Women's Basketball Results (Nov. 11)
Detroit 84, Lawrence Tech 60
Detroit 84, Lawrence Tech 60
The 61st season of Calihan Hall began in winning fashion as the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team used a huge run at the end of the first half to blow away Lawrence Tech, 84-60, on Monday night.
All five Titans (1-1) were in double figures led by senior Senee Shearer's 14 points. Junior Ellisha Crosby had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds and sophomore Rosanna Reynolds tallied 12 points and a game-high seven assists with five steals. Senior Megan Hatter and sophomore Tayelor McCalister each posted 10 points and four rebounds apiece with McCalister adding four assists.
The run occurred with 6:26 left in the first half as the Blue Devils closed to within three, 30-27, on the strength of a 12-3 run, but the red, white, and blue would end the first period on a 20-4 spurt to take a 50-31 lead at the break. The run started as the defense clamped down to force five turnovers and hold LTU to 1-of-7 from the field as the offense cranked it up going 6-of-13 shooting and 5-of-6 at the free throw line. Everyone was contributing during the run as freshman Minisha Frederick-Childress had five points and Crosby and Reynolds had four each, giving Crosby 11 at the half.
Once Detroit got rolling, Lawrence Tech could not stop the charge as a 17-6 run from the Titans opened a 67-37 lead with 13:40 left in the contest as Reynolds went to the rim for a layup just 10 seconds out of the break. Shearer followed with a layup of her own and Hatter then added five-straight points on a trey and a bucket. From that point on, UDM cruised to the 24-point victory.
The offense barrage allowed Detroit to play its entire roster in the game with the reserves playing hard with sophomore DaVonna Bradford posting four points and rebounds, while Frederick-Childress collected seven points, four rebounds, and a pair of helpers. Freshman Reyna Montgomery netted six points and pulled down six rebounds in just 11 minutes and rookie Haleigh Ristovski ended with four points, four rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Detroit outrebounded LTU (1-2), 46-36, and forced 26 turnovers with 14 steals. UDM also handed out 23 assists and shot 43.5% from the field. The 23 helpers were the most since posting 23 in the Horizon League Championship Quarterfinals win over Wright State last season.
Detroit ran out to an early 9-2 lead as Shearer had five and Crosby four early in the contest. Lawrence Tech was able to cut the advantage down to four on three occasions – the latest at 19-15 – but six quick points from the Titans pushed that to 25-15 midway through the first.
UDM forced the Blue Devils into 11 turnovers in the first 10 minutes and that pressure led LTU to use three of its five timeouts in that span.
