The Basics
Final Score: Detroit 82, Oakland 77 (OT)
Records: Detroit 14-13 (10-6 HL), Oakland 14-13 (6-10 HL)
Location: Rochester, Mich. (O'rena)
ROCHESTER, Mich. (2/27/2016) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball did it again on the road, winning its regular-season road finale, 82-77, on Saturday afternoon over Metro Series rival Oakland in overtime at the O'rena. With the win, the Titans improved to 7-2 in Horizon League road games this season.
Brianne Cohen tallied 22 points to lead the Titans (14-13, 10-6 Horizon League).
Rosanna Reynolds added 20 points, including 17 in the second half for Detroit.
Haleigh Ristovski pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds, took several charges and had a big block in overtime to help clinch the game for Detroit.
With the victory, Detroit improved to 10-6 in the Horizon League and is in a tie for third place with Wright State, which lost to Milwaukee on Saturday. The Titans are just one game behind second-place Milwaukee (11-5 HL) with two games left on the regular-season schedule. Detroit and Milwaukee meet next Saturday in the regular-season finale.
The Titans also reached the 10-win plateau in Horizon League play for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Under first year head coach
Bernard Scott, Detroit also has its most total victories since the 2012-13 season.
The Titans, playing with just seven available players all game, trailed by nine points at halftime, 38-29, after opening the game 0-of-8 from the floor and scoring 10 first-quarter points. Detroit rebounded with 19 in the second quarter and turned it on offensively in the third stanza.
After Oakland's Elena Popkey hit a 3-pointer early in the third, Detroit went on a 20-4 run to take a 51-45 lead with 3:31 left in the third quarter. Reynolds and sophomore
Chea Taylor had back-to-back fast break lay-ups to open the run and Reynolds connected on another bucket to pull Detroit to within six, 43-37. Cohen tied the game, 45-45, on a basket down low before the Titans hit back-to-back 3-pointers by
Nicole Urbanick and
Brittney Jackson, forcing Oakland into a timeout.
The Titans didn't score again in the quarter but held a 51-50 entering the fourth. The Golden Grizzlies regained the momentum and took a seven-point lead, 63-56, with 5:07 remaining in the fourth quarter. Undeterred, the Titans chipped away again as Cohen and Reynolds combined for 10 Detroit points in a 10-3 run to tie the game, 66-66, with 1:57 left.
Oakland's Taylor Jones found the bottom of the net with 37 seconds left to give OU a 68-66 lead, but just 10 seconds later Cohen went to work down low and dropped another shot to knot the game, 68-68. The Golden Grizzlies had the last chance, but missed two shots in the final seconds of regulation.
The Golden Grizzlies struck first in overtime, but Detroit countered as Cohen again used her down low moves for another bucket to tie the game, 70-70, with 3:14 left on the clock. Cohen added two more on free throws after an Oakland turnover and with 2:17 left in the game, Jackson split a pair from the line. Just over a minute later, after two missed 3-pointers by Oakland, Jackson hit a clutch 3-pointer from the wing right in front of the Detroit bench.
Oakland's Taylor Gleason hit a triple of her own, but Detroit remained in front 76-73 with 47 seconds left. Detroit sealed the game with its free throw shooting as Haleigh and
Lola Ristovski combined to go 6-for-6 in the final 22 seconds of the contest.
Haleigh Ristovski, who finished with a career-best 17 rebounds, had a block with 17 seconds left that also helped preserve the lead and the triumph.
Detroit shot a season-high 35 free throws, sinking 25 of them for a 71.4 percent success rate. The Titans shot 49 percent between the second half and overtime and finished the game 26-for-63 (41.3 percent).
Urbanick added 15 points for the Titans, hitting three 3-pointers.
Haleigh Ristovski was just one point shy of a double-double with nine points and her 17 caroms. Reynolds led the Titans with five assists, while
Lola Ristovski and Cohen each had two steals.
It was Detroit's second-straight overtime victory on the road after defeating Wright State, 95-93, last Saturday in the extra session. The Titans finished with 44 rebounds, while leading in assists (13-8) and steals (7-4).
Taylor Jones led Oakland (14-13, 6-10 HL) with 24 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.
Titan News & Notes• Detroit is 2-0 in overtime games this season, both on the road.
• The Titans improved to 8-0 when scoring 80 or more points.
• Detroit is 14-2 when shooting 40 percent or better from the field.
• UDM is now 9-3 in games decided by 10 points or less.
• All 17 of
Haleigh Ristovski's rebounds were on the defensive end.
• Reynolds moved into 16th on the all-time scoring list (1,187 points).
• Urbanick moved into sole possession of third place in single-season 3-pointers (76).
• Cohen scored 20 points or better for the fifth time in the past seven games, all off the bench.
• With 209 triples this season, Detroit is 13 away from the single-season record.
• Detroit finished February with a 5-2 record.
• The Titans earned two points in the Metro Series standings with the win.
