The Basics
Final Score: Youngstown State 72, Detroit Mercy 66
Records: Detroit Mercy 3-23 (3-12 HL), Youngstown State 13-13 (6-9 HL)
Location: Youngstown, Ohio (Beeghly Center)

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (2/21/2020) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team battled tough on the road and freshman guard Sylare Starks tied her career-high with 19 points, but the Titans were edged 72-66 from the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio.

Starks shot 7-of-10 from the floor and made 5-of-7 shots from beyond the arc in the contest to tie her career-high. Senior Zoey Oatis had 11 points and five rebounds, while sophomore forward Maxine Moore added eight rebounds. Freshman forward Bridgid Fox had eight points for the red, white and blue, which shot 11-of-25 from 3-point range in the game (44-percent), and sophomore guard Jiera Shears added career-highs with six rebounds and five assists.

The Titans got off to a great start in the contest, scoring 25 points in the first quarter, hitting 3-of-4 shots from beyond the 3-point line in the opening 10 minutes. The Titans took a 9-8 lead early on a Starks' jumper and increased that advantage to 16-10 after freshman Abbie McDowell scored off the fast break and junior Aly Reiff knocked down a 3-pointer.

After YSU pulled to within 18-16 in the first quarter, Detroit Mercy closed the stanza on a 7-2 run with Starks scoring five points in a span of 38 seconds on a jumper and then a 3-pointer. Oatis was up to six points by the end of the first stanza, scoring on a jumper as the Titans led 25-18 after the first 10 minutes.

Oatis drilled a 3-pointer to open the second quarter and Starks made her second triple of the game just minutes later as Detroit Mercy led by eight, 31-23, at the 6:47 mark of the second quarter. Fox scored on consecutive buckets in the second half of the quarter and Reiff sank her second triple inside of 90 seconds left in the half as Detroit Mercy led at the halftime break, 41-38. Detroit Mercy made six 3-pointers in the first half and shot 51.7 percent (15-for-29) in the opening 20 minutes. Starks was 4-for-4 from the floor for 10 points in the first half.

YSU scored the first seven points of the third quarter, but Starks countered with her third 3-pointer of the game to knot the game up again, 44-44. After the media timeout, freshman Annika Corcoran scored five-straight points, converting on a jumper and then sinking a 3-pointer at the 4-minute mark of the third stanza as Detroit Mercy led 51-48. Neither team could find the bottom of the bucket in the next few minutes, until YSU sank a pair of free throws with 1:06 left on the clock in the third. The Titans led after three, 51-50.

The Penguins took the lead on two more free throws to open the fourth, but freshman Markyia McCormick knocked down another Titan 3-pointer with 9-minutes to go. Starks then made her fourth and fifth 3-pointers of the game within 31 seconds of each other to end a YSU run and re-give the Titans the lead, 60-58, with 6:59 remaining.

The Titans gained a four-point advantage, 64-60, with Moore and McDowell scoring on back-to-back trips down the court as McDowell's jumper came at the 4:57 mark of the fourth. One minute later YSU hit a 3-pointer to cut the Titan advantage to one, 64-63, and then the Penguins took the lead 66-64 with 2:03 left on the clock off an old-fashioned 3-point play. 

Oatis had an offensive rebound and put-back just seconds later to knot the game up, 66-66, and then on the next trip down the court, the Titans were called for a foul on a loose ball, sending YSU to the line. The Penguins made 1-of-2 at the line and then grabbed an offensive rebound off the free throw miss and called a timeout. After the timeout, the Penguins converted on a jumper with 31 seconds left to increase its lead to 69-66.

The Titans turned the ball over with 16 seconds left and after a Detroit Mercy foul, the Penguins made 1-of-2 from the line to go up 70-66. Starks missed a long shot with 9.6 seconds left to play and scored the final bucket of the game in the remaining seconds to seal the victory.

Detroit Mercy shot 42.4 percent (25-for-59) from the floor overall in the contest and made 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. The Titans were edged by just one rebound, 37-36. The Titans held YSU to 36-percent shooting in the contest and 7-of-24 (29-percent) from beyond the arc. 

Titan News & Notes
• The Titans tied a season-high with 11 3-pointers made in the contest (also sank 11 triples against Green Bay on Jan. 11).
• Detroit Mercy shot above 40-percent for the 10th time this season.
• The 16 assists by the red, white and blue were also the second-highest of the season behind the 22 recorded in a win over Cleveland State.
• Starks scored in double figures for the 16th time this season and tied her career-high of 19 points (also had 19 points against Sacred Heart).
• Starks moved into a tie-for-fifth place in 3-pointers made (45) in Titan freshman history, hitting a career-best five 3-pointers in the game.
• Shears established career-highs with six rebounds and five assists in the contest.
• Oatis was in double figures for the 22nd time in her Titan career.
• It was the 47th meeting in women's basketball between the two longtime Horizon League foes (YSU leads, 24-23).

Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to the court Sunday, playing at Cleveland State in a 2 p.m. ET game from the Wolstein Center. Admission into the game is free and the contest may be seen live via ESPN-Plus. The Titans return home next weekend, hosting Northern Kentucky on Thursday, Feb. 27, before welcoming Wright State to Calihan Hall on Saturday, Feb. 29 for Senior Day.