KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan hit the century mark for the 15th time in program history in a 103-86 win over Detroit in the Broncos' home-opener Thursday. Sophomore Miracle Woods scored a team-high 25 points and junior Michelle O'Brien recorded her fourth career double-double.
Woods shot 13-for-14 at the free throw line, setting a new career high for free throws made. She also pulled in eight rebounds and had two blocks. O'Brien totaled 19 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
Junior A.J. Johnson made four-three pointers on her way to 16 points. Classmate Jazmine Windham also hit double figures with 14 points, adding six rebounds. Sophomore point guard Alex Morton tallied a career-high seven assists and chipped in nine points.
WMU broke away in the first half, going on a 26-7 run over a seven-minute span after the game was tied 16-16 at the 14:18 mark. The Broncos held a 19-point lead in the first half and led 54-43 at halftime. It was the most points scored for WMU in the first half since dropping 60 against Utah State on Dec. 19, 2003.
Johnson had the hot hand out of the gates, making five of her first six shots and scoring 13 of the team's first 24 points. Woods had 12 points at the half while O'Brien had 10.
Detroit fought back to cut the deficit to seven points with 11:23 remaining in the second half. Woods answered in a big way, converting a three-point play to spark her team. The Broncos followed with a 10-2 run, capped by a three-pointer off the glass by Windham. WMU led by 15 points or more the rest of the game.
Western Michigan and Detroit shot nearly even from the field at both just over 44 percent. The Broncos made the most of their chances at the free-throw line, hitting 25 of 27 attempts.
WMU outrebounded the Titans by 19, owning a 52-33 advantage on the boards. The Broncos had 19 assists as a team and turned the ball over just 14 times.
Detroit's Senee Shearer led all scorers with 29 points. Elisha Crosby tallied 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Titans.
Western Michigan improves to 2-1 with the win, while Detroit falls to 1-2. The Broncos return to University Arena to host Michigan on Monday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES: It was the third 100-point game in the last 10 years, the last 100-point game was a 102-92 win over Buffalo on Feb. 2, 2012 ... Woods has shot 24-for-25 at the free throw line over the last two games ... it was her second-straight 20-plus game and third of her career ... O'Brien's double-double was her second of the season ... fifth-year senior walk-on Kylie McKay made her first appearance as a Bronco and had one rebound in two minutes ... freshman Meredith Shipman's only two points in the game were scored on a jumper to push WMU over the 100-point mark ... the win snapped a three-game losing streak against the Titans and was WMU's first over Detroit since Nov. 17, 2006 ... WMU is off to its first 2-1 record since the 2002-03 season.
