The Basics
Final Score: Wright State 67, Detroit Mercy 61
Records: Detroit Mercy 2-17 (2-6 HL), Wright State 11-8 (6-2 HL)
Location: Dayton, Ohio (Nutter Center)

DAYTON, Ohio (1/23/2020) -- In a competitive, back-and-forth battle Thursday evening from the Nutter Center, the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team had the momentum early, but came up just short down the stretch in a 67-61 road setback against the defending Horizon League champions, Wright State.

The Titans trimmed the Wright State lead down to one, 59-58, with under three minutes remaining and got within one possession one more time, but were unable to pull off the win on the road.

Freshman guard Sylare Starks led Detroit Mercy in scoring with 14 points and sophomore forward Maxine Moore added 12 points for the Titans, which shot 40-percent from the floor and hit 15-of-18 from the free throw line (83 percent). Sophomore guard Jiera Shears added eight points and two steals and sophomore Nicole Johanson contributed seven points and five caroms. 

The Titans came out firing in the first quarter -- connecting on 3-of-5 from beyond the arc and sinking 7-of-8 free throws as Detroit Mercy held a 22-16 lead after the opening frame. The Titans opened the game on a 7-2 run with freshman Bridgid Fox scoring in the first minute, Starks hitting a 3-pointer and then Moore converting on a bucket in the paint as Detroit Mercy went up by five in the first two minutes of the game.

Wright State came back to take a 10-9 lead, but the red, white and blue closed the first quarter on a 12-6 run, with junior Aly Reiff hitting a 3-pointer midway through the frame, Moore connecting on a triple off a feed from freshman guard Markyia McCormick and both Fox and Starks sinking a pair from the free throw line late in the stanza.

Freshman guard Annika Corcoran sank a 3-pointer early in the second quarter as Detroit Mercy went ahead 25-18 and Starks made it 29-23 later in the quarter on a lay-up. Senior Zoey Oatis scored five-straight points late in the quarter, including swishing a 3-pointer from the top of the key as the shot clock ran out. The Titans held the lead for the majority of the first half before the Raiders sank four consecutive free throws in the final minute to take a 37-34 halftime lead.

Moore opened the second half by sinking the first two field goals for either side as Detroit Mercy re-claimed the lead, 38-37. The Titan defense, which was strong all night and held WSU leading scorer Angel Baker to 1-of-15 shooting, didn't allow a Wright State bucket in the opening 3:16 of the third quarter.

Both teams were stout defensively in the third quarter as the two steams combined for just 19 points total in the stanza. Starks made a lay-up off a fast-break feed from Corcoran as Detroit Mercy knotted the game 42-42 with under two minutes left in the third quarter. Wright State scored the final two field goals of the frame, however, to take a 47-43 lead after three.

Moore made two free throws early in the fourth to trim the lead to two, 47-45, and the Titan defense continued to get stops as Wright State didn't score in the opening two minutes of the final stanza. The Raiders went ahead by seven, 54-47, with 6:51 remaining, but Detroit Mercy started to chip away. Shears stole a pass and went straight to the bucket as Detroit Mercy converted cut into the lead, 54-49. The two sides traded buckets as Wright State took a 58-51 lead with 5:20 left.

After a media timeout, the Titans got a stop on defense and then McCormick converted on a tough lay-up to cut the deficit to five, 58-53. Shears then had another steal and scored on her second lay-up within minutes as the red, white and blue got the game down to one possession, 58-55. Starks pulled the Titans to within one, 59-58, on a 3-pointer with 2:45 left, but the Raiders then tallied five-straight points to go ahead 63-58.

Corcoran got the Titans within one possession again, 63-60, sinking a contested lay-up with 1:39 remaining. Neither team could score in the next minute, but Wright State scored on a putback with just 22 seconds remaining and Detroit Mercy was unable to come back in the road setback.

Corcoran had a team-high five assists, while Shears and Reiff each had two steals for the Titans, which finished with seven steals in the game. Johanson and Fox both had five rebounds to lead the Titans. Moore was 4-of-5 from the floor in the game, while Johanson sank both of her field goal attempts for the red, white and blue.

Detroit Mercy sank six 3-pointers -- including five in the first half as the Titans went 5-of-9 from downtown in the opening 20 minutes.

Tyler Frierson led Wright State (11-8, 6-2 HL) in scoring with 17 points as four Raiders were in double figures.

Titan News & Notes
• Starks scored in double figures for the 12th time in 19 contests in her freshman season.
• With her five assists, Corcoran notched five or more helpers in a game for the fourth time this season and in the third-straight outing (16 in her past three games).
• Moore was in double figures for the seventh time in 2019-20 and ninth time in her Division I career.
• Shears tied her season-high with eight points and is averaging 11.0 points per game in three games against Wright State in her career.
• The 83.3 percent clip from the free throw line was the best mark this season and best since an 86.2 mark against Wright State at home on Feb. 28, 2019.
• Starks is the 11th freshmen in Titan history to surpass 30, 3-point field goals in her rookie campaign; It was her 11th game with multiple triples in a game.
• Detroit Mercy shot above 40-percent for the eighth time this season.
• It was the 57th meeting in women's basketball between the two longtime Horizon League foes (Raiders lead series, 29-28).

Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to play on Saturday, Jan. 25 against Northern Kentucky from Highland Heights, Ky. at the BB&T Arena. The Titans then return home next Saturday, Feb. 1 for a Metro Series matchup with Oakland as the squad enters the second half of the league slate.