MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa (12-16-25) - Senior
Myonna Hooper scored a team-high 13 points, while junior
Makayla Jackson added 12 points and grabbed a career-high six steals as Detroit Mercy came up short, 60-52, in a defensive battle at Robert Morris to drop their first #HLWBB contest of the season. The Titans posted a season-high 14 steals, getting 20 points off of 22 RMU turnovers while holding the Colonials without a 3-point field goal (0-for-9) for the first time since 2020.
Detroit Mercy (3-6, 2-1 HL) had two other players just miss double figures as graduate Student
Nisea Burrell had nine points with three rebounds and three assists, while sophomore
Maya Anderson also had nine points, going 4-for-6 from the free throw line.
Freshman
Naïma Diawara added five points, connecting on her second 3-pointer of the season, while freshman
Rayven McQueen saw her first action of the season, hauling in five rebounds with two points. Graduate student
Jasmine Edwards grabbed a team-best six boards.
Both defenses were locked in as buckets were hard to come by, as Robert Morris (8-2, 2-0 HL) held an 11-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Both teams combined for only nine total field goals, with each team making a free throw.
Hooper and Jackson each hit jumpers, pulling the Titans within a bucket at 15-13 by the six-minute mark of the second quarter. However, the Colonials ended the frame on a 9-3 run to lead by 10 points, 26-16, at the break.
RMU's run moved to 15-3 to open the third quarter, extending their lead to 32-16 before a layup from Diawara ended the spurt. Burrell then sank a pair of free throws, stole the inbound pass, and dished the ball to Jackson for a layup. She added a 3-pointer to cap off a 9-3 run for the Titans, cutting the deficit to 11 points, 36-25. Hooper and Anderson then drained back-to-back three balls to pull within eight points at 40-32.
Diawara banked in her second career triple as UDM went 4-for-5 from 3-point range, pulling within eight points at 43-35. However, RMU scored four points in the final five seconds to lead by 12 points, 47-35, heading into the fourth.
Hooper and Burrell added buckets to open the fourth with the Titans trailing by 16 points, 55-39, at the 5:41 mark. UDM battled down the stretch as R. McQueen made her first career bucket, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Hooper to cap off a 10-2 run, cutting the lead to single digits at 57-49 with 1:07 to go. The Titans had two more good 3-point looks but couldn't get them to fall with 25 seconds left. The Colonials added three free throws to keep UMD at bay
Detroit Mercy opens the Tulane Holiday Classic against Mercer in New Orleans on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 2:30 p.m.
