DETROIT – The UIC women's basketball team (7-18, 0-14 HL) played strong in the first half, but were unable to hold off a surging Detroit Mercy (2-23, 2-12 HL) on Thursday at the Titans' Calihan Hall. The Flames had a two-point lead at the half, but 33 Titan points in the third quarter resulted in a 73-60 loss for UIC.

Gabryelle Johnson led the Flames offense with her fourth double-double of the season, netting 14 points and rebounding 12. The Titans were led by a season-high 25 points from Anja Marinkovic.

First Half Highlights

• Gabryelle Johnson drove in for the layup on the Flames' second possession for UIC's, as well as the game's, first score. The Titans put in a three from the right wing for their first points, making it 4-3.
• Johnson kept things going for the Flames, putting in eight of UIC's first 10 points. Teodora Zagorac put in a pair of layups, and the Flames lead grew, 12-5. A pair of foul shots and another Titan Triple brought UDM close, 12-10, but Taylor Toney chipped in her first bucket of the night, 14-10.
• The Titans strung together five points, which included another three, but a late jumper from Toney kept UIC ahead 16-15 at the end of the first quarter.
• Kara Wilson sank UIC's first triple to start the second quarter, and defensive pressure from Jada Nneji forced the Titans into a traveling violation, which she then turned into two points on the offensive side, 20-15.
• The home team continued to hit their shots beyond the arc, and another three put the Titans within one possession, 20-18. Tia Tedford showed off her own long shot with a trey, and Tylah Lampley swatted a ball away from UDM while still in UIC's zone, allowing for an easy layup, 25-20.
• Johnson continued driving in the paint, netting another four points off layups, meanwhile all the Titans were putting in were free throws, 29-25. UDM was able to find the hoop for a field goal to end the half trailing 29-27.   

Second Half Highlights

• The Titans tied it to start the second half, and Teodora Zagorac was able to grab an offensive rebound off a shot from Gabryelle Johnson on UIC's next possession to put the Flames ahead again, 31-29.
• A pair of foul shots made things even again, and a steal by the Titan's Zoey Oatis was ran back for a layup and was also awarded a trip to the line to make it a three-point play, 34-31.
• Trailing 38-31, Catera Etheridge sank a high-arced three, but the Titans returned with a three of their own, 41-34. The Titan triple gave way to a 12-2 run and a 14-point lead for UDM, 50-36.
• Layups from Abreanna Lake and Taylor Toney put the deficit in the single digits, 51-42, but fouls put the Titans at the charity stripe for six points, 57-42.
• Detroit Mercy ended the third quarter with 33 points, their highest total of the season, while the Flames put in just 16 to give the Titans a 50-45 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.
• The Flames outscored the Titans 15-13 in the fourth quarter, but the crooked number put up by UDM in the third left UIC with a 73-60 loss.

Facts and Figures

• The Flames had three players in double digits, Gabryelle Johnson (14), Taylor Toney (12) and Tia Tedford (10). Toney's 12 points marks her seventh-straight double-digit performance, while Tedford was in double figures for the second-consecutive game.
• Teodora Zagorac contributed a well-rounded effort, with nine rebounds to go with six points and a pair of assists.
• Jada Nneji gave another strong performance on the boards with seven rebounds, three for the offense and four on the defense.
• UIC out-rebounded the Titans by an impressive 51-35, and tallied 25 offensive boards to UDM's two. The Flames 25 offensive rebounds was just one tally shy of their season-high mark of 26.
• The Titans barely had the edge in assists, 13-12, and Toney led the way with four.
• The Flames also out-attempted UDM, posting 77 tries to the Titans' 46, but the home team ended the night shooting 45.7 percent to UIC's 31.2 percent as the more efficient team. The Titans were also strong from the line, making 80 percent of their free throws (24-for-30). UIC had about half as many free throw attempts (16), while only netting 50 percent (8).
• UDM ended the night with seven threes, and the Flames finished with four, three of which came at the hand of Teford.

Up Next

• The last road trip of the season continues on Saturday, Feb. 17 with a game against Oakland.
• Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT.