DETROIT, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team used a fast start and maintained the lead throughout to claim its first road victory of the season on Sunday, Dec. 9 at the University of Detroit Mercy, winning 54-44.

A collective effort paced the Bronco offense, with Jasmyn Walker, Maddie Watters, and Leighah-Amori Wool each tallying 11 points. Watters and Meredith Miller both went 3-for-8 from long range, while Maxine Moore added seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.

The Broncos jumped out to a 14-0 lead to the open the game, holding Detroit Mercy scoreless through the first seven minutes of the game while surrendering the first basket with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter. The early advantage was guided by 3-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc, capped off by a three-pointer by Wool.

Freshman forward Max Moore, a Detroit Country Day School alum, closed out the quarter with a layup to give WMU an 18-2 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Broncos began the second stanza with their fourth three-point field goal of the game with Watters sinking her first of the game to give WMU a 21-2 lead, its largest lead of the half. The Titans responded, cutting into Western Michigan's lead while outscoring the Broncos 14-10 in the second quarter.

WMU maintained its lead throughout the first half, taking a 28-16 advantage into the intermission. The Brown & Gold shot 6-for-16 from beyond the arc, led by two three-point field goals each by Watters and Miller.

Moore converted an and-one play with a layup and free throw to cap a 12-2 run with two and half minutes left in the third quarter to give the visitors at 40-18 advantage, which would eventually stand as the largest lead of the contest. Detroit Mercy answered with a 7-2 run of its own, setting the score at 41-25 in favor of WMU heading into the final stanza.

Detroit Mercy pushed back in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Broncos 19-13 and coming within 10 points with seconds remaining, but WMU held on for the 54-44 win.

"We we're disappointed in the way we finished, but we played good for the first 35 minutes," said head coach Shane Clipfell.

For the game, WMU shot 18-for-50 from the field and 9-for-26 from three-point range. The Broncos limited the Titans to a 29.2 field goal percentage while out-rebounding the home team 40-35.

"We don't have to be great at the arc, we just have to be in the low 30^th percentile to give us a chance to win," Clipfell commented. "We go through some ups and downs with long scoring droughts and that is something that we need to improve on."

Game Notes

• Max Moore's nine rebounds and seven assists both stand as career/season-highs
• Leighah Wool collected a career-high four steals
• WMU's 40 rebounds are a season-high while out-rebounding its opponent for the first time this season
• WMU tied a season-high 16 assists, matching the total at Ole Miss (Nov. 18)
• 44 point against is a season-low for WMU, and is the least amount of points given up since a 87-36 win over Goshen College last season (12/19/17)
• The two points against in the first quarter is the least amount of points WMU has surrendered in a quarter since women's basketball switched to a four-quarter format in 2015-16.
  • WMU twice gave up just three points in a quarter versus Goshen (12/1917) and versus Chicago State (12/17/16)