The Basics
Final Score: Michigan State 97, Detroit Mercy 60
Records: Detroit Mercy 0-3, Michigan State 4-0
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
DETROIT (11/21/2017) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team hosted Big Ten foe Michigan State on Tuesday night from Calihan Hall, falling to the visiting Spartans by a 97-60 margin.
It was the first time the Titans (0-3) have hosted a Big Ten squad since head coach
Bernard Scott's first season in 2015-16. Detroit Mercy and the Spartans were meeting for the 28th time overall in women's basketball.
Senior forward
Brianne Cohen scored in double figures for the third-straight contest, tallying 14 points in just 20 minutes. Freshman
Kayla Brown and
Lexey Tobel each added eight points for the Titans, which has a busy week, playing three games in four days.
Detroit Mercy shot well from the free throw line during the contest, sinking 17-of-21 shots for an 81-percent shooting clip. The Titans also had eight blocks in the game -- three by junior guard
Lola Ristovski.
The Titans came out hot and took an 11-5 lead early in the contest. After a
Gracie Roberts steal to open the game, Cohen scored underneath the rim for the first points of the game. Tobel, named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week on Monday, followed with a 3-pointer and after a missed MSU shot, Cohen sank two free throws to put the Titans up 7-3. Sophomore
Anja Marinkovic then sank 2-of-3 free throws after being fouled on a triple attempt as the Titans scored nine of the first 12 points of the contest.
Detroit Mercy had an 11-6 lead at the media timeout of the first quarter, but Michigan State went on a run of its own in the latter half of the frame to take a 24-13 lead after the first quarter. MSU increased its lead to 21 in the second quarter, but the Titans cut into that Spartan advantage late in the first half, using a 10-3 run at the end of the second quarter.
The Titans continued their effective free throw shooting in that first half with junior
Brittney Jackson and Cohen each converting from the line on back-to-back possessions to open the 10-3 second-quarter run. Ristovski then connected with a long pass to Cohen, who finished on the fast break and the next time down, Ristovski sank a jumper from the baseline off a feed from Tobel. Tobel finished the run with two free throws of her own.
Detroit Mercy made 14 free throws in the first half, trailing 43-27 at the break.
Michigan State opened the second half with a run to take a commanding lead and the Titans trailed 72-37 after three quarters. Detroit Mercy hit four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter -- two by Brown, who had a season-high eight points. Senior
Cortney Williams also knocked down her first career 3-pointer during the fourth.
Sophomore
Zoey Oatis scored a season-best six points on 3-of-4 shooting. Ristovski totaled five points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks in just 13 minutes. Sophomore
Ashley Miller had a career-best two blocks.
The Titans shot 33.3 percent from the floor (19-for-57), including 20.0 percent (5-for-25) from beyond the arc. Detroit Mercy was out-rebounded in the game, 61-35.
Up Next
The Titans have a quick turnaround, heading to the San Juan Shootout, being held this year in Daytona Beach, Fla. Detroit Mercy plays on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 23-24 against Clemson and North Texas at the tournament. It's Detroit Mercy's third appearance in the San Juan Shootout in program history.
