The Basics
Final Score: Detroit Mercy 66, Cleveland State 54
Records: Detroit Mercy 10-9 (6-2 HL), Cleveland State 10-9 (5-3 HL)
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
DETROIT (1/22/2017) -- Another game at home, another victory for the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team.
The Titans (10-9 overall) improved to 5-0 at home in league play and 6-2 overall in the Horizon League in a 66-54 victory over Cleveland State on Sunday from Calihan Hall. Detroit Mercy has won each conference game on its home court by eight or more points.
Detroit Mercy improved to 3-0 all-time against the Vikings under second-year head coach
Bernard Scott, who spent the previous five seasons with Cleveland State prior to being named head coach for the Titans in May 2015.
"It's a close game to me because I worked there," Scott said during the postgame press conference. "It was a great game today, the team played well. We played together which is the key. We played hard defensively and made them take some tough shots which helped us get out in transition."
Detroit Mercy used a pair of big runs in both the third and fourth quarters to help seal the win over Cleveland State. The Titans opened the second half on a 9-0 run to turn a two-point halftime lead into a double-digit affair. After Cleveland State cut the lead down to two points early in the fourth quarter, Detroit Mercy again responded with an 11-2 run to go up 58-47 with 4:45 left. The Titans never looked back in the win.
Junior forward
Brianne Cohen scored a season-high 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Junior guard
Nicole Urbanick added 12 points, including a couple of clutch 3-pointers in the second half. Sophomore guard
Gracie Roberts had a career day, posting a season-best six assists along with season-high-tying seven rebounds and five points.
Haleigh Ristovski added a game-high 13 boards for the Titans.
Senior
Rosanna Reynolds posted 11 points, six rebounds and four assists and surpassed the 500-assist plateau during the game, becoming the first player in Titan women's basketball history to record career marks of 1,500 points and 500 assists or better. She is just the second player to reach 500 career assists,
Detroit Mercy trailed much of the first quarter, yet scored the final four points in the stanza with Urbanick sinking a lay-up with just four seconds on the clock to pull the Titans to within two, 17-15. Detroit Mercy opened the second quarter on a 6-2 run to take the lead, with Cohen scoring four of the points.
After CSU gained the lead again, Detroit Mercy scored the final six points in the half with Cohen,
Haleigh Ristovski and Roberts all converting on shots. Roberts' jumped with 3:20 left in the second was the final points of the half as Detroit Mercy held a 27-25 halftime lead.
The Titans used a 9-0 run to earn a double-digit lead, 36-25, in the third quarter. Cohen scored four points in the stretch and Roberts converted on a 3-pointer off a feed from Reynolds. Detroit Mercy held Cleveland State scoreless for the first 4:24 of the second half.
The Vikings cut the Titan lead to two points, 47-45, early in the fourth quarter, but Detroit Mercy scored 11 of the next 14 points to take a 58-47 advantage with 4:45 left. Urbanick hit a 3-pointer during the run and Cohen scored four more points in the run. The Titans built their lead to as high as 15 in the remaining minutes.
Detroit Mercy scored 34 of its 66 points in the paint, highlighted by many of them from Cohen. One game after tying a season-best with 49 rebounds, Detroit Mercy pulled down 48 boards, totaling 17 more than the Vikings.
The Titans finished the game with 19 assists and shot 44.1 percent from the field. Cleveland State shot just 28.8 percent in the contest.
Titan News & Notes
• The Titans are 6-2 overall 5-0 at home in league play for the first time since 2009-10.
• Cohen eclipsed her season-high in points, tallying the fourth 20-point game of the season.
• Reynolds is just the second player to reach 500 career assists and is just 13 helpers away from the all-time mark (515).
•
Haleigh Ristovski and Urbanick each surpassed the 800-point plateau during the game.
• Ristovski also had the second double-digit rebound game of the season and 21st of her career.
• Urbanick has six games of three or more triples in HL play.
• It was the second five-assist or better game of Roberts' career.
• Detroit Mercy is 8-4 when shooting 40 percent or better.
• The Titans are 7-4 when recording 40 or more rebounds.
• Coach Scott is 3-0 against Cleveland State and the Titans are 39-15 all-time against the Vikings.
Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to the road next week, visiting Wright State on Friday, Jan. 27 in Dayton. The contest is set for 7 p.m. ET from the Nutter Center. Following Friday's game, the Titans visit Northern Kentucky for a 1 p.m. game in Highland Heights, Ky.
