HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (2-23-23) - Junior
Irene Murua lead the way with a solid all-around game scoring 11 points with eight rebounds, three steals and two assists while freshman
Myonna Hooper added eight points going 4-for-5 from the charity stripe as Detroit Mercy fell at Northern Kentucky in #HLWBB action on Thursday night.
Senior
Imani McNeal chipped in with six points followed by five points from junior
Lucia Fleta Robles who connected on the only 3-pointer for Detroit Mercy (5-23, 3-16 HL). Sophomore
Emma Trawally Porta had seven rebounds with four points along with freshman
Amaya Burch who also had four points.
Solid defense by both teams led to struggling offenses on the other end of the floor as the Titans shot 18-for-60 (30%) while NKU (16-12, 10-9 HL) was a tad more effective going 20-for-51 (39.2%) especially to close out the first quarter and at the start of the second.
Detroit Mercy held NKU to 0-for-7 from the field to start the game before the Norse went 5-for-5 to go on an 11-2 run to take an 11-4 lead. McNeal added a jumper and free throw as the Titans trailed 11-18 at the end of the frame.
NKU's hot shooting continued as they hit 10-of-11 attempts moving their run to 15-1 before Murua connected on her third lay-up ending the spurt with the Titans trailing 33-14. Detroit Mercy responded as Hooper converted a tough drive to the bucket to beat the buzzer capping off a 9-4 run cutting the deficit t 14 points, 37-23, at the half.
Burch added four points to open the third quarter and the Titans held a 13-12 scoring advantage but still trailed by 12 points, 43-31, by the media timeout. The Norse closed out the frame by a slim 9-8 margin to lead 52-37 heading into the fourth.
NKU opened the fourth on a 10-2 run before freshman
Andrea Chiquemba hit a jumper ending a four-minute scoring drought. However, after back-to-back buckets from freshman Ana Cabañas Llorens and freshman
Maite Lara Garcia cut the deficit to 16 points, that would be as close as the Titans would get.
Detroit Mercy concludes #HLWBB regular season play at Wright State on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 1 p.m.
