The Basics
Final Score: Northern Kentucky 78, Detroit Mercy 67
Records: Detroit Mercy 0-14 (0-3 HL), Northern Kentucky 4-10 (2-1 HL)
Location: Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
DETROIT (1/4/2018) -- Sophomore guard
Anja Marinkovic scored a season-high 23 points and seniors
Brianne Cohen and
Nicole Urbanick also scored in double figures, but the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team fell 78-67 to visiting Northern Kentucky on Thursday.
Marinkovic scored 17 of her 23 points in the second half, connecting on five 3-pointers overall and adding a season-best four assists. Cohen tallied her third career double-double with 11 points and 10 boards, while Urbanick posted 10 points and a team-best five assists.
Detroit Mercy made 12 shots from beyond the arc, one shy of its season high, and had 16 assists, the second-best single-game total of the season. The Titans shot 38 percent from the floor (21-of-55) and 43 percent from behind the 3-point arc (12-of-28).
Both teams raced out offensively with the game 8-7 to NKU with 6:18 left in the opening stanza. Cohen scored the first five Titan points. NKU earned an 18-9 lead with 3:05 left in the first quarter, but Detroit Mercy closed the frame on a 7-0 run, with a pair of triples coming from Urbanick and freshman
Lexey Tobel. Tobel's trey beat the first quarter buzzer with two seconds left on the clock as the Titans trailed by two, 18-16, after one.
The lead changed hands six times in the second quarter with junior
Lola Ristovski giving the Titans an 19-18 lead at the 9:41 mark on a long 3-pointer. It went back-and-forth throughout the first half of the second stanza with Marinkovic converting on a lay-up with 5:51 left to give Detroit Mercy a 25-24 lead.
The Norse would go on a run to end the second, however, taking a 44-31 halftime lead. Cohen had nine points at the break to lead the Titans.
Northern Kentucky increased its lead in the third quarter despite three third-quarter triples from Marinkovic. After three, Detroit Mercy trailed 65-47. Marinkovic nailed another trey in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, prompting an NKU timeout. The Norse lead was cut to 15, 67-52, following her triple with 8:26 left.
The Titans continued to chip away with Detroit Mercy using a 5-0 run on a
Zoey Oatis lay-up and Tobel triple to pull to within 12, 69-57, with 7:32 left. Marinkovic knocked down her fifth 3-pointer with 6:23 remaining and Detroit Mercy had the Norse lead down to 11, 71-60.
Marinkovic then scored on a lay-up at the 4:24 mark as the NKU advantage was cut to single figures, 71-62. The Titans stayed within range for the next couple of minutes with Urbanick scoring the next five points on a pair of free throws and a triple, but NKU sealed the victory in the final minutes and seconds.
Ristovski finished the game one off her season-high with eight points, hitting 2-of-4 shots from deep. Tobel added two 3-pointers for six points, also adding six rebounds. Sophomores Zoey Oatis and
Ashley Miller, each making their first career starts, had five points each for the Titans. Miller also had five boards.
Titan News & Notes
• It was the third time this season Detroit Mercy has hit 12 3-pointers in game (Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan).
• The 16 assists from the Titans were also the second-most of the 2017-18 season (19 vs. BGSU).
• Marinkovic has made nine 3-pointers in the past two games; She has six games of four or more triples this season.
• Cohen notched the first double-double of the season for the Titans; It was her third career double-double.
• Urbanick notched five assists for the fourth time in her career; Her career-high is seven.
• Marinkovic's 23 points was the eighth time in her career reaching 20 or more points.
• Oatis and Miller were each making their first career starts as Titans.
• Urbanick was honored prior to the game after becoming the 22nd player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
• It was the fifth meeting between the two programs (Detroit Mercy holds 3-2 series edge).
Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to the court on Saturday, hosting Wright State for a 1 p.m. game from Calihan Hall. The game is set to be seen live on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications.
