FORT WAYNE, Ind. (2-28-23) - Senior
Imani McNeal scored a team-high 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting and 2-for-3 from 3-point range with four rebounds and four assists while freshman
Amaya Burch added 15 points going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc as No. 11 seed Detroit Mercy's valiant fourth quarter comeback fell short with a 65-61 setback at No. 6 seed Purdue Fort Wayne in the 2023 Babrasol #HLWBB Championship first round on Tuesday night.
Trailing by 12 points, 54-42, with 1:45 in the third quarter, Detroit Mercy (5-25, 3-17 HL) went on a 11-0 run into the fourth quarter to trail by a point, 54-53, with 6:17 remaining. After, Purdue Fort Wayne (13-18, 9-11 HL) scored the next seven points to increase their lead to six points, 61-53, junior
Irene Murua hit a jumper followed by a 3-pointer from McNeal pulling the Titans within three points at 61-58 with 2:00 minutes to go. Both teams could not connect from the field util Burch hit a clutch 3-pointer tying the game at 61-61 capping off a 8-0 spurt for the Titans with just 24 seconds left.
PFW's Destinee Marshall hit a jumper with 11 seconds left giving the Mastondons a 63-61 lead. Freshman
Myonna Hooper's bid to tie the game was unsuccessful as she was unable to convert a drive into the paint. The Titans were then forced to foul and the Dons sunk two free throws to seal the game.
Murua finished with 12 points and six reboundes while sophomore
Emma Trawally Porta had to over come first half foul trouble to post seven points with a team-high 12 boards. Hooper also had five points followed by junior
Jada Moorehead with four points. Turnovers also proved costly as the Titans committed 24 which led to 32 points for the Mastodons.
Trawally Porta opened the third quarter hitting her eighth 3-pointer of the season. Out of the media timeout, Murua couldn't connect cap off the and-1 opportunity out of the media time out. PFW then took a went on a 5-0 run to move ahead by 13 points before McNeal hit consecutive buckets keeping the deficit at 10 points, 54-44.
In the first half, PFW used an 8-0 run to move head 14-8 to open the game before back-to-back buckets from Murua ended the spurt as both offensives were in sync combining for 43 points with the Dons holding a 23-20 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Dons opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run to move ahead by nine points, 32-23, and went on the outscore the Titans 11-4 before Hooper connected on a clutch 3-pointer to beat the buzzer cutting the deficit to 10 points, 40-30, at the half.
