DETROIT (1-22-25) - Detroit Mercy had four players in double figures led by fifth-year senior
Aaliyah McQueen, who posted her fifth double-double of the season, scoring a game-high 21 points with 11 rebounds as the Titans fought tooth and nail to the end before coming up short against #HLWBB leader Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday night at Calihan Hall. McQueen is just one point shy from reaching the 1000 career points milestone. Graduate student
Emaia O'Brien added 14 points, going 8-for-10 from the free throw line, while senior
Katie Burton posted a career-high 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the field. Sophomore
Makayla Jackson was the final player in double figures also scoring 10 points with three assists and two steals.
Freshmen
Maya Anderson and
Anna Lassan chipped in with four points each. Purdue Fort Wayne (15-5, 10-0 HL) entered the game as the league's top-shooting 3-point team but Detroit Mercy (12-6, 6-4 HL) was able to hold the Mastodons to 5-for-21 (23.8%) from long range.
After leading 8-7 at the media timeout, UDM closed out the first quarter on a 12-3 run to lead by 10 points at 20-10.
Purdue Fort Wayne responded with a 12-2 run to open the second quarter, tying the game at 22-22. PFW was then called for an intentional foul, sending O'Brien to the line to knock down a pair of free throws, ending the run. Overall, PFW was able to flip the script, outscoring UDM 21-10 to lead 31-30 at the break.
McQueen got hot offensively in the third quarter, scoring 12 points giving her 18 points as the game was tied at 46-46 by the 3:20 media timeout. However, PFW closed out the frame on a 6-2 spurt to lead by four points, 52-48, going into the fourth quarter.
The Dons' run continued with a 9-0 mark to open the fourth (12-0 overall) to take their largest lead of the game at 61-48, forcing a UDM timeout. The then Titans scored the next four points from the free throw line, followed by a jumper from O'Brien and another pair of free throws from Jackson to cap off an 8-0 run pulling UDM within five points, 61-56, with 6:06 to go.
After PFW added four more points, McQueen hit a 3-ball from the corner cutting the deficit to six points, 65-59, at the 5:00 mark. However, the Titans only connected on two more buckets from the field by O'Brien down the stretch as the Dons closed out the game to remain undefeated in conference play.
Detroit Mercy remains at Calihan Hall to take on Robert Morris for the second time this season on Sat, Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
