STATESBORO, Ga. (11-25-23) - Senior Irene Murua posted a team-high 17 points on 7-of-8 shooing and 3-for-3 from the free throw line as Detroit Mercy concluded GATA Turkey Throwdown play with an 81-59 setback to host Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.

Graduate student Imani McNeal was the only other Titan to reach double figures with 10 points going 2-for-4 from 3-point range. Sophomore Amaya Burch added eight points with junior Emma Trawally Porta grabbing a team-best eight rebounds along with six points.  

Graduate student Cyd Rivera scored her first points in a Titans uniform while junior Maddie Diabate and freshman Kamari Forrest chipped in with a season-high five and three points respectively.

Georgia Southern (5-2) opened the game shooting a blistering 51.4% (18-for-35) from the field to take a 24-13 lead.

After the Eagles opened the second half on a 7-2 spurt, Detroit Mercy (4-3) chipped away in the second quarter and trimmed the deficit to 10 points on three different occasions. Rivera connected on a buzzer-beating put-back layup to end the half as UDM trailed by 13 points at 42-29 heading into the locker room.

Murua continued her hot shooting scoring seven points on 3-for-3 from the field while Burch added five points hitting a jumper at the 4:33 mark pulling the Titans within 13 points at 53-40 with 5:28 remaining. However, GS ended the frame on a 16-4 run to take a 25-point lead, 69-44, into the fourth.

The Titans were able to score 15 points in the fourth quarter and hold the Eagles to 12 points but could not pull any closer.

Detroit Mercy opens #HLWBB play at Youngstown State on Thursday, Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m.