Game Notes vs. Valparaiso

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Autumn Rademacher ShootAround Show On The Titan YouTube Channel

DETROIT -- After starting the Horizon League campaign – and the New Year – on the road, the Detroit women's basketball team is back in Motown as the Titans get ready to battle the Crusaders of Valparaiso on Thursday. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m., at Calihan Hall.

Fans can catch the game on the Horizon League Network with Dan York calling all of the action. A live stats feed through gametracker will also be available. Both links are located on top of the page.

The Titans have won three of their last four and are coming off a great offensive game where they scored 90 points to down Milwaukee, 90-76. Sophomore Dominique Dixon kept up her hot offensive surge with back-to-back 30-point games, including a career-high 32 against the Panthers. Sophomore Cherridy Thornton tied her career-best with 20 at Milwaukee, while sophomore Yar Shayok added 17 points and nine rebounds.

Valparaiso comes into the game at 3-10 following a 61-49 loss to Butler in its Horizon League opener. Betsy Adams leads the team in scoring at 13.5 points per game, while Tabitha Gerardot is tallying 10.5 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds.

DETROIT VS. VALPARAISO
The Titans have won three straight against Valparaiso to take a 6-4 lead in the all-time series. Detroit is 4-1 against the Crusaders in Valparaiso, IN, while VU is 3-2 in games played in the Motor City.

MAYBE A LITTLE EXTRA?
Detroit and Valparaiso has seen two of its last four games go into overtime, with each team walking away with a victory in the extra session.

Last year, the contest was tied at 65 when the Titans opened overtime with seven-straight points before Valpo scored the last five in a 72-70 UDM win at the ARC.

GOOD NUMBERS AGAINST VALPO
Detroit has a few players who have put together some strong performances against Valparaiso.
- Yar Shayok is averaging 9.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game in two games against VU.
- Jalesa Jones is tallying 9.0 points, 3.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals in four career meetings, which includes a 16-point, eight assist, five-rebound performance in the last meeting.
- Sierra Spaude totaled 15 points in the last game, while Demeisha Fambro netted 15 in the overtime affair at Valpo.

TOTAL “DOM-O NATION”
Sophomore Dominique Dixon is coming off a monster weekend where she tallied back-to-back 30-point outings at Green Bay and at Milwaukee.

She started the Horizon League season with 31 against the Phoenix hitting 12-of-18 from the field, 3-of-4 from three and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

She then came back to top that with a career-high 32 points at Milwaukee going 11-of-16 from the field with a career-best six 3-pointers and a 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. She also had a career-high five assists and matched her personal best with five boards.

For the weekend, she averaged 31.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists. She was 23-of-34 (67%) from the field, 9-of-13 (69%) from behind the arc and 8-of-9 (88%) at the line.

LAST BACK-TO-BACK 30-POINT GAMES
With her performance at Green Bay and at Milwaukee, sophomore Dominique Dixon became just the second Titan in school history to record back-to-back 30-point efforts.

To find the first, you have to go all the way back nearly 30 years ago to the start of the 1981-82 season when Cheryl Williams had 32 against Bowling Green and 35 at Eastern Michigan.

Three straight 30-point games has never been achieved by a Titan, and the last time a Detroit player had three-straight 20+ was the head coach herself, Autumn Rademacher, as she netted 22 versus Cleveland State, 21 against Loyola and 21 at UIC as a junior during the 1995-96 season.

MORE ON DIXON'S PROLIFIC OFFENSE
After scoring a total of 17 points in the first six games of the year (2.8 ppg), sophomore Dominique Dixon has quickly turned into one of the top scorers in the Horizon League after tallying career-highs in five of her last six games, including her first career 20-point outing with 20 markers at Michigan and back-to-back 30-point games with 31 at Green Bay and a career-high 32 at Milwaukee.

She started her scoring spurt with 11 points at Tulane and surpassed that at Eastern Michigan with 13 points. After missing the game at IPFW, she has exploded with 20+ contests at Michigan, Green Bay and Milwaukee.

In her last six games, Dixon is averaging a team-best 19.2 points, shooting 51 percent (41-of-81), including 53 percent from three.

That is quite a contrast from her first five games where she shot just 20 percent (8-of-39), including missing all five of her 3-pointers.

LOOKING FOR 5-0 START AT HOME
Detroit started the season with three straight homes games (all wins) but then went on the road for seven straight. The Titans returned to Detroit for a victory over Marygrove (Dec. 27), before opening conference play in Wisconsin.

The Titans are 4-0 at home on the year, matching their best home start since 2000-01 and will now look to win their fifth straight in Calihan Hall. A win would give Detroit its best home start since the Titans won all 13 at home during the 1986-87 campaign.

The four-game winning streak at home is also four away from its eight-game winning streak Detroit put together in Calihan Hall last year.

UDM has posted a 13-1 record at home in its last 14 games and a 21-12 ledger since head coach Autumn Rademacher returned to her alma mater in 2008.

In 33 years of play in the Motor City, the Titans have enjoyed a 249-134 (.646) home court record. Last season, UDM went 10-6 at home, including 8-1 in conference play.

Away from Calihan, Detroit has posted a 242-328 all-time record.

TITANS PUT UP 90
UDM posted a season-high 90 points in a 90-76 victory at Milwaukee. Here are some notes from the 14-point victory.
- It was the first 90-point game by the Titans since a 90-72 win against IPFW in 2002
- The 49 points in the first stanza was a season high and the most Detroit has scored in a first half since tallying 44 against Youngstown State in a 73-50 triumph on Jan. 14, 2009
- UDM recorded a season high in made field goals (29), field-goal percentage (53.7) and assists (20), while also posting its game of the year with more assists than turnovers (15)
- The 14-point victory was the largest against the Panthers since a 98-63 win in the conference tournament in 1997
- It was also the biggest at the Klotsche Center since a 90-64 victory in 1996

LENDING A HAND
Detroit accounted for 20 assists at Milwaukee on Jan, 2, the most helpers UDM has posted since a 20-assist night against Youngstown State last year in an 80-44 triumph.

TWO WITH 20+
For the second time this season, Detroit had a pair of players net 20 points in a game as sophomore Dominique Dixon tallied a game and career-high 32 points, while sophomore Cherridy Thornton tied her career best with 20 at Milwaukee.

UDM accomplished the feat for the first time since 2006 earlier in the year when sophomore Demeisha Fambro had 25 and Thornton added 20 in a Detroit victory over Ball State.

THORNTON FINDING HER TOUCH
Sophomore Cherridy Thornton has netted double digits in scoring in four of her last five games after being held scoreless in her prior three contests.

She is coming off a 20-point outing at Milwaukee, which tied her career high in points while seeing her connect on 5-of-8 from the field and career-best four 3-pointers.

During this streak, she had a game-high 13 against Marygrove, a team-high 16 points at IPFW and 11 points at Michigan.

In her last five games, Thornton is averaging 12.4 ppg., shooting 21-of-41 (51%) from the field, 10-of-22 (45%) from three and 10-of-14 (71%) from the free throw line.

She is also rebounding the ball tallying a career-high nine boards against Marygrove, while averaging 5.0 rebounds per game during this span.

UDM TALLIES VOTES IN MID-MAJOR POLL
The Detroit Titans received 14 votes in the latest Collegeinsider.com Women's Mid-Major Poll, released on Jan. 4.

It is the second time this season the Titans have earned votes following the two it had on Nov. 17.

The Titans are one of just two teams from the Horizon League in the poll with Green Bay ranked No. 1.

The first-year poll is comprised of teams from the America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt and West Coast Conference.