The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 58, UIC 52
Records: Detroit Mercy 3-20 (3-9 HL), UIC 3-21 (2-11 HL)
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
DETROIT (2/8/2020) -- Sophomore guard
Jiera Shears scored a season-high 14 points as one of three players in double figures and the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team was able to withstand a late fourth-quarter run, and earn a hard-fought Horizon League win against visiting UIC, 58-52, on Saturday from Calihan Hall.
Freshman guard
Sylare Starks added 11 points -- her 14th game in double figures -- and a career-high seven boards and senior
Zoey Oatis tallied 11 points, eight rebounds and a team-best four steals, including a big one late to help seal the second victory this season and sixth-straight over the Flames. Detroit Mercy improved to 3-9 in league play with the triumph.
The first half belonged to Detroit Mercy, as they jumped out to an early nine-point lead due to a trifecta from the wing from Starks, giving the Titans a 14-5 lead with 3:51 left in the first quarter. Another three from Starks, in the face of a UIC defender, late in the first quarter extended the lead to 22-7 after 10 minutes.
The red, white and blue were able to put on a defensive clinic in the first half limiting the Flames to 16 points in two quarters and holding UIC to 3-of-29 from the field as a team, closing the second quarter on a 12-2 scoring run en route to a 38-16 lead going into the locker room at the half.
After a slow start from both teams offensively early in the third quarter, the Titans were able to knock down some shots late in the stanza with Oatis's offensive rebound and put-back after a missed shot ended the skid and put the Titans up comfortably by 14 points, 43-29, with 2:23 left in the third quarter. Oatis drilled a 3-pointer earlier in the quarter, as well, and sophomore forward
Maxine Moore added a pair of free throws late in the stanza as Detroit Mercy led after three, 45-34.
The Titans opened the fourth quarter with several free throws with Moore, Oatis and sophomore forward
Nicole Johanson, all scoring in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter as the Titans went up by 16, 51-35. The Flames, using their full-court press, chipped away at the Titan advantage and trimmed the lead to six, 53-47, with 2:46 left.
Oatis then grabbed a big offensive board and finished once again in the paint and on the subsequent possession, nabbed her fourth steal of the game as Detroit Mercy led eight, 55-47, with just 2:01 left.
Several plays later, a UIC basket and foul on an and-one conversion gave the Flames a trip to the line shooting one. After the missed free throw, a UIC player snagged the offensive rebound, went back up and was again fouled by Detroit Mercy, sending them to the free-throw line, this time for two. After splitting the pair, UIC had cut the deficit to five points, 55-50 with 1:13 remaining in regulation.
But that's as close as the Flames would get. A pair of Shears' free throws with 10.8 seconds left would ice the game for the Titans, 58-52.
Moore added eight points and six rebounds -- grabbing three offensive boards. Junior
Aly Reiff sank all three field-goal attempts for six points and freshman guard
Markyia McCormick added five points, six caroms and three assists for the Titans, which had a season-high 12 steals on the afternoon.
Detroit Mercy shot 15-of-22 on free throws with Shears sinking 9-of-12 en route to her season-high 14 points. Detroit Mercy shot 19-of-55 (34.5 percent) in the game overall, but held the Flames to just 29.8-percent shooting (17-of-57). UIC had a slight rebounding edge, 43-41. The Titans also made five triples to just one for UIC.
Titan News & Notes
• Shears was two points off her career-high of 16, which she scored twice during her freshman season.
• Shears has sank 21-of-24 free throws across her past six games with nine made FT's a career-high in a game.
• Oatis tallied her 11th game of four or more steals in her career, including four this season.
• Starks scored in double figures for the 14th time in her freshman campaign.
• Detroit Mercy had 22 steals across two games against UIC this season, totaling 10 on the road on Jan. 2 and 12 in Saturday's contest.
• The 41 rebounds for the squad was also just one off a season-high.
• It was the 57th all-time meeting between the two longtime women's basketball foes (Titans lead series, 33-24).
• The Titans have won each of the past six meetings with the Flames, all in the past three seasons.
• Head coach
Bernard Scott improved to 8-2 all-time against the Flames in his five seasons as head coach.
Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to the road in each of the next two weekends, visiting Wisconsin for games against Green Bay (Friday, Feb. 14) and Milwaukee (Sunday, Feb. 16) next weekend before heading to Ohio for road games against Youngstown State and Cleveland State the following weekend. Detroit Mercy's next home game is Thursday, Feb. 27 against Northern Kentucky.
