The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 68, UM-Dearborn 60
Records: Detroit Mercy 1-0, UM-Dearborn 3-0
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
DETROIT (11/6/2018) -- University of Detroit Mercy junior
Zoey Oatis recorded her first career double-double and sophomore
Lexey Tobel added a career-high 23 points as the Titans won their 2018-19 season and home opener Tuesday night, 68-60, over the University of Michigan-Dearborn from Calihan Hall.
Oatis was active on both ends all night and tallied 16 points, 11 rebounds and a career-best five blocks. Tobel went past her career-high of 19 as a freshman in her first game of the season, scoring seven-straight Titan points during a key stretch in the fourth quarter and finishing with a team-best 23 during the contest. She added a career-high five assists. Senior guard
Brittney Jackson was the third Titan in double figures with 13 points.
Detroit Mercy scored 19 of the first 23 points of the contest to take a 19-4 lead late in the first quarter. Detroit Mercy used a 13-0 run to take a 15-2 lead with 4:18 left in the frame. Freshman
Paige Bellman scored her first collegiate bucket at the 4:55 mark on a tough turnaround in the post and Jackson followed with a pair of free throws as Detroit Mercy led by 13.
The Titans continued to lead by double figures in the second quarter, with Tobel sinking her second triple of the first half with 3:01 left in the second quarter. Redshirt freshman
Kayla Brown followed with a 3-pointer of her own and then freshman
Alex Burr grabbed an offensive board and sank the lay-up with under 1 minute left in the first half as Detroit Mercy led at halftime, 40-29.
The red, white and blue led by as many as 14 points in the second half, going up 50-36 with 3:59 remaining in the third quarter. UM-Dearborn would chip away at the end of the third and start of the fourth stanza to pull to within four, 51-47, with 8:19 left.
Tobel and Bellman sank back-to-back lay-ups on consecutive trips down the court with Bellman's turning into an old-fashioned 3-point play after she was fouled to quickly put Detroit Mercy back up seven, 56-49, with 7:21 on the clock. The Wolverines would not go away and pulled to within two, 57-55, with 5:21 remaining in the game.
Tobel then scored seven-straight points for Detroit Mercy, sinking a pair of free throws before converting on a lay-up in the lane the next time down the court. She then converted on her own 3-point play with 2:47 left as the Titans went ahead 64-58. Oatis helped seal the victory, flying down the lane for a scoop and score with just 2:01 left as the Titans went up eight, 66-58. UM-Dearborn would not get closer than two possessions the rest of the way.
Detroit Mercy went 23-of-35 from the free throw line on the night and shot 40.4 percent from the floor. The Titans also out-rebounded the Wolverines, 41-38. Detroit Mercy had eight blocks, five of them from Oatis.
Bellman, making her first career start in her first career game, notched nine rebounds to go along with six points and two steals. Burr tallied five rebounds, two points and two blocks in her first collegiate action. Junior forward
Ashley Miller added five points and four rebounds for the Titans, while Oatis led all Titans with three steals.
Titan News & Notes
•
Zoey Oatis set new career-highs with her 11 rebounds and five blocks.
• It was Oatis' first career double-double and first for a Titan since
Brianne Cohen against Northern Kentucky on Jan. 4 last season.
•
Paige Bellman made her first collegiate start in her first game, totaling nine rebounds and six points.
• Titan freshmen
Jess Bicknell and
Alex Burr also saw their first collegiate action.
• Tobel officially notched the first 20-point game of her Titan career. She also led the Titans with 21 points in Saturday's exhibition win over Wayne State.
• Jackson's seven free throws made were one shy of a career-high of eight, set last year in a win over UIC.
• The Titans are 33-14 when shooting better than 40 percent under head coach
Bernard Scott.
• Detroit Mercy is 2-2 in season openers under Scott (1-1 at Calihan Hall in season openers).
• Detroit Mercy is 3-0 all-time against UM-Dearborn, with each of the wins coming from Calihan Hall.
• It was the first meeting between the two programs since the 1987-88 season.
• The red, white and blue are meeting Ohio State for the seventh time ever Friday (3-3 series) and first match-up since 1995.
Up Next
Detroit Mercy heads to Ohio for its first road trip of the season, facing Big Ten foe Ohio State on Friday for a 7 p.m. contest at Value City Arena in Columbus. The game may be seen live via Big Ten Network Plus.
