The Basics
Final Score: Wright State 76, Detroit Mercy 73
Records: Detroit Mercy 4-24 (2-15 HL), Wright State 23-6 (15-2 HL)
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)

DETROIT (2/28/2019) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team used a furious fourth-quarter rally to nearly upset the top team in the league Thursday night, but the Titans fell just short in a 76-73 setback to Wright State from Calihan Hall. With the loss, Detroit Mercy was officially eliminated from the Horizon League Championship.

The Titans fought back all game, answering Wright State buckets time and time again. Detroit Mercy trailed by as many as 11 points early in the fourth quarter, but used a big run to pull within one point, 69-68, with 3:11 left. The red, white and blue pulled to within one point two more times in the final 3 minutes, but was unable to overtake the Raiders down the stretch.

Jackson's 3-pointer with just over 3 minutes left was the latest installment of big clutch shots she's hit throughout her career. After a Wright State triple, Titan freshman Paige Bellman nailed her own 3-pointer to again cut the WSU lead to one, 72-71, with 2:46 remaining. With 47 seconds left on the clock, Shears sank a pair of free throws to pull within one again, 74-73.

The Titan defense then forced a Wright State turnover as the shot clock was winding down. With the ball and down just one point, freshman guard Jess Bicknell had a good look at the rim, but her running jumper from the elbow just rimmed out. The Raiders made two free throws and Detroit Mercy had one more chance at tying the game, down three points. On the inbounds, Detroit Mercy broke the press and freshman Sophia DiMilia pulled up for a 3-pointer from the top of the key, but her shot fell away as the final buzzer sounded.

Bellman had a career-high 19 points and added 11 rebounds for her second career double-double. Bicknell added 14 points, while Jackson had 13 points for the red, white and blue. Senior guard Lola Ristovski sank both of her shots -- two 3-pointers -- and scored nine points, while Shears also had nine points. DiMilia also had eight boards for the Titans. Jackson had a team-high five assists, while freshman Alex Burr tallied two blocks.

As a team, Detroit Mercy was very efficient from the free throw line in the game, shooting 25-for-29 (86 percent). It was the most free throw makes from the squad this season. Detroit Mercy shot 21-for-57 overall from the floor or 36.8 percent. Detroit Mercy sank six 3-pointers -- four of those coming from the seniors in Jackson and Ristovski.

Detroit Mercy trailed at the halftime break, 43-33, but out-scored Wright State in the second half by a 40-33 margin. Bicknell had 10 points in the first half for the Titans, while Ristovski added eight first-half points for Detroit Mercy. Bellman had six points and five boards at the break.

The red, white and blue had 12 assists and 12 turnovers in the contest, adding four blocks. The Titans were out-rebounded 54-39. Detroit Mercy shot 50 percent in the final quarter ,hitting 3-of-8 triples in the final 10 minutes of the game to help surge back for a comeback attempt.

Titan News & Notes
• Detroit Mercy will honor two seniors -- Brittney Jackson & Lola Ristovski -- prior to Saturday's regular-season finale against NKU.
• The 73 points scored by the Titans were a season-best and the second time scoring more than 70 this season.
• Bellman tallied the second double-double of her Titan career and the sixth this season for Detroit Mercy.
• She surpassed her previous career-high of 14 points, which had been achieved three different times.
• Bicknell and Jackson both scored in double figures for the ninth time this season; Jackson has 26 career double-figure scoring efforts.
• Jackson went over 700 points in her Titan career and also moved into a tie for 12th place in career 3-pointers (112).
• Jackson also notched five or more assists for the fourth time this season and 11th in her Detroit Mercy career.
• Bellman has four double-figure rebounding efforts in her freshman campaign; It was also her fourth double-figure scoring game.
• With the loss, the Titans were officially eliminated from postseason play.
• The Titans were meeting the Raiders for the 56th time in women's basketball (series tied, 28-28).

Up Next
The Titans host Northern Kentucky for their Senior Day contest on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET from Calihan Hall. It's the opener of a doubleheader with the Titan men's basketball team, which hosts UIC for a 4 p.m. ET game in their Senior Day game.