Just 12 days after the men’s basketball team lost to the University of Detroit Mercy at Calihan Hall, the women’s team did the same thing, falling 73-62 to the Titans Thursday night.

Despite having a halftime lead and some standout performances from sophomore Sinclair Russell and junior Elena Popkey, the Titans proved to be too much for the Golden Grizzlies. The loss drops Oakland to 8-9 overall with a 2-2 record in Horizon League play. Detroit now leads the inaugural Metro Series 8-4.

“We got outplayed, outcoached, outworked, and out-toughed,” said head coach Jeff Tungate. “Our basketball IQ wasn’t there tonight. UDM deserved to win and they got the win.” 

Oakland started off hot, beginning the game with an 11-3 run led by Russell who started off 4/4 from the floor and finished with a career-best 16 points. Tungate said that it was the team’s fault for not getting her the ball more throughout the game.

“She did a good job attacking the rim and playing with poise, and the second half we got away from that,” Tungate said. “We have to a better job of knowing where the ball needs to go and when.”

Popkey also played well for the Golden Grizzlies recording 15 points, which marks the 50^th double-digit point performance in her career. Russell, Popkey, and sophomore Nola Anderson each recorded nine rebounds for Oakland, but the team was only able to tie Detroit in the rebound battle with 43.

The Golden Grizzlies had a 32-27 lead over the Titans heading into the half and led by as many as 10 in the second half. The Titans mounted 12 unanswered points and the game went back and forth for much of the second half. Detroit wound up hitting 11 of 12 free throws in the final three minutes to secure the double-digit victory.

The women went on to defeat Youngstown State on Saturday at home 85-82 to bring their record to 9-9 overall and 3-2 in the Horizon League. They’ll play Wright State on Thursday in the O’rena at 7 p.m. to try to build up a streak of victories.