The Basics
Final Score: Butler 82, Detroit Mercy 60
Records: Detroit Mercy 0-3, Butler 2-0
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. (Hinkle Fieldhouse)
INDIANAPOLIS (11/13/2019) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team showed fight against BIG EAST foe Butler on Wednesday, rallying from 22 points down to cut the deficit to nine points in the fourth quarter, but the Titans couldn't complete the comeback against their old conference rivals in an 82-60 setback from historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Five Titans scored more than seven points with Titan sophomore forward
Maxine Moore and freshman guard
Sylare Starks each pacing Detroit Mercy with 10 points each. Freshman guard
Markyia McCormick added nine points, while sophomore forward
Nicole Johanson and junior guard
Aly Reiff each tallied seven points for the red, white and blue.
The Titans came out firing in the first quarter and led most of the first stanza. Reiff nailed a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the contest and Moore sank a jumper as Detroit Mercy led 5-2 early. Moore added another jumper and freshman forward
Bridgid Fox then sank a lay-up off a feed from Reiff as Detroit Mercy held a 9-6 lead. Sophomore guard
Jiera Shears followed with a runner to put Detroit Mercy ahead 11-8 and then Moore sank her third field goal of the first quarter with 1:16 left in the stanza as the Titans led 13-10. The Titans shot 50 percent in the first quarter.
Butler closed out the first quarter with four-straight points to take a lead after one and then went ahead 25-16 midway through the second quarter. After a Detroit Mercy timeout, Johanson made a lay-up off an assist from freshman guard
Abbie McDowell and then after a McCormick steal, Starks converted on a jump shot off the fast break to cut the deficit to 25-20. Butler would go on a run to end the first half to take a 42-25 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs, which went to the Sweet 16 of the WNIT a year ago, had a lead of 22 points at the 5:02 mark of the third quarter, but Detroit Mercy started to chip away. Detroit Mercy scored five straight points on a tough Moore lay-up over two defenders before Shears knocked down a 3-pointer from the wing. McCormick then converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play inside the final minute of the third stanza and Starks sank a runner in the final 10 seconds as Detroit Mercy trailed after three quarters, 56-40.
The team's traded buckets several times to start the fourth quarter, but the Titans then went on a 13-5 run midway through the final stanza. Reiff opened the run with a runner in the paint and then McCormick scored off back-to-back buckets on the fast break after Johanson defensive rebounds. McCormick scored her third-straight field goal for the Titans to cut the Butler lead to 12, 65-53 and then the next time down the court, Johanson made a tough lay-up down low as she was fouled as the Titans cut the lead to 10, 65-55, with 4:53 remaining.
Butler sank two free throws at the other end and then after Starks was fouled on a 3-pointer from the wing, the freshman guard converted on all three free throws to bring the deficit to single digits, 67-58, with 3:45 left. Butler would respond, however, scoring several buckets in a row before Moore ended the BU run with her fifth field goal of the contest in the final minute of the game.
Detroit Mercy shot 38.1 percent from the floor in the contest (24-for-63) and connected on 6-of-24 shots from beyond the arc (25 percent). Detroit Mercy had 14 offensive rebounds in the game and a season-high 35 overall. Butler had 47 total boards, including 17 on the offensive end. Detroit Mercy had 14 assists -- four from Reiff -- and added five steals -- three from senior
Zoey Oatis -- and two blocks.
Moore was 5-of-10 from the field and Johanson made all three of her field goal attempts, adding three rebounds in her best game in her young Titan career. Moore led Detroit Mercy with five rebounds and freshman guard
Annika Corcoran and Oatis each had three offensive rebounds for the Titans. Corcoran also had six points, sinking two 3-pointers.
Titan News & Notes
• Moore scored in double figures for the second-straight game and fourth time in her career.
• Starks was also in double figures scoring for the first time in her career.
• It was the first meeting for Detroit Mercy with a Big East opponent since the Titans played DePaul in 2006.
• Detroit Mercy and Butler, longtime Horizon League foes, were meeting for the 62nd time in women's basketball (Titans lead series, 34-28).
• It was the first time for the Titans playing in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse since a 57-52 victory over the Bulldogs on March 1, 2012, when both teams were part of the HL.
Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to play this weekend on the road, visiting George Mason in Fairfax, Virginia, for a noon contest on Saturday. The game may be seen live via ESPN+. The Titans are in a stretch of four-straight games away from Calihan Hall and next play in Detroit next weekend, on Saturday, Nov. 23, hosting Akron.
