The Basics
Final Score: IUPUI 58, Detroit Mercy 41
Records: Detroit Mercy 4-21 (2-12 HL), IUPUI 17-9 (11-4 HL)
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)

DETROIT (2/16/2019) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team battled with visiting IUPUI all game Saturday afternoon, holding the Jags to 28-percent shooting and forcing 18 turnovers, but the Titans came up short by a 58-41 margin from Calihan Hall.

The Titan defense was strong throughout, forcing IUPUI into 15 first-half turnovers and holding IUPUI to a low shooting clip. The Titans had eight more steals in the game and added five blocks. Freshmen Sophia DiMilia led the Titans for the third-straight game in scoring with nine points, while classmates Paige Bellman and Jiera Shears each added eight points and freshman forward Alex Burr had seven points. DiMilia had a team-best six rebounds and two blocks and senior guard Lola Ristovski dished out five assists.

Detroit Mercy shot 34.9 percent (15-for-43) in the game overall, holding the Jaguars to 29.7 percent on the day. It was the seventh time this season the Jaguars have been held to 60 points or less.

The two teams traded buckets in the first quarter as IUPUI had trouble getting things going with the active Titan defense causing issues. Burr knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to open the scoring for the Titans and Bellman added six points in the first quarter as the Jaguars held an early 13-10 lead after 10 minutes. The Detroit Mercy defense forced IUPUI into nine turnovers alone in the first quarter.

The Jaguars went ahead 15-10 early in the second, but Detroit Mercy scored the next six points to take a 16-15 lead with 6:09 left in the opening half. Senior guard Brittney Jackson scored on a tough lay-up on the fast break and then classmate Lola Ristovski followed with her own tough lay-up to make it four-straight points. After a Ristovski steal just seconds later as IUPUI was bringing the ball up the court, Ristovski found DiMilia cross-court, who then converted on a tough shot from the wing. The 6-0 run forced an IUPUI timeout.

Burr added a bucket late in the first half, but IUPUI held a 23-18 edge at the halftime break. The Titans helped force the Jaguars into 15 turnovers in the first half, overall.

IUPUI opened the second half on a run to take a double-figure advantage, but the Titans kept clawing back. Detroit Mercy scored the final six points of the third stanza as Shears converted on a 3-point jumper and then scored off a lay-up just minutes later. Freshman Jess Bicknell then found junior Zoey Oatis with under 10 seconds left in the third for a lay-up and Detroit Mercy cut into the Jags lead, 44-32, at the end of three quarters.

The Titans and Jaguars went back-and-forth in the fourth quarter with Bellman converting on a reverse lay-up with just 3:32 left as Detroit Mercy was down 12, 52-40. It would prove to be as close as the Titans would get, however, as IUPUI closed the game on a 6-1 run.

Shears was 3-for-3 from the floor in the game, including sinking both 3-point shots. She also had four rebounds. Burr was 3-for-5 on field goals in the game, scoring seven points for the second-straight game. Burr also connected on her only 3-point look as Detroit Mercy as a team was 4-of-16 from beyond the arc.

Seven of the eight Titans had steals in the game with Ristovski leading the way with two steals. Every Titan also scored in the contest.

Macee Williams led IUPUI (17-9, 11-4 Horizon League) with 15 points and 18 rebounds.

Titan News & Notes
• DiMilia led the Titans in scoring for the third-straight game and averaged 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds this week.
• Detroit Mercy has 212 steals on the season (8.5 per game), the most since the 2014-15 squad had 214 steals.
• The red, white and blue held the Jaguars to 60 points or less for the seventh time this season.
• The Titans held IUPUI to 29.7 percent shooting, the second lowest for an opponent this season.
• Shears had her third game of the season of multiple 3-pointers made.
• Ristovski tied her season-high with her five assists; She also had five dimes in the win at UIC on Jan. 13.
• It was the fourth meeting between the two schools since IUPUI joined the Horizon League prior to last season.

Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to the road next weekend, making the trek to Wisconsin for Thursday and Saturday meetings with Milwaukee and Green Bay, respectively. Thursday's game in Milwaukee is set for 8 p.m. ET, while Saturday's contest is slated for a 2 p.m. ET.