The Basics
Final Score: Valparaiso 57, Detroit Mercy 55
Records: Detroit Mercy 14-12 (10-5 HL), Valparaiso 8-19 (3-13 HL)
Location: Valparaiso, Ind. (ARC)
VALPARAISO, Ind. (2/18/2017) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team dropped its second-straight game in the final minute on the road Saturday afternoon, falling at Valparaiso, 57-55. With the loss, the Titans (14-12 overall) fell to 10-5 in the Horizon League with three games left on the league schedule.
Like Thursday, Detroit Mercy used a rally in the final stanza, erasing a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game up twice -- once with 3:49 remaining and then again with seven seconds left.
The Titans trailed by four points, 52-48, with 1:35 remaining but trimmed the Valparaiso lead to two, 52-50, after senior
Rosanna Reynolds sank a lay-up with 58 seconds left. The Crusaders again went up four, 54-50, with 31 seconds on the clock, but junior
Nicole Urbanick swished home a 3-pointer with 19 ticks remaining to cut the deficit to one, 54-53.
After a pair of Titan fouls, Valparaiso went to the line and split a pair of free throws, upping its lead to 55-53, with just 14 seconds left. After a Detroit Mercy timeout, Reynolds received the ball and drove right, eventually heading to the paint and sinking a jumper to knot the game up, 55-55, with seven seconds remaining.
On the ensuing play, the Titans fouled, sending Valparaiso to the line with the Crusaders sinking both with just three seconds left. Detroit Mercy had one last half-court heave, but the shot was off its mark as the Titans dropped their second-straight game by less than two points.
Senior
Haleigh Ristovski became the fifth Titan in school history to surpass the 800-rebound plateau, also moving into fifth place all-time in career rebounding (812) with her 15 boards in the contest. She added a game-high seven assists for the Titans. Junior
Brianne Cohen led all scorers with 18 points, while sophomore guard
Brittney Jackson tied her career-high with 12 points, sinking four 3-pointers.
Detroit Mercy finished the game 21-of-58 from the floor for a 36.4 shooting percentage.
Haleigh Ristovski totaled 11 rebounds in the first half alone and had 15 of Detroit Mercy's 36 boards in the contest. She also had half of the Titans' assists with the squad finishing with 14 helpers. It was
Haleigh Ristovski's third game of the season with 15 or more rebounds and 25th career double-digit rebounding effort.
The Titans were 7-of-29 on their 3-point attempts and added six steals and three blocks. Jackson made 4-of-8 triple attempts and tied her career-best with 12 points, which she has achieved four times in her two-year career. It was her eighth double-digit scoring effort.
Cohen scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting. It was her ninth-consecutive game scoring in double figures. It was Cohen's 11th game in her past 12 that she's shot 50 percent or better from the field. Graduate
Kelsey Mitchell added seven points for the Titans, sinking 3-of-4 shots.
Both teams couldn't find its offensive rhythm in the first half with the two squads combining to go 4-of-28 from downtown in the opening 20 minutes of the game. Detroit Mercy led at halftime, 26-22, holding Valparaiso to just 29.0 percent shooting in the first half.
On Tap
Detroit Mercy returns to the court on Monday for Senior Night against Wright State. The game is set for 7 p.m. at Calihan Hall and admission for all fans is
FREE. Fans may also watch the game locally on WADL-38 as well as ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications with the Voice of Titan women's basketball
Denny Kapp calling all of the action.
