The Basics
Final Score: Miami (Ohio) 91, Detroit Mercy 64
Records: Detroit Mercy 0-1, Miami 1-0
Location: Oxford, Ohio (Millett Hall)
OXFORD, Ohio (11/10/2017) -- Senior forward
Brianne Cohen scored 22 points for the Titans, but the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team dropped its season opener on the road Friday afternoon to Miami (Ohio), 91-64. The game was played in front of 1,678 fans at Millett Hall in Oxford.
Junior guard
Brittney Jackson added 10 points, while sophomores
Anja Marinkovic and
Ashley Miller each scored eight points for Detroit Mercy (0-1). The eight points for Miller were a career-high as she hit 3-of-4 shots from the floor. Miller added a career-best five rebounds.
All three Titan freshmen made their collegiate debuts with
Kayla Brown and
Lexey Tobel starting in the contest. Tobel finished with three points on a 3-pointer in the first quarter, while Brown converted on a jumper from the free throw line for her first collegiate points.
Aiora Rivas Preciado also saw her first game action for the Titans in the fourth quarter.
Both teams came out firing from the field, racing out to a 17-17 score at the first media timeout with 3:51 left in the first quarter. Junior guard
Lola Ristovski and Tobel had back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the first quarter and Cohen added a lay-up to give Detroit Mercy a 17-15 lead.
After Miami took a three-point lead, 20-17, later in the first quarter, Marinkovic sank a 3-pointer from the wing to knot the game, 20-20. After one quarter the Titans and Redhawks were tied, 22-22. Jackson scored six of her 10 points in the first quarter for Detroit Mercy.
The teams traded buckets to start the second quarter, with Cohen scoring four points and Miller adding another two points and the contest was tied for the eighth time, 28-28, with 7:03 left in the second. Miami used a big run midway through the stanza to take a 12-point lead, 44-32. The Titans scored the final four points of the second quarter and trailed, 44-36, at the halftime break.
Miller scored two of the final four after
Gracie Roberts grabbed her own miss and found an open Miller. Cohen added a bucket from Urbanick with just 30 seconds left before halftime. Cohen had 14 first-half points for the Titans.
Marinkovic opened the second half with a strong run to the hoop and was fouled, converting on the 3-point play and pulling Detroit Mercy to within five, 44-39. The Redhawks would use an 8-0 run, however, to force the Titans into a timeout and take a double-digit lead. Miami would lead after three quarters, 72-53, and had a double-digit lead throughout the final stanza.
Detroit Mercy shot 38.4 percent (24-for-62) for the contest and made 13-of-18 from the free throw line. The Titans were out-rebounded in the contest, 54-38. Jackson and Cohen each led the team with six rebounds each with Miller and
Cortney Williams each adding five rebounds.
Titan News & Notes
• Cohen notched the 17th, 20-point effort in her Titan career.
• Miller's eight points and five rebounds were both career highs.
• Urbanick's three blocks were a career-best.
• Tobel scored her first career points on a 3-pointer in the first, also her first collegiate shot.
• Brown's first career points came on a jumper in the fourth quarter.
• Brown, Marinkovic and Tobel were all making their first career starts.
• It was the sixth meeting all-time between the two programs and first since 2001.
Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns home for its next game, hosting Bowling Green for Field Trip Day on Monday, Nov. 13 at 11 a.m. ET. Admission into the contest at Calihan Hall is free. It's the third annual Kid's Day game under head coach
Bernard Scott.
