DETROIT (11/29/2020) -- One final run proved the difference in the game as the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team kept battling back and erasing Indiana State leads all day, but junior
Kaela Webb's career-high 25 points was not enough in an 84-79 setback on Sunday afternoon.
Detroit Mercy (0-2) led Indiana State (1-1), 74-72, with 4:01 left when the Sycamores went on a 10-0 run to jump out in front for good.
Webb was 7-of-13 from the field and 6-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc for her career-best, topping a 22-point effort she had at Providence. Sophomore guard
Markyia McCormick scored 17 points for the second straight game and had four rebounds, while junior
Alicia Norman had the best game of her young Titan career, posting 10 points, seven assists and three steals.
The Titans trailed by five entering the fourth quarter when junior forward
Maxine Moore had back-to-back baskets and McCormick nailed a 3-pointer to put the red, white and blue on top, 66-64, with 8:08 remaining in the contest. Detroit Mercy went ahead again, 68-66, with two free throws from McCormick before Moore again had four-straight points to knot the game at 72-72 and off a turnover, Norman got inside for a layup and a 74-72 advantage with 4:11 left.
Moore ended with eight points in just 14 minutes on 4-of-5 shooting, while sophomore forward
Bridgid Fox had five points and five rebounds, leading the squad for the second-straight game in boards. Detroit Mercy shot 44.4% from the field and was 12-of 24 from downtown and 19-of-23 from the free-throw line (82.6%). They also forced 21 turnovers and came away with eight steals. Detroit Mercy had 14 assists, with Norman totaling seven of those helpers.
The Titans started the game a bit cold from the field hitting just two of their first eight shots, but a three from Harrison gave the team a 7-6 lead. Indiana State connected on several 3-pointers early, going on a 9-0 run to jump out in front 15-7, but the Titans clawed back, as Webb connected on three 3-pointers in the final 3:15 of the stanza, sinking her last one after an offensive rebound by Moore and dish from Norman with just seven seconds left in the first quarter.
A total of 50 points was scored in the second quarter with both teams scoring 25. The teams traded baskets early on in the second, but ISU went up by eight again, 35-27, at the 6:04 mark and at 39-31 with 4:41 left. That is when the Titans went on a 9-0 run to take the lead, 40-38. It started with a triple from McCormick and then Starks got inside for a layup. After Fox split a pair of free throws, the Titans forced a turnover and Starks hit the ninth 3-pointer in the opening half for Detroit Mercy, giving them a 40-39 lead with 2:36 remaining before heading into the locker room down by two, 46-44, after Fox made a layup in the final minute of the half.
Webb got the Titans back to within one, 48-47, with another triple early in the third, but the Sycamores were able to extend their lead back to seven, 56-49, with 7:01 left. Norman would later hit two free throws and then hit a jumper to make it a one-possession game at 56-54 with 3:16 on the clock in the third quarter. She got the squad even closer with another two free throws to make it 57-56 before McCormick banged in a trey to knot the contest, 59-59, with 1:06 left in the period, but Indiana State went back in front after five, 64-59, in the final minute of the stanza.
Moore went to work in the fourth quarter, scoring four points quickly on back-to-back possessions in the first 90 seconds of the fourth quarter as the Titans were within one, 64-63. McCormick then made her third 3-pointer of the contest as Detroit Mercy took the lead, 66-64. The Titans held onto at least a share of the lead until the 6:29 mark when Indiana State went ahead on a layup. Norman would again give Detroit Mercy the lead 74-72 with 4:11 left, but Indiana State connected on some 3-pointers late to help seal the victory.
Indiana State was led in scoring by Essy Latu, who hit six of the team's 11 triples for a game-high 21 points.
Titan News & Notes
• Webb's 25 points established a new career-high; She scored 22 points at UMass for Providence on Nov. 9, 2019.
• Webb also tied a career-high with her six 3-pointers made and is 7-for-14 from beyond the arc after two games as a Titan.
• McCormick scored 17 points for the second-straight game and in double figures for the ninth time in her Titan career as she was two off her career-high.
• Norman's seven assists were the most for a Titan in a game since
Brittney Jackson eight assists against Bowling Green on Nov. 13, 2017.
• The 12, 3-pointers made by the team were the most for the program since Detroit Mercy hit 15 against Cleveland State on Feb. 1, 2018.
• Freshman guard
Maddie Puletti made her collegiate debut in the contest.
• The Titans were again effective from the free-throw line (19-for-23) and through two games are shooting 77.0 percent (47-for-61).
• It was the seventh career meeting between the two programs and just the second game played against the Sycamores at Calihan Hall (ISU leads series, 4-3).
Up Next
Detroit Mercy will be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 2, when it heads to East Lansing to battle Michigan State. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be televised on Big Ten Plus. The Titans then head just across the border to Toledo, playing the Rockets on Saturday, Dec. 5 in a 2 p.m. matchup from Savage Arena.
