The Basics
Final Score: Northern Kentucky 64, Detroit Mercy 60
Records: Detroit Mercy 1-23 (1-12 HL), NKU 8-17 (6-8 HL)
Location: Highland Heights, Ky. (BB&T Arena)
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (2/10/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team knocked down 11 3-pointers Saturday afternoon and battled wire-to-wire with host Northern Kentucky, but the Titans came up just short in the final seconds in a 64-60 setback.
The Titans trailed by three points entering the final minute of the fourth quarter and after two-straight offensive rebounds by senior
Brianne Cohen, junior guard
Brittney Jackson drilled a 3-pointer right in front of the Detroit Mercy bench to knot the game, 60-60, with 42 seconds remaining.
Northern Kentucky converted on a lay-up on the ensuing possession to go-ahead 62-60 with 13 seconds left. The Titans called a timeout to draw up a play and with just seven seconds on the clock, freshman forward
Lexey Tobel had a good 3-point look from the wing, but her shot was just deep. NKU sank two free throws with two seconds left to seal the four-point victory.
Tobel and Cohen were both in double figures with 14 points for the Titans, while senior
Nicole Urbanick and sophomore
Anja Marinkovic each added nine points during the contest. Junior guard
Gracie Roberts had a career-high seven assists and Cohen had a team-high nine boards.
The Titans came out on fire early in the game, scoring the first eight points of the contest. Tobel hit a 3-pointer in the opening minute and sophomore
Ashley Miller sank a jumper in the paint to force NKU to call a timeout just 77 seconds into the contest. Tobel then drilled another 3-pointer to put Detroit Mercy up 8-0.
NKU would use a run of its own to grab a 9-8 lead, but Marinkovic then swished a 3-pointer to put the Titans ahead 11-9. NKU would lead after one, however, 13-11.
The Titans had a great offensive quarter in the second, scoring 22 points in total. Marinkovic opened the stanza with a corner trey and added another just minutes later after Cohen converted on a lay-up. After an Urbanick jumper, sophomore Zoey Oatis had a steal and fast-break lay-up to give Detroit Mercy a 23-22 edge.
Cohen scored six more points in the second half of the second quarter and sophomore guard
Lola Ristovski added another Detroit Mercy 3-pointer late in the half as Detroit Mercy held the halftime lead, 33-29. Marinkovic hit all three 3-pointers in the opening half, while Cohen had eight points at the break.
The Titans went up seven points early in the third quarter after Tobel connected on another Titan 3-pointer. Urbanick sank Detroit Mercy's eighth triple of the game midway through the third, but NKU took a 42-41 lead just one minute later after a Molly Glick trey.
Roberts gave the Titans the lead back, 46-45, after hitting a 3-pointer from the wing, but the Norse took a 47-46 lead heading into the fourth after a pair of free throws late in the third.
The Norse took a four-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Titans would not go away. Cohen and Urbanick made back-to-back lay-ups and then Tobel made her fourth 3-pointer of the contest as Detroit Mercy used a 7-2 run to again take the lead, 55-54, with 5:55 left.
After NKU followed with a bucket, Tobel converted on a tough finish to knot the game, 57-57, with 3:36 remaining. It set up for a thrilling remainder of the game, with both team's playing strong defense down the stretch. Jackson hit the Titans' 11th trey in the final minute to tie the game for the sixth time, but NKU scored the final four points for the victory.
Detroit Mercy shot 38 percent from the floor (22-for-57) and 44 percent from downtown (11-for-25). The Titans had 16 assists on 22 field goals in the game. The Titans also had eight steals in the contest, three of them by Oatis, and six blocks.
Tobel was 4-of-9 from downtown and added five rebounds and three assists. Marinkovic was also effective from beyond the arc, sinking 3-of-4. Urbanick had two blocks in the contest, while Roberts added six rebounds to her career-high total of seven assists.
Titan News & Notes
• Cohen moved into eighth place in career scoring (1,368 points), surpassing former Titan Patrice Martin.
• With her 3-pointer, Urbanick has 229 career treys and is just two shy of tying the career mark (231).
• Urbanick moved past 1,100 career points during the contest.
• Roberts previous career-best in assists was six, done twice before.
• Tobel became the first Titan freshman since 2014-15 to total 200 points and 100 rebounds in her freshman campaign.
• Tobel's 14 points were also the 10th double-figure scoring effort of the season.
• Oatis had three steals for the second-straight game and has a team-high 26 on the season.
• It was the fifth time this season Detroit Mercy has sank 10 or more 3-pointers.
• With six blocks, it was the sixth time this season the Titans have had six or more blocks in a game.
• Detroit Mercy is 3-3 all-time in the six meetings vs. NKU.
Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns home for its next three games, hosting UIC, IUPUI and Oakland in a span of five days next week. The Titans battle the Flames first on Thursday, Feb. 15 in a 7 p.m. contest from Calihan Hall. The three games are part of the "Beat Cancer" initiative put on by the women's basketball program and the Titan Athletic Department. The squad will wear pink uniforms for all three home games.
