The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 70, UIC 62
Records: Detroit Mercy 1-12 (1-1 HL), UIC 1-13 (0-3 HL)
Location: Chicago, Ill. (Credit Union 1 Arena)
CHICAGO (1/2/2020) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team used a late second quarter run to take the lead and never relinquished that lead as the Titans earned their first Horizon League victory of the season in a 70-62 triumph over UIC from Credit Union 1 Arena.
Freshman guard
Markyia McCormick scored a team-high 18 points for the Titans (1-1 HL), 12 of them in the second quarter to help give Detroit Mercy a 39-32 halftime lead. The Titans scored 25 points in the second quarter and finished the second quarter on a 13-4 run to take a seven-point halftime advantage.
After a back-and-forth first quarter between the two Horizon League foes, the Titans took a five-point advantage early in the second stanza as McCormick hit one of her three triples in the frame at the 7:47 mark as Detroit Mercy led 22-17. Freshman forward
Bridgid Fox and sophomore forward
Nicole Johanson scored on back-to-back trips to open the 13-4 run late in the second quarter.
McCormick made her second and third 3-pointers within 45 seconds of each other in the final 2 minutes of the quarter as Detroit Mercy went ahead 36-32. Junior
Aly Reiff then sank two free throws and McCormick added another free throw with five seconds left as Detroit Mercy led 39-32 at the break. McCormick scored all 12 of her first half points in the second quarter to help spark the run. Sophomore forward
Maxine Moore added seven points in the first half.
The Flames began to chip away at the Titan advantage early in the third quarter, but the Titans maintained their lead. Johanson scored four-straight Detroit Mercy points, sinking a pair of free throws and then converting on a bucket in the paint off her own miss. UIC cut the Detroit Mercy lead down to four late in the third, but freshman guard
Annika Corcoran drilled a 3-pointer from the wing off a feed from McCormick just before the third quarter buzzer.
The Titans then started the fourth quarter on a 5-0 run in the opening 45 seconds with Reiff nailing a triple and then on the next possession, McCormick stole the ball and easily went to the rim for a lay-up. The quick 5-0 run forced a UIC timeout and gave the Titans a 12-point lead, 55-43, just 45 seconds into the final stanza.
Freshman guard
Sylare Starks scored the next four Detroit Mercy points in the fourth quarter and Fox converted on a tough lay-up underneath the rim as Detroit Mercy led 61-52 with 3:55 remaining. UIC would cut the lead down to six with just 52 seconds left, but Detroit Mercy's clutch free throw shooting then came into play.
After Corcoran was intentionally fouled, Starks converted on 1-of-2 at the line. UIC then sank a pair of free throws and the Titans led 65-60 with 37 seconds left. UIC, forced to foul, did and sent McCormick to the line next and the freshman guard sank both shots to push the lead back up seven, 67-60. The next time down the court, senior
Zoey Oatis drew a charge as Detroit Mercy earned the ball back.
It was then Corcoran's turn at the line and she sank both free throws as Detroit Mercy built up a 69-60 lead and putting the game out of reach of a Flames' comeback. Detroit Mercy shot 9-of-12 (75 percent) from the free throw line in the fourth quarter alone and for the game, shot 21-of-30 from the foul line (70 percent).
The Titans shot 45.7-percent in the game overall (21-for-46) and sank seven 3-pointers. It was a collective effort on the stat sheet as six Titan players scored better than seven points. Joining McCormick in double figures was Starks with 10 points. Moore added nine points, Johanson had eight points and Fox and Reiff each had seven points for the red, white and blue. Reiff had a team-high seven boards. Fox made all three of her field goal attempts, while McCormick was 5-of-11 from the floor, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Detroit Mercy had the advantage in bench points in the contest, 35-8. The Titans scored 25 points off UIC turnovers, forcing the Flames into 30 turnovers. The Titans had a season-high 10 steals with Johanson, Oatis and sophomore guard
Jiera Shears each contributing two steals.
Jada Nneji led UIC with 21 points, while Tylah Lampley added 19 points.
Titan News & Notes
• McCormick was one point shy of her career-high of 19, which she set against Eastern Michigan just two games ago.
• Starks scored in double figures for the eighth game this season, while McCormick was in double figures for the fourth time in six games.
• With two steals, Oatis had her ninth multiple-steal game of the 2019-20 campaign; She has 27 steals in 13 games this season.
• Reiff's seven rebounds tied her career-high that she set with Xavier last season.
• It was the 56th meeting in women's basketball between the two longtime league rivals (Titans lead series, 32-24).
• Detroit Mercy has won the past five meetings against the Flames; Head coach
Bernard Scott improved to 7-2 against UIC all-time.
Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to the court Saturday afternoon, playing in Indianapolis against IUPUI in a 2 p.m. ET game from The Jungle. The contest may be seen live via ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications. The Titans return home for four-straight the following two weekends, first hosting Milwaukee and Green Bay next weekend on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
