DETROIT (12/12/2020) -- Junior guard
Kaela Webb scored more than 20 points for the third time in her young Titan career, but the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team dropped its Horizon League opener Saturday afternoon, 75-55, from Calihan Hall.
Webb made four 3-pointers and added six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior
Aly Reiff had eight points, junior
Maxine Moore tallied seven points and junior guard
Alicia Norman had a team-best six assists for the red, white and blue. Three Titans had six rebounds -- Webb,
Nicole Johanson and
Sammiyah Hoskin.
It was a back-and-forth first quarter between the two teams as sophomore guard
Sylare Starks nailed a 3-pointer in the first minute of the game. Sophomore guard
Markyia McCormick made two free throws just minutes later as Detroit Mercy held an early 6-3 lead. Webb then grabbed her own offensive rebound and went to the hoop, scoring on a left-handed layup as the Titans led 8-7 at the 5:45 mark of the first quarter. Later, Webb fed Moore, who converted on the first of three field goals.
After Wright State took a 15-10 lead, the Titans scored the next five points to knot the score as Moore scored again on the block and then Reiff grabbed an offensive board, finished in the paint and was fouled, making the ensuing free throw. The Raiders finished the first on a run of their own, as the Titans trailed after one, 24-15.
Webb made a 3-pointer from the wing off a pass from Moore early in the second quarter and Johanson followed with a bucket off an assist by Norman, but Wright State went on a run to finish the opening half as Detroit Mercy trailed at the break, 42-22.
The Titans finished the third quarter on a 14-7 run with
Bridgid Fox beginning the spurt with a bucket and it was followed off a Wright State miss by a Webb layup off a feed from Norman. It was then Reiff's turn as Norman fed her off a screen and the senior sank a 3-pointer from the elbow. Reiff then converted on a pair of free throws and McCormick made a layup off another assist from Norman. Webb sank a 3-pointer in the final 90 seconds of the third stanza, but the Titans trailed after three quarters, 63-39.
Webb scored 12 points in the fourth quarter for the Titans, which out-scored Wright State in the final frame, 16-12. Webb made back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter off two more assists by Norman and converted on a pair of jumpers in the final three minutes of the contest. It was her second-straight game scoring more than 20 points.
The Titans shot 19-of-62 from the floor (30.6%) and went 6-of-19 (31.6%) from beyond the 3-point arc. Detroit Mercy was 11-of-17 from the free throw line. The Titans had 11 steals and turned the ball over a season-low 13 times. The Titans also forced 19 Wright State turnovers. The Raiders had the advantage in rebounding in the game, 58-30.
K.K. White led Wright State (1-2, 1-0 HL) with 18 points, while Tyler Frierson added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Titan News & Notes
• Webb scored in double figures for the fourth time in five games this season and 31st time overall in her collegiate career.
• It was her third game above 20 points and second-straight contest after scoring a career-high 29 at Toledo.
• Norman has 20 assists now in five games (4.0 per game) and has five or more assists in a contest three times.
• Reiff's eight points were just three off her Titan-high of 11, which she scored last season, also against Wright State.
• Detroit Mercy has 44 steals in five games (8.8 per game).
• It was the 59th meeting between the two programs (Wright State leads series, 31-28).
Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to the court Sunday at 2 p.m. against Wright State from Calihan Hall. Following Sunday's game against the Raiders, Detroit Mercy hits the road, heading to Chicago to play UIC on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 19-20, from Credit 1 Union Arena.
