DETROIT (6-16-25) – Detroit Mercy women's basketball standout student-athlete Emaia "Biggie" O'Brien returns to the program, joining the staff as a Graduate Assistant Coach, announced Head Coach Kiefer Haffey.
 
''It's a great day when you get to bring someone like Emaia "Biggie" O'Brien back into the women's basketball program," said Haffey. "Biggie will serve as a Graduate Assistant Coach for us in two capacities, taking over as our digital media assistant, aiding in our team content (videos, socials, etc.), and since she has such a bright basketball mind, we're going to drag her into the basketball pieces a great deal as well. It was obvious from the first day Biggie was here on campus that she had a bright future in coaching basketball. She was a phenomenal playmaker and floor general for us as a student-athlete, now she has the opportunity to teach that wisdom and work ethic and make a positive impact on our 2025-2026 roster."
 
O'Brien, a Detroit native, returned home as a member of the Titans for the 2024-25 campaign and delivered a memorable season, earning All-Horizon League Third Team honors while leading the team to a #HLWBB Tournament first-round win and a quarterfinal appearance for the second consecutive season.
 
2024-25 Highlights:
• Saw action in all 30 games with 28 starts.
• Led the team in scoring (14.7 – 6th HL), free throw percentage (76.6 – 5th HL), 3-point field goal percentage (39.1 – 46th Nation), 3-pointers made (61), 3-point field goals per game (2.0 – 5th HL), steals (54), and steals per game (1.8 – 4th HL).
• Scored in double-figures in 25 games
• Scored 20 points or more in five games: 22 at CSU (3/6), 22 vs Green Bay (2/15), 25 at CSU (2/6), 23 vs Oakland (1/11), 20 at YSU (12/18), 22 vs Cleary (12/8).
• Scored a team-high 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting with five steals vs YSU (2/20), joining Aaliyah McQueen as the second player on the squad to reach the 1000 career points milestone.
• Posted a team-high 22 points on 9-for-16 shooting and 3-for-9 from 3-point range on Senior Day vs Green Bay (2/15).
• Poured in a career-high 25 points (19 in the second half) on 9-for-15 from the field while shooting a blistering career-best 6-for-10 from 3-point range with six boards at CSU (2/6), becoming the first player to score 25 points or more since Kayla Webb had 29 at Toledo on Dec. 5, 2020 and the first player to hit six 3-pointers since Webb's six against Indiana State on Nov. 29, 2020.