The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 80, Youngstown State 63
Records: Detroit Mercy 9-9 (5-2 HL), Youngstown State 7-11 (3-4 HL)
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
DETROIT (1/20/2017) -- A fast start and strong finish propelled the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team to an 80-63 victory Friday evening over visiting Youngstown State at Calihan Hall. With the win, Detroit Mercy improved to 5-2 in the Horizon League.
The Titans (9-9 overall) opened the game with 28 points in the first quarter and then closed it out, using a 15-2 fourth-quarter run to help put away the Penguins at home. The home win marked the fourth-straight for the Titans, all of them coming in Horizon League play.
Senior guard
Rosanna Reynolds notched her fourth double-double of the HL season with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while also adding a team-best six assists. Junior forward
Brianne Cohen was active all night, adding 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocks and sophomore guard
Brittney Jackson added 12 points on four 3-pointers for the Titans, which also improved to 4-0 in Horizon League home contests. It's the best conference start at home for Detroit Mercy since 2009-10.
The Titans opened the game with one of their best-scoring quarters of the season, netting 28 first-quarter points. Cohen got going offensively early, scoring the first six points of the game. After
Kelsey Mitchell came in for Cohen midway through the first, the offense didn't miss a beat with Mitchell scoring consecutive buckets.
Detroit Mercy then hit three-straight 3-pointers in a span of 52 seconds with Reynolds burying the first at 4:04 in the stanza. It was followed with two-straight triples from Jackson as the Titans took a 22-12 lead with 3:12 left in the quarter. Reynolds completed the first quarter with a tip-in off a Cohen miss at the buzzer as the Titans led 28-19.
The Titans' lead great to 16 points in the first half, 38-22, after Detroit Mercy opened the second quarter on a 10-3 run. YSU trimmed down the Titan lead back to eight, but Reynolds, who had 14 first-half points, responded with a lay-up to put the Titans up 10, 40-30, with 3:54 left in the half. Neither team converted on a field goal in the rest of the first half and Detroit Mercy held a 40-32 lead at the break.
YSU opened the second half with a run of its own to cut the Titan lead to three points two different times, but Detroit Mercy responded as
Haleigh Ristovski and
Brianne Cohen each knocked down 3-pointers at the tail-end of the stanza. The Titans held a 56-49 lead after three.
In the fourth quarter, Youngstown State scored the first five points to cut the Titan lead to two, 56-54, with 9:10 left. But again, Detroit Mercy responded. Cohen converted on two-straight lay-ups to force YSU into a timeout and after the stoppage, Reynolds sank two-straight jumpers to make it an 8-0 Detroit Mercy run.
After a YSU make, Detroit Mercy then scored the next seven points to grab a 71-56 lead with 4:09 left. The 15-2 run was punctuated by another Jackson 3-pointer. Jackson would add her fourth trey of the game just over a minute later to help seal the victory.
The Titans increased the lead to 19 points with just seconds remaining after freshman
Zoey Oatis connected on her first 3-point field goal of her collegiate career.
Mitchell finished just outside of double figures with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, adding three blocks.
Haleigh Ristovski had nine rebounds, five points, five assists and three steals for the Titans, while
Gracie Roberts added two steals and seven boards for Detroit Mercy.
The Titans out-rebounded YSU, 49-37, and totaled eight blocks on the night. Detroit Mercy also added 20 assists, the fourth game of the HL season that the Titans have had 20 or more helpers. The 49 rebounds tied a season-high for the Titans.
Detroit Mercy shot well again, hitting 47.1 percent of its shots, including 10-of-25 (40 percent) from beyond the arc. The Titans had a 51.7 percent shooting clip in the second half alone, sinking 5-of-10 triple attempts.
Alison Smolinski led Youngstown State (7-11, 3-4 HL) with 20 points.
Titan News & Notes
• The Titans have shot 40 percent or better in 11 games this season (7-4 in those games).
• It was the sixth game of the year of 10 or more 3-pointers for Detroit Mercy.
• The Titans tied a season-best with 49 rebounds, equaling their season opener at Delaware State.
• The eight blocks was one back of a season high and fourth time in 2016-17 that the Titans have recorded eight or more blocks.
• Detroit Mercy improved to 16-2 when
Rosanna Reynolds scores 20 or more points.
• Reynolds has four double-doubles in seven Horizon League games (two with assists, two with rebounds).
• Reynolds surpassed 100 assists on the season for the fourth time in her career. She is two assists shy of 500 in her career.
• Jackson tied career-bests in points (12) and 3-pointers made in a game (four).
•
Haleigh Ristovski has 17 steals in her last five games.
• Detroit Mercy has five games of 20 or more assists.
• The Titans are 2-1 against YSU under head coach
Bernard Scott.
• It was the seventh game of the season scoring 80 or more points (5-2 in those games).
• The 4-0 league start at home is the best since 2009-10, when Detroit Mercy opened 7-0 at home in HL games.
Up Next
The Titans have a quick turnaround, hosting Cleveland State on Sunday for a 1 p.m. contest from Calihan Hall.
