Jackson has 16 3-pointers in her last eight games. She also scored 12 points against Cleveland State earlier this year.
• Cohen reached double digits for the 17th time off the bench.
• It was the highest free throw percentage of the season for Detroit (92.3 percent).
Up NextThe Titans return to the road next week, visiting Northern Kentucky on Thursday, Feb. 18 before heading to Dayton for a contest against Wright State on Saturday, Feb. 20. Detroit has performed well on the road this season, going 5-1 in Horizon League road contests.
