Game Notes vs. Drexel

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DETROIT -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team will hit the hardwood after a week off as the Titans continue the Preseason WNIT with a match-up against the Drexel Dragons on Friday. Tip-off is set for 5:00 p.m., at the James A. Rhodes Arena on the campus of Akron, one of the sites for the Preseason WNIT Consolation Rounds.

Fans that can't make it out to support the team can follow all the action with live stats through Akron's website. A live webcast of the event is also available (without any announcers) and as always, fans can get updated scores throughout the game by following the Titans on Twitter.

Detroit dropped a tough 64-62 decision at Indiana State in the first round of the preseason tournament. Freshman Shareta Brown led the way with 25 points and 13 rebounds in her collegiate debut. Junior Chanahl Putnam also made her Titan debut totaling 10 points and four assists, while junior Demeisha Fambro added nine markers off the bench.

The Titans cut an 11-point second-half deficit down to two with under a minute to go, but just could not get the game-tying bucket down the stretch.

Drexel – out of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) - dropped its opening-round game of the Preseason WNIT at home to Long Island, 60-52. Junior Hollie Mershon netted a career-high 26 for the Dragons, but Drexel shot just 16-of-51 (31%) for the game. Drexel got off to a slow start and was just 4-of-23 from the field in the first half.

The consolation rounds of the Preseason WNIT will finish up on Saturday as the winner of the Detroit-Drexel game will face the victor of Akron-Howard, while the two non-advancers will also square off.

THE DETROIT-DREXEL SERIES
It is pretty simple, this is the first career meeting between the Titans and Dragons.

ABOUT DREXEL
The Dragons are a veteran group with four seniors and nine upperclassmen and were picked to finish fifth in the CAA Preseason Poll. 

They are led by senior Kamile Nacickaite, a second team All-CAA selection as a junior and a preseason first-team pick after averaging 17.6 ppg., last season.  She also finished third last year in the NCAA in three-point percentage hitting 47% (75-of-157).

Mershon tallied 9.8 ppg., and 4.3 rpg., while senior Tyler Hale averaged 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds.

Nacickaite, Hale along with seniors  Marisa Crane and Ayana Lee were all part of the Dragons'  lone CAA championship team in 2009.

Drexel was 19-13 a year ago and earned a bid to the Postseason WNIT, its third-straight year that it received a postseason bid.

WHAT'S NEXT
The consolation rounds of the Preseason WNIT continues as the winner of the Detroit-Drexel match will face the winner of the Akron-Howard contest on Saturday, while the losers will also square off.

If the Titans play the Zips, Saturday's game will be at 7:30 p.m., while a UDM-Howard match-up would tip-off at 5 p.m.

All four games of the Preseason WNIT consolation rounds will take place at Akron's James A. Rhodes Arena.

AGAINST THE CAA
This will only be the second career meeting between the Titans and a current member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), even though the conference has been around for 25 years.

In fact, the only career meeting took place prior to the establishment of the conference as Detroit fell to AP No. 1 Old Dominion, 90-58, at home on Nov. 24, 1979.

AGAINST THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
The Titans are 10-13 all-time against the state of Pennsylvania.

The Titans best record is a 3-1 ledger against Temple.

The last match-up against someone from the Keystone State was last year as UDM dropped a 77-70 decision in overtime to Saint Joseph's in a game played in New Orleans in the Big Easy Classic.

WHAT A DEBUT
Freshman Shareta Brown did not waste any time to make a name for herself as the rookie accomplished something no other true Titan freshman has done in nearly 28 years - post a double-double in her collegiate debut.

Brown was dominating down low for the Titans against Indiana State, ending with a game high 25 points and a game-best 13 rebounds. She was 9-of-17 from the field and 7-of-10 from the line, and crashed the offensive glass coming up with eight boards.

In the second half, Brown was one of the main reasons the Titans nearly came back to win as she netted 15 points and grabbed nine boards.

She became the first true freshman to do that since Titan Hall-of-Famer Cassandra Pack had 23 points and 16 rebounds against Bowling Green on Nov. 25, 1983.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN SEASON OPENER
Prior to freshman Shareta Brown's double-double performance in the season opener, the last Titan to record a double-double in a season opener was teammate Yar Shayok.

The redshirt freshman had 26 points and 14 rebounds in a 74-65 victory at Oakland on Nov. 13, 2009.

OPENING THE SEASON WITH AN HONOR
College Sports Madness, an online publication, tabbed Titan freshman Shareta Brown as its Horizon League Player of the Week.

The “Madness” identifies the highest impact players nationally and one from each conference each week.

LOOKING FOR A SCHOOL RECORD
Senior Jalesa Jones added four assists to her career total in the season opener and is seventh all-time at Detroit with 359 career helpers. She is just six away from passing Amira Danforth for sixth in the school's record book as well as 128 away from claiming the school record.

If she does break the Titan record of 486 - held by Mary Lillie - she will pass another familiar name in current head coach Autumn Rademacher (3rd-429)

As a freshman, Jones had 84 assists, while collecting 159 as a sophomore and 112 last year. For her career, she is tallying 3.8 apg.

SHAYOK ON THE RISE
Junior forward Yar Shayok pulled down eight rebounds at Indiana State and now has 629 career boards, good for eighth in school history.

Shayok is just four rebounds away from Terri Ford's seventh place total (633) and 19 away from Lydia Johnson's fifth-place mark of 648.