The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 85, Wright State 80
Records: Detroit Mercy 15-12 (11-5 HL), Wright State 22-6 (14-2 HL)
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
DETROIT (2/20/2017) -- Five Titans scored in double figures and the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball completed a perfect 9-0 league record at home on Monday, defeating first-place Wright State 85-80 from Calihan Hall.
On Senior Night, all three seniors played a big role in the victory and the Titans (15-12, 11-5 HL) finished perfect at home in Horizon League play for the first time since the 1996-97 season and just the fourth time in school history. Detroit Mercy snapped Wright State's 13-game win streak in the process, handing the Raiders their first loss since December.
Prior to the game, Detroit Mercy's three impactful seniors --
Kelsey Mitchell,
Rosanna Reynolds and
Haleigh Ristovski -- were all honored and when the whistle blew to start the game, all three made their presence known. The trio combined for 43 points in the contest, all finishing in double figures.
Haleigh Ristovski had the second-best scoring effort of the season with 17 points, while Reynolds had 16 points and Mitchell tallied 10 points.
The senior trio were joined in double figures by junior
Brianne Cohen, who went 8-for-8 from the field for 20 points, and junior
Nicole Urbanick, who finished with 10 points. Sophomore
Brittney Jackson added nine points off the bench.
It was the seniors getting it done early on Senior Night. Reynolds came out firing and scored the team's first four points, while Mitchell swatted a ball out-of-bounds in the game's first minute.
Haleigh Ristovski had her shot falling as well, sinking back-to-back 3-pointers during a second-quarter run and leading all scorers with 12 points in the first half. The teams played back-and-forth in the opening half, with the lead changing hands six times.
The Titans held their largest lead of the first half after Cohen converted in the paint to give Detroit Mercy a 37-32 lead with 2:24 left before the break. Cohen again sank another lay-up in the closing seconds of the half, but Wright State hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to knot the game, 39-39, at halftime. It was the eighth and final tie in the first half.
After a back-and-forth early third quarter, Detroit Mercy went on a 8-2 run to take a 50-44 lead with 5:14 left in the third. Detroit Mercy would increase its lead to 11 by the end of the quarter, closing the stanza on a 5-0 run and taking a 63-52 lead after three.
Wright State would chip away at the Titan lead and pull to within one point, 69-68, midway through the fourth quarter. Detroit Mercy then went back to work offensively, with Cohen scoring back-to-back buckets on trips on the offensive end to put the Titans up 73-70, with 4:12 left.
Jackson continued her clutch play in the latter half of this season, sinking a 3-pointer to push the lead to four points, 76-72, with 3:14 remaining. Mitchell followed with a lay-up to give Detroit Mercy a 5-0 run and a six-point lead, 78-72, with 2:27 left. Wright State didn't go away easily, but Detroit Mercy sank its shots down the stretch.
Jackson hit two free throws with 46 seconds left to cushion the lead to five points, 81-76. After a WSU jumper, Reynolds soaked up some time and then went hard to the hoop, sinking a lay-up with just 12 seconds left, pushing the lead to five again, 83-78.
Wright State's Chelsea Welch sprinted down the court for a lay-up, making it 83-80, but
Nicole Urbanick was also clutch at the line, calmly sinking two free throws to put Detroit Mercy up five again, 85-80, with just five seconds left. Wright State put up a 3-pointer in the final seconds, but the shot was off-target.
The Titans avenged an earlier loss this season at Wright State and gave them a win over every team in the Horizon League this season. Detroit Mercy also clinched its second-straight winning season under head coach
Bernard Scott, reaching the win total (15) from last year.
Detroit Mercy shot 52.4 percent in the contest, the fourth game of the year shooting 50-percent or better. Detroit went 13-of-17 from the free throw line and finished with 14 assists and five blocks in the contest.
Haleigh Ristovski nearly had a double-double, adding nine rebounds, while Reynolds finished with seven rebounds, six assists and two steals. Cohen tallied another great shooting effort on the season. Entering the game as the conference leader in field goal percentage, Cohen went 8-for-8 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the free throw line.
The Titans also earned their 11th Horizon League win, the second-straight season of reaching that mark. Detroit Mercy finished its season at Calihan Hall with a 10-2 record in 12 home games, the best mark since the 2012-13 squad went 16-1 at home.
With her 20 points, Cohen is just 30 points back (970) of the 1,000-point plateau in her career. Reynolds finished the game with 1,664 points, just 22 shy of third place all-time on the career scoring list. Reynolds also became the fifth player in school history with 600 career field goals made.
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On Tap
Detroit Mercy returns to the court this weekend, visiting Cleveland State and Youngstown State on Thursday and Saturday, respectively, to conclude the regular season. Game times are set for 7 p.m. and Noon and both may be seen on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications.
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