Fort Wayne, IN – On Senior Day that recognized the all five members of the season long starting five Amellia Bromenschenkel, Jazzlyn Linbo, Audra Emmerson, and newcomers Sydney Freeman and Lauren Ross, the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (22-6, 17-1 Horizon League) got some serious production from the aforementioned starting five to take down the Detroit Mercy Titans (13-13, 7-11 Horizon League) by a score of 91-62.
First Quarter: The Mastodons looked to get out of the gates quickly and get the offense running early. Habitually coming out flat to start the game, the ‘Dons were able to have a solid scoring first quarter. The scoring would start quickly by Linbo getting post score on the Mastodons first possession of the game, but then both teams would go scoreless for three minutes until Katie Burton would get the Titans on the board with a layup of her own. The Burton bucket would take the lid off of both buckets.
Freeman would go on a solo 6-0 for the ‘Dons hitting the first of four three-pointers for the Mastodons in the first quarter alone. Freeman would follow up her three-pointer with an old school three-point play with a layup, foul drawn, and a made free throw. Ross would then go on a solo 6-0 run of her own by the way of two back-to-back three-pointers from the 47.5% three-point shooter.
The Titans would then go on an 8-0 run of their own on an Emaia O’Brien jumper, an Anna Lassan layup, two made free throws from Aaliyah McQueen, Katie Burton hitting a shot, and Myonna Hooper making a basket to tie the game at 14 all. Emmerson would hit two free throws for the ‘Dons, but only to be countered by a Makayla Jackson layup. The tie at 16-16 would be the last time that the game would be tied. Emmerson would quickly break the tie on the next time down the floor hitting her first three-pointer of the game. Makayla Jackson would then score again for the Titans to send the game to 19-18 in favor of the Mastodons to end the 1st quarter.
Second Quarter: Bromenschenkel would get the second quarter started on her Senior Day with a transition three-pointer assisted by Ross. Jordan Reid and Emmerson would each score a basket in the early part of the quarter, but Jasmine Edwards, Anna Lassan, and Myonna Hooper would do the same for the Titans in that time. Ross would make yet another three-pointer on the next possession. Renna Schwieterman would commit an offensive foul and turnover while trying to clear space at the elbow where she inadvertently hit a Detroit Mercy defender in the nose with her elbow. The foul would send the game to the second quarter media timeout.
Out of the timeout, the stifling defense of Jordan Reid, Taeya Steinauer, and Bromenschenkel forced the Titans into a shot clock violation. The Mastodons would turn the turnover into another 2 points on a Jordan Reid driving layup blowing by all of the defenders yet to get into the lane.
Bromenschenkel would continue to prove why she is one of the best players in program history and a member of the Top-10 scoring list in the program. Bromenschenkel would receive a skip pass from Ross and would jab right before ripping left, taking a rip gather jump stop over a defenders arms, and then throw the ball right off the glass and in to the basket while drawing the foul. She would connect on the free throw. Ross would show why she’s one of the best scorers in the country by mimicking Bromenschenkel with an and-one of her own a possession later.
As the clock was winding down in the half, Myonna Hooper was looking to create something to end the bleeding. She found Makayla Jackson with 3 seconds on the clock. Jackson took the ball into the lane and put the ball up on a running floater. The ball would go through the net as the buzzer sounded to send the game to half with the Mastodons leading the Titans 37-30.
Third Quarter: Emaia O’Brien would get the scoring started in the second half for Detroit Mercy, but Ross would respond with another three-pointer from the right wing. To even out the shot chart, Freeman would match her teammate’s three-pointer only from the left wing this time. The Mastodon defense continued to force turnovers as they have all year. Bromenschenkel would poke the ball loose from Emaia O’Brien and pass it out to Freeman who would nail another three-pointer about 5 feet to the left of where she made the last three. The Freeman threes would force Head Coach Kate Achter to use one of her timeouts to regroup her squad.
The seniors would continue to show out for the ‘Dons. Emmerson would fire a right corner three that was nothing but net, and then Emmerson and Linbo would switch positions for a brief moment as Linbo would be the point guard to find a cutting Emmerson down low for another basket. Bromenschenkel would get on the scoring party with a post move of her own to put the Mastodons up by 19 with a score of 53-34.
The second last possession of the quarter for the ‘Dons was nothing short of clinical. Steinauer showed off her incredible on-ball defense and forced Maya Anderson to cough the ball up for the 20th turnover of the game for Detroit Mercy. Steinauer would dribble down the court and pass it out from the lane to the wing to Freeman. Freeman would pass on a good shot look, drive to the basket, freeze the defender with an excellent shot fake, and bounce pass back to Steinauer for perhaps the easiest two points of the night for the ‘Dons. The Mastodons would win the third quarter by 20 points and take a 70-43 lead into the final frame of the game.
Fourth Quarter: Detroit Mercy would start the fourth with two buckets in a row – something they had not done at all in the third quarter. Freeman would not allow this to continue as she would hit another three-pointer from almost the parking lot for the Barbasol Close Shave Play of the Game. Ross would also hit her fifth deep ball of the night. Detroit Mercy was able to string together some more points, but the media timeout would see a 25 point lead in favor of head coach Maria Marchesano’s squad.
On the next dead ball, Marchesano would sub in five Mastodons seeing the starting five seniors jog off the court to nothing less than a standing ovation. The “future” of the program now had 4 minutes to play, and they showed why the program is in good hands. “Future” is an interesting term to use because these players would be pillar players at many mid-major D1 programs across the country. Steinauer would bury a three, and Schwieterman would hit a basket just outside of the restricted arc in the paint.
Reese Polega would show her promise on a dribble drive to the hoop where she would be fouled and hit one of two free throws. Madelyn Geers would enter the game and show great effort fighting for a defensive and offensive rebound. Furman transfer Ella Riggs would hit a spinning shot to put the Mastodons above 90 points. Detroit Mercy’s offense was able to put up 19 points in the final frame, but the explosive fire power of the Mastodons would be able to put up 21 points, extending the lead, and would lead the Mastodons to a 91-62 victory.
Stats and Leaders: Detroit Mercy was led in scoring by Makayla Jackson and Katie Burton, both scoring 13 points. Anna Lassan pitched in with 7 points off the bench, and Emaia O’Brien and Myonna Hooper added 6 points each. No other player for UDM had more than 4 points.
Detroit Mercy won the rebounding battle in this game 33-26. Aaliyah McQueen led all players on UDM with 7 rebounds, and Katie Burton was second on the team with 5. Detroit Mercy had a decent night from inside the three-point line (26-44, %), but the team struggled from beyond the arc (2-15, 13.3%). The Titans were 0-8 from three-point range in the first half.
The Mastodons received a senior showcase on Senior Day. Ross led all scorers with 20 points on 7-12 shooting, including 5-10 from three. Helping their fellow Senior Day honoree, Freeman scored 15 points, Emmerson scored 14 points, and Bromenschenkel scored 11 points. Schwieterman was the only non-senior on the team to score in double figures. She ended with 14 points.
Though quiet in the scoring column, senior Jazzlyn Linbo produced 8 rebounds for the Mastodons and dished out an impressive 6 assists. Bromenschenkel ended the game with a +34 scoring differential while on the court. The 91 points scored by the Mastodons is the most scored by any Horizon League team in a Horizon League game this year, topping Cleveland State’s 89 points back on February 1. The ‘Dons also have the lead for most points in a game by a Horizon League team this season in any game with 115 against Aqunias back on December 14.
What’s Next: Detroit Mercy returns home for their final regular season home game of the year when they take on the visiting Northern Kentucky Norse on Thursday, February 27. The Norse and the Titans are currently tied in the Horizon League standings along with Wright State for 5th place at 7-11 in conference play. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with tip-off at 7:00pm ET.
Purdue Fort Wayne will finish out the 2024-2025 Horizon League regular season with two road games. The first stop will be in Milwaukee on Thursday, February 27 to take on the last place team in the Horizon League. The game will be the last regular season game for Milwaukee. The game is set to tip off at 7:00pm ET, and it will be broadcasted on ESPN+. The Mastodon season finale will take place in Green Bay on Saturday, March 1 in a seemingly winner-take-all bout between the Mastodons and the Phoenix. The winner of that game will likely decide the regular season champion and the 1st place seed in the Horizon League tournament, pending Thursday’s matchup result.
