DETROIT (11/6/22) – The Detroit Mercy women's basketball team kicks off the 2022-23 season at North Dakota on Monday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center on Midco Sports Plus for paid subscriptions.
 
Notes:
LAST TIME OUT: Freshman Amaya Burch had quite the collegiate debut scoring a game-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting going a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line while grabbing seven rebounds as Detroit Mercy used a late 11-2 fourth quarter run to move past Davenport in exhibition action on Wednesday night at Calihan Hall. Junior Irene Murua picked up where left off last season posting a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds going 5-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-6 from the free throw line while dishing a team-high five assists. Senior Imani McNeal was the third Titan in double figures with 14 points.
 
Freshman Maite Lara Garcia and Ana Cabañas Llorens each had solid collegiate debuts as Lara Garcia had nine points going 7-for-8 from the charity stripe with seven boards while Cabañas Llorens chipped in with seven points and a team-second best four assists and two steals.
 
A LOOK AT NORTH DAKOTA: This is also the season opener from North Dakota who had an 81-75 exhibition setback against Northern State last week. The Fighting Hawks finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 15-15 overall record and 9-9 mark in Summit League play. Senior guard Kacie Borowicz returns after leading the team in scoring (19.4 ppg) and assists (4.4).
 
ALL TIME SERIES: North Dakota won the first meeting between the two schools last season, 70-60, on Dec., 18, 2021.
 
SQUAD BREAKDOWN: The Titans will take the floor this season with seven returners and eight newcomers
Returning Starters:
Irena Murua – The junior forward started in 27 of 28 games played leading the team in FG% (49.8) and rebounds (196), rebounds per game (7.0) which also ranked eighth in the Horizon League. She also ranked second on the team in scoring (9.1 ppg) while scoring in double figures a team-best 14 times. Murua posted a team-high 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting with four rebounds, three steals and a block in career debut for the Titans at Loyola (11/9) and poured in career-high 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting just missing a double-double with nine rebounds at WSU (2/24). She posted her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds vs YSU (11/20) and followed with second consecutive double-double with 10 points and career-high 12 rebounds and four assists at Canisius (11/23).
 
Imani McNeal – The senior guard started in 24 of 27 games played leading the team in total assists (50) and assists per game (1.9), ranked third in steals per game (1.1). She had a breakout game pouring in a career-high 18 points going 3-for-4 from 3-point range on 7-for-13 shooting with three rebounds and two assists while matching a career-best four steals to lead Detroit Mercy against Milwaukee (2/10). Entering the game, McNeal was only averaging 4.4 ppg and was held scoreless over the three prior games.
 
Lucia Fleta Robles – The junior guard started in 16 of 28 games played ranking second on the team total 3-pointers (60) and 3-pointers made per game (2.1), ranked third on the team assists (35) and assists per game (1.3). Fleta Robles hit a 3-pointer in nine consecutive games last season aganst vs Oakland (1/22) through vs CSU (2/19). She poured in a career and team-high 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, 2-for-4 from 3-point range and a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line helping the Titans to their first win of the season at UIC (2/14). She also posted 14 points shooting a blistering 6-for-10 (60%) from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point range with two assists and two steals at IUPUI (2/6). Prior to that, Fleta Robles was the spark offensively reaching double figures for the first time with 10 points going 2-for-4 from 3-point range while dishing a career-best four assists at YSU (1/28).
 
Other Returners:
Akyia Baker – The sophomore guard Started in two of 26 games played scoring a career-best eight points going 3-for-5 from the field and 2-for-3 from the charity stripe with a pair of assists and rebounds vs NKU (1/13). She converted on a clutch three-point play hoop hitting a lay-up with a strong take to the while being fouled in the process. She hit the ensuing free throw giving the Detroit Mercy a 58-57 lead with 1:26 left helping the Titans to their first win of the season snapping a 29-game losing streak at UIC (2/14).
 
Sonia Pereda – The sophomore guard saw action in 20 games with five starts. Pereda came off the bench and dished out a career-high six assists in first win of the season win at UIC (2/14) snapping the Titans' 29-game losing streak and added a career-best 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and 1-for-3 from long range while grabbing a career-best six rebounds and dishing out a career-best six assists for a second time vs CSU (2/21).
 
Emma Trawally Porta – The sophomore forward started in one of 13 games played. Trawally Porta led the team in blocks (17) and blocks per game (1.3) despite suffering a season ending injury during the Oakland game where she made her first career start (1/22). She posted a career-high 10 points off the bench on 4-of-10 shooting with three blocks and two steals at Akron (11/29) and racked up a career-best five blocks vs NKU (1/13). She just missed a double-double grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds with eight points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field vs Wright State (1/15).
 
Taylor Blunt – The sophomore guard received redshirt for the 2021-22 season and will look to contribute this season
 
Newcomers:
The Titans welcome eight newcomers in Ambranette Storr, Myonna Hooper, Ana Cabañas Llorens, Maite Lara Garcia, Quinece Hatcher, Amaya Burch, Jada Moorehead and Andrea Chiquemba who will look to make an immediate impact.
 
SPANISH CONNECTION: This year's squad features six student-athletes from Spain consisting of four returners in juniors Irene Murua and Lucia Fleta Robles, two sophomores Sonia Pereda and Emma Trawally Porta, freshman newcomers Ana Cabañas Llorens and Maite Lara Garcia along with one from Portugal in freshman newcomer Andrea Chiquemba.
 
WHERE YOU FROM?
Georgia (1) – Imani McNeal
Illinois (1) – Ambranette Storr
Michigan (2) – Myonna Hooper, Jada Moorehead
Nevada (1) Quinece Hatcher
New Jersey (1) – Akyia Baker, Amaya Burch
Pennsylvania (1) – Taylor Blunt
Spain (6) – Irene Murua, Lucia Fleta Robles, Sonia Pereda and Emma Trawally Porta, Ana Cabañas Llorens, Maite Lara Garcia
Portugal (1) – Andrea Chiquemba
 
ACHTER ERA BEGINS: Former collegiate standout and coaching veteran Kate Achter (OCK-terr) was named the 14th women's basketball Head Coach in school history by University of Detroit Mercy Director of Athletics Robert C. Vowels, Jr. on April 27, 2022.
 
Achter was an All-American student-athlete at Bowling Green and has coached at Loyola Chicago, St. Bonaventure and Xavier. Achter spent the six seasons as the Head Coach of fellow Jesuit institution Loyola Chicago, where she guided a program from 2-28 in her first season to 18-12 during the 2021-22 campaign, the most wins by the Ramblers since the 1988-89 season. In her six seasons, Loyola Chicago improved its overall win and conference victory total in five campaigns with a 10-8 mark in 2021-22 which ranked fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
Under her guidance, the Ramblers collected 13 All-Conference accolades, including five All-Freshman Team selections, four All-League picks and one Freshman of the Year recipient. The team GPA also grew from a 2.4 to a 3.5 in her six seasons.
 
She was one of the youngest coaches in the country when she took over Loyola Chicago. Achter had to deal with a roster turnaround that included just three returning letter winners and moved the win total to seven wins in her second season, 13 in her third and a winning record of 15-14 in her fourth year, just the third winning season by the program since 1988-89, where the Ramblers also earned their first-ever postseason berth in the Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI).
 
Prior to her arrival at Loyola Chicago, she was an assistant coach and the team's recruiting coordinator at Xavier during the 2015-16 season. In that one season, she helped the program to a 17-13 overall record and aided in the development of Briana Glover, who was named an All-BIG EAST Conference selection.
 
Before that, she was an assistant coach and associate head coach at St. Bonaventure, helping the program to three postseason berths, highlighted by a trip to the Sweet 16 in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. St. Bonaventure posted three seasons of 20 or more wins during her tenure, including a school-record 31 wins in 2011-12, and that season, the Bonnies also won their first-ever Atlantic 10 regular-season title.
 
In her coaching history, she has seen student-athletes receive 21 All-Conference selections, one Freshman of the Year and one Sixth Women of the Year accolades.
 
A 2008 graduate of Bowling Green and a member of the 2018 Hall-Of-Fame class, Achter was a driving force as the Falcons captured four straight Mid-American Conference (MAC) titles and made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament during her playing career, highlighted by a Sweet 16 berth in 2007, the deepest run a MAC team has ever made. In her time as a student-athlete, the Falcons were 108-23 overall, including 57-7 in the MAC play. She was a three-time All-MAC selection, three-time MAC All-Tournament Team member and a MAC Tournament MVP. The All-American point guard finished her career ranked fifth on the school's all-time scoring list (1,580) and as the Falcons' all-time leader in both assists (688) and free throws made (551). Following graduation, she played professionally for one season with Palaio Faliro in Athens, Greece, before returning to her alma mater as a graduate assistant with its strength and conditioning staff.
 
COACHING STAFF: Coach Achter has added a new coaching staff in Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Nicole "Colie" Shelwick, Assistant Coach Juanita Cochran, Assistant Coach Kiefer Haffey and Director of Basketball Operations Andrea Cecil.
 
2022-23 HORIZON LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: Detroit Mercy was picked to finish last in the 2022-23 HL Preseason Poll with 11 points.