The Basics
Final Score: Detroit 77, Cincinnati 68
Records: Detroit 2-4, Cincinnati 3-3
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
DETROIT (12/2/2015) -- A complete effort on both ends of the floor paved the way for a University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball victory Wednesday as the Titans earned its second-straight win in a 77-68 triumph over visiting University of Cincinnati at Calihan Hall.
Detroit (2-4) took the lead midway in the first quarter and never relinquished it. The Titans shot 48.3 percent from the floor and forced Cincinnati into 16 turnovers in the home win. Junior guard
Rosanna Reynolds (Canton, Mich. / Divine Child) led Detroit with 21 points and added 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Junior
Haleigh Ristovski (Sterling Heights, Mich. / University Liggett) added 11 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocks for the Titans.
Reynolds scored nine points in the first quarter to help stake the Titans to a 23-19 lead after the first 10 minutes. Detroit continued to play well in the second stanza and had double-digit leads at four different junctures throughout the second quarter. A
Haleigh Ristovski 3-pointer gave Detroit a 39-28 lead with 1:58 left in the first half and Detroit led 41-32 at the break after Reynolds converted on a lay-up with just seconds remaining in the half.
The Bearcats hit a triple to open the third quarter, but Detroit would score 14 of the next 19 points to take a 55-40 lead over the Bearcats with 4:04 left in the third stanza. The final six points of the run came on back-to-back 3-pointers by freshman
Lola Ristovski (Sterling Heights, Mich. / University Liggett) and sophomore
Nicole Urbanick (Grosse Ile, Mich. / Divine Child).
Cincinnati would cut into the Titan lead with a run of its own towards the end of the third quarter, but Detroit continued to lead after three, 57-54. The game was back-and-forth in the final stanza and sophomore
Brianne Cohen (Toronto, Ont. / York Memorial) was key for Detroit to start the period, pulling down three offensive rebounds and scoring the first five UDM points in the opening 2:30 of the quarter. Detroit went up eight points, 67-59, after an Urbanick triple with 5:56 to go on the clock. Later, Reynolds grabbed an offensive rebound and converted on the putback to again put Detroit up eight, 69-61, with just 3:07 left.
Cincinnati cut the Detroit lead to three points, 69-66, after Bianca Quisenberry hit a 3-pointer with 2:18 left, but Detroit was able to come up with some clutch stops down the stretch. Freshman
Brittney Jackson (Brooklyn, N.Y. / Nazareth) converted on two free throws on the next possession to put Detroit up five and after Cincinnati answered with a bucket to cut the lead to three again, Reynolds grabbed an offensive rebound off her a Titan miss, forcing Cincinnati to foul with the clock winding down. Urbanick made both shots at the line and followed it with two more free throws to extend the advantage to seven points, 75-68, with just 22 seconds left.
Reynolds made the final two free throws to complete the scoring as the Detroit defense forced Cincinnati to 0-of-3 shooting in the final minute.
For the game, Detroit forced Cincinnati to shoot long shots from the outside as the Bearcats attempted 33 triples. Cincinnati made 10 triples for a 30.3 success rate. The Titan defense also held the Bearcats to a 33.3 shooting clip overall, which is a season-low for an opponent.
Urbanick tallied 16 points for Detroit and Jackson hit a pair of triples for the second-straight game and scored a career-best 10 points off the bench.
Brianne Cohen added nine points and seven boards off the bench, while
Lola Ristovski scored seven points for Detroit. Every Titan that played scored during the contest.
Detroit scored 38 points in the paint and also led in bench scoring, 19-0. The Titans went 14-of-18 from the free throw line while surrendering just four throw attempts from the Bearcats. Jasmine Whitfield paced Cincinnati (3-3) with 24 points and 17 rebounds, while Ana Owens added 21 points and six helpers.
Quoteable"We have found a great rotation right now that's working for us. Before every game I say, 'We need everyone to do their job.' Tonight, everyone did that again. Everyone gave us something, even the two that didn't play were supporting their teammates. That means a lot as well. So I'm very happy with how we are playing. I want us to continue to get better." - Head coach
Bernard Scott following the victory.
Titan News & Notes• The win over Cincinnati was the third overall in the series and the Titans improved to 3-1 on their home court against the Bearcats.
• Detroit improves to 2-2 at home this season with the victory.
• The Titans scored 70 points or better for the third consecutive contest. Detroit is averaging 76.6 points in its past three games.
•
Haleigh Ristovski and
Rosanna Reynolds each tallied double-doubles in the same game for the second time this season. Both also did it against St. Bonaventure on Nov. 24. Ristovski's was her third of the season, while Reynolds posted her second double-double of the 2015-16 campaign.
• Reynolds, with her 21 points, became the first Titan to reach the 20-point plateau this year. She has led Detroit in scoring in five of six games.
• All 12 of
Haleigh Ristovski's rebounds were on the defensive end. She leads the Horizon League with 51 defensive rebounds through Wednesday's games.
• Detroit had four players in double figures for the second-straight game.
• The Titans entered the contest fourth in the Horizon League in blocks (3.8 per game) and tallied five rejections on the night.
• Every Titan who played made a trip to the free throw line with each player converting on at least one shot.
Up NextDetroit returns to the court Saturday, hosting Salem International for a 12 p.m. game in the first of a doubleheader with the Detroit men's basketball team. The Titans are in a middle of their four-game homestand in Detroit.
