The Basics
Final Score: Northern Kentucky 72, Detroit Mercy 60
Records: Detroit Mercy 2-18 (2-7 HL), Northern Kentucky 11-9 (5-4 HL)
Location: Highland Heights, Ky. (BB&T Arena)

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (1/25/2020) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team battled tough on the road for the second-straight game, but host Northern Kentucky pulled away down the stretch as the Titans fell 72-60 from BB&T Arena on the campus of NKU.

Three Titans were in double figures for Detroit Mercy with sophomore forward Maxine Moore leading the way for the Titans with 14 points and seven rebounds. Titan freshmen guards Annika Corcoran (11 points), Markyia McCormick (10 points) and Sylare Starks (nine points) all scored more than nine points for the red, white and blue in the setback. Senior Zoey Oatis had six rebounds and two steals for the Titans.

Oatis scored off an offensive rebound and put-back in the first minute in the game and Corcoran drilled a 3-pointer a minute later and it was followed by a Moore bucket as Detroit Mercy led 7-6 early. The Titans went on a 7-0 run with McCormick sinking a runner and Starks sinking a 3-pointer in a span of 22 seconds as the red, white and blue went up 12-6 at the 4:13 mark of the first quarter. Corcoran made Detroit Mercy's third 3-pointer of the first quarter in the final minute of the stanza as the Titans trailed by one after one, 16-15. Detroit Mercy had three of its seven blocks in the opening five minutes of the game, showing its energy early.

McCormick scored off a jumper at the 7-minute mark of the second quarter, but NKU would pull ahead 29-20 at the media mark in the second quarter. Moore and Oatis each sank two free throws from the line in the final five minutes of the quarter and Moore made a jumper just outside of the paint in the final minute of the first half as Detroit Mercy trailed 33-26 at the halftime break. The Titan defense was strong down the stretch in the second quarter with NKU not scoring in the final 2:23 of the half, missing their final three shots.

Starks opened the second half with a tough runner, off glass, but NKU then sank a 3-pointer on the next possession. The Titan defense was stout for the next six minutes as Northern Kentucky missed its next seven shots and turned the ball over three times. In all, from the 2:23 mark of the second quarter to the 4-minute mark of the third quarter, NKU was just 1-of-11 with four turnovers across that eight-minute-plus stretch.

The Titans trimmed the NKU lead to one, 36-35, during NKU's drought as Starks found a wide-open McCormick on the wing for a triple and Moore scored on a tough turn-around in the paint with 4:18 remaining in the third. NKU responded with five-straight points, but Detroit Mercy chipped away again with sophomore guard Jiera Shears converting on a tough lay-up as it was 41-38 with 3:10 left in the stanza. Corcoran scored on a tough lay-up of her own in the final minute of the quarter, but NKU sank two free throws with under 10 seconds left in the third to take a 49-40 lead after three.

The two teams traded points early in the fourth quarter and Detroit Mercy cut the deficit to seven, 57-50, after freshman Abbie McDowell sank a pair of free throws from the line after she was fouled under the rim. Sophomore forward Nicole Johanson followed with two free throws of her own the next time down the court, but Northern Kentucky would use a run to take command of the contest in the late stages.

Detroit Mercy had seven blocks in the game with seven different players tallying rejections in the contest. It was the most blocks for the squad since the 2018-19 opener against Michigan-Dearborn, when the Titans had eight.

The Titans shot 37.5 percent (21-for-56) in the contest and sank 4-of-12 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Detroit Mercy also made 70-percent of its free throw shots (14-of-20). NKU made 39.7 percent of its shots and had the slight edge in rebounding, grabbing one more than Detroit Mercy (38-37). The Titans had five players with five or more rebounds -- Moore (seven), Oatis (six), McCormick (five) and Johanson (five, including four offensive). Oatis had two assists and two of the four Titan steals.

Carissa Garcia led NKU in scoring with a game-high 17 points.

Titan News & Notes
• Sylare Starks became the fastest player to 200 career points (20 games) since Darianne Seward reached the mark in 18 games in 2014-15.
• Moore scored in double figures for the second-straight game and eighth time this season, as she has three in Horizon League contests.
• McCormick scored in double figures for the sixth time this season and Corcoran scored in doubles for the fourth time in her freshman campaign.
• Oatis, who entered the game second in the Horizon League in steals, tallied her 12th game of multiple steals this season.
• The seven blocks for the Titans were the most for the program since Nov. 6 against Michigan-Dearborn and the most against a DI opponent since Feb. 15, 2018 against UIC.
• It was the 10th meeting between the two programs in women's basketball (NKU leads series, 7-3).

Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to the court next Saturday on Feb. 1 against cross-town rival Oakland from the O'rena on the campus of OU. The game is set for a 3 p.m. ET tip. The Titans are in the state of Michigan in each of the next two weekends, hosting IUPUI and UIC the following weekend on Thursday, Feb. 6 and Saturday, Feb. 8, respectively.