DETROIT — What started as a 13-point halftime lead for the Michigan women’s basketball team, and later a 19-point lead early in the second half, turned into a nail biter at Calihan Hall against Detroit last night.

Last season, the Titans visited Ann Arbor and easily defeated the Wolverines, 67-48. Michigan was looking for redemption this year — and found it — defeating the Titans 61-51 this time.

“I’m glad that we escaped out of here with a win,” said Michigan coach Kevin Borseth. “Detroit gave us everything we can handle.”

Though Michigan won by double digits, the Titans made Borseth sweat.

With 12 minutes remaining in the game, the Wolverines led by 17 points. But the Titans went on a 13-2 run, cutting Michigan’s lead to just six.

Detroit’s answer was simple — production from an unlikely source. Though guard Senee Shearer hadn’t hit a 3-point attempt all season, she made five 3-pointers in the second half after going 0-for-2 in the first half.

“I told our kids in the huddle, ‘They’re making everything that’s going up in that basket,” Borseth said. “ ‘If they miss you need to rebound it and put it in on your end of the court’.”

Rebounding was one problem that arose for Michigan. Though the Wolverines were only outrebounded by six, Detroit grabbed 15 offensive rebounds compared to the Wolverines’ six. The Titans’ second-chance points from those rebounds allowed them to stay in the game.

Forward Shareta Brown, who entered the game as Detroit’s leading scoring, tallied 15 points and 11 rebounds — five of which came on the offensive glass.

“She’s big,” Borseth said. “She just moves you. You’re blocking her out and she just moves you and then rebounds it. I don’t really know how you stop that. She’s a handful, and she’s going to be handful for everybody that she plays against.”

Added senior guard Courtney Boylan: “It was our emphasis to guard (Brown) because we know that she’s their best player. But when (Shearer) started to hit shots, it was harder for us to help — which is when (Brown) got more looks.”

The Wolverines received a big offensive performance from junior guard Kate Thompson, who went 6-for-12 from the field and led the team with 16 points.

“Kate has faced a lot of zones in high school, so when she gets in against a zone, she really knows how to move,” Borseth said.

Thompson was able to use her size advantage, as a 6-foot-4 guard, to make 3-pointers and score inside the paint.

Borseth played Boylan less than usual — in favor of a taller lineup — in an attempt to stop the Titans from penetrating with their speed. In the second half, Detroit penetrated and kicked on multiple possessions, which resulted in Shearer getting open looks from behind the arc.

“(Junior guard) Nya (Jordan) had a great game when we played against Detroit last time,” Borseth said. “Her athleticism and her size and it being Detroit, I really thought Nya was a kid that could make a difference (tonight). I thought she did a great job.

“It wasn’t that Courtney wasn’t doing her job. Defensively, I just tried to put a bigger guard in.”

Boylan finished with just nine points, while only playing 23 minutes — 10 minutes less than her season average.

“I think Coach just wanted to throw a lot of different things at Detroit because last year we kind of sat back and took a beating,” junior forward Rachel Scheffer said. “This year we came at them with a lot of different lineups they weren’t used to.”

Last night’s game may have been a close one, but when it came to free throws late in in the game, the Wolverines were flawless. Though they shot 43 percent for the game, theywent 6-for-6 from the charity in it's last three possessions to clinch the victory.