The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 76, No. 21/24 Green Bay 72
Records: Detroit Mercy 13-10 (9-3 HL), Green Bay 19-4 (10-2 HL)
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
DETROIT (2/4/2017) -- Titan sophomore
Brittney Jackson made another free throw, the buzzer rang and mayhem ensued.
For the sixth time in program history, the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team knocked off a nationally-ranked opponent, defeating No. 21/24 Green Bay on Saturday, 76-72, at Calihan Hall. Detroit Mercy (13-10 overall) improved to 7-0 at home this season and 9-3 in the Horizon League with the victory.
It was the first win over a nationally-ranked Top 25 opponent since the Titans defeated Green Bay on Feb. 9, 2012. It was the third win over the Phoenix as a ranked squad and first under head coach
Bernard Scott. It was also the sixth win in the past seven games for the Titans.
Detroit Mercy won it with its contagious hot-shooting with the Titans making a season-high 56.3-percent of their field goal attempts. The Titans tied a school-record with 16, 3-pointers, sinking 16-of-26 shots (61 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Titans came out on fire in front of an electric crowd full of students and kids. Detroit Mercy went 8-of-9 from beyond the arc in the opening quarter with junior
Nicole Urbanick (3-for-3 on triples),
Haleigh Ristovski (2-for-2) and freshman
Anja Marinkovic (2-for-2) all hitting multiple triples in the opening 10 minutes. After just one quarter, Detroit Mercy had built a 30-11 lead over Green Bay. It was the largest deficit of the season in any quarter of any game for the Phoenix.
Detroit Mercy earned a 44-31 halftime lead, continuing its hot-shooting in the second stanza.
The Titans connected on 12, 3-pointers in the first half, just four shy of the school record in the first 20 minutes. Detroit Mercy hit 12-of-17 3-point attempts in the first half and shot 66.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes. Urbanick (15 first-half points) was 5-for-5 from behind the arc in the first half. The 44 points given up by Green Bay was also the most in the first half this season, surpassing the 41 points that then-No. 1 Notre Dame scored against the Phoenix earlier in the season.
Green Bay took its first lead of the game in the fourth quarter, but it was short-lived as Jackson knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing off a quick dish from
Rosanna Reynolds to tie the game, 72-72, with 2:47 left. Both teams then had misses on the offensive end, with
Brianne Cohen and Haleigh Ristovski each coming up with big blocks.
Cohen was fouled underneath the basket with 31 seconds left and converted at the line to give Detroit Mercy a 73-72 lead. Green Bay held the ball for the final shot, but an errant pass went off Mehryn Kraker and out-of-bounds with just 4.1 seconds left. Forced to foul, Green Bay fouled Jackson, who sank both free throws and gave Detroit Mercy a 75-72 lead.
After a Green Bay timeout, the Titans forced a turnover on the in-bounds play with Reynolds tipping the ball and Jackson grabbing it. Jackson went to the line again, converted on 1-of-2 with just 2 ticks left to seal the victory for Detroit Mercy. Students rushed the court with elation after the final buzzer sounded.
The Titans held Green Bay scoreless in the final 3:10 of the contest. It was the eighth victory ever for the Titans over Green Bay.
Senior
Haleigh Ristovski tallied a double-double with a career-high 10 assists and 10 rebounds, while tallying six points. Urbanick hit all six 3-point attempts and led the Titans with 18 points. Junior
Brianne Cohen (11 points), Marinkovic (11 points) and graduate forward
Kelsey Mitchell (10 points) all finished in double figures for Detroit Mercy. Jackson had an important nine points and sank 3-of-4 free throws in the final five seconds of the game.
The Titans had another good day sharing the basketball, totaling 18 assists. Detroit Mercy also out-rebounded Green Bay by a 33-23 margin. It was the fewest amount of rebounds for the Phoenix this season.
Detroit Mercy also had a 30-4 advantage in bench points, while blocking four shots in the contest.
The 3-point shooting percentage for the Titans was the best in the coach Scott era, while the field goal percentage was just behind last season's 56.9-percent shooting at Milwaukee. Detroit Mercy shot 40 percent or better in each quarter and made two or more triples in all four quarters.
The 76 points given up by Green Bay were also a season-high. Detroit Mercy improved to 9-2 this season when scoring more than 70 points.
Haleigh Ristovski surpassed the 300-assist plateau during the game, while also moving into sixth place in career rebounds (775), passing former Titan standout Molly Peterman. Reynolds went past the 1,600-point mark in the contest, becoming just the fourth Titan to score that many points in her career.
On Tap
Detroit Mercy returns to the court next Saturday against rival Oakland for a 1 p.m. ET contest from Calihan Hall. It'll be the finale of a three-game homestand for the Titans. It'll also be the annual Pink Game for Detroit Mercy with the team supporting breast cancer awareness and proceeds from the game going towards Gilda's Club of Royal Oak.
