CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State women's basketball team opened Horizon League play Thursday, dropping a 76-68 contest at Detroit Mercy.

Game Stats
-Colbi Maples paced the Vikings with 25 points, while Izabella Zingaro added 13 and Jada Leonard chipped in 12.
-Izabella Zingaro grabbed a team-best six rebounds on the night.
-As a team, the Vikings combined for 13 assists, including three assists each from Jada Leonard, Macey Fegan and Ayisse Magassa.

Game Notes
-Colbi Maples tallied her fourth 20-point game of the season after finishing with 25 on the night.
-With one steal on the game, Jada Leonard has now recorded at least one takeaway in all nine games this season.

The Game
After trailing by five points at the halftime break with the score at 42-37, the Vikings quickly trimmed the lead on their first possession of the third quarter, as an Izabella Zingaro layup closed the gap to three points at 42-39. The two teams then traded baskets over the next few possessions, until the Vikings went on a 6-0 run, gaining a slim 48-47 advantage on a Zingaro layup midway through the frame.

The lead wouldn't last long though, as Detroit Mercy closed the quarter with seven straight points, taking a 54-48 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.

Despite Detroit Mercy extending its lead to double-digits over the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, the Vikings responded with an 8-0 run – including six points from Colbi Maples – to come within four points at 62-58 with 3:11 left on the clock.

Back-to-back baskets from the Titans put the momentum back in their favor then, holding a 67-58 advantage with just over two minutes left to play.

Although the Vikings were able to close the gap to five points late in the frame, the Titans would go on to control the remainder of the contest, coming away with the 76-68 victory.

Up Next
Cleveland State will close out the weekend with a 12:00 p.m. contest at Oakland on Saturday.