It took nearly 14 months and an entirely new roster, but the University of Detroit Mercy women’s basketball team has finally won a game.
The Titans snapped a brutal 29-game losing streak on Valentine’s Day, beating the University of Illinois-Chicago on the road 63-61 with a last-second layup from graduate student Janna Lewis.
The victory was the first this season, and the first for interim head coach LaTanya Collins.
Lewis finished the game with 12 points. The Titans were led by sophomore Lucia Fleta Robles, who notched a career-high 16 points. Senior Monique Pruitt posted her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The game was close throughout, and UIC entered halftime with a two-point lead.
The teams traded buckets in the final stretch, with UIC tying things at 61 with 35 seconds remaining.
The victory was poetic in that the team’s last win before the losing streak also came against UIC.
The team was forced to suspend its season last year after allegations of misconduct against then-head coach AnnMarie Gilbert. The Titans fielded a completely new team this season made up of players all from outside the state of Michigan, including five women from Spain.
Players who spoke to The Varsity News had previously said the mood around the team remained positive throughout the losing streak and that they were focused on building a winning culture.
The victory against UIC was short-lived, however, as the Titans dropped the following match against Purdue Fort Wayne a few days later by a final score of 77-62. The team has a two games remaining before the end of the regular season. Both are on the road: at Wright State on Thursday, Feb. 24, and at Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Feb. 26.
