Game Notes vs. Valparaiso .

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DETROIT -- All Titan fans, spend part of New Year's Eve cheering for one of the hottest teams in the area as the Detroit women's basketball team will look to make it five in a row when the Crusaders of Valparaiso visit on Saturday.

Game time is slated for Noon at the newly-dedicated Dick Vitale Court at Calihan Hall, plenty of time to come see the red, white and blue before heading to that New Year's party.

Detroit (5-8, 1-0) extended its winning streak to four with a huge second-half surge to race past Butler, 72-60, on Thursday in the Horizon League opener. The Titans were down 38-33 in the second half when the offense kicked in, giving the Titans their largest lead of the game, 63-42, with just under eight minutes remaining.

Freshman Shareta Brown led the way with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the season and her third 20-point scoring effort on the year. Senior Jalesa Jones tallied double digits for the second time in three games ending with 17 points, while junior Yar Shayok finished with 11 rebounds and nine points.

During this winning streak, that has also seen the Titans defeat IPFW (90-60), Eastern Michigan (70-69 in OT) and Western Michigan (73-64), the Titans are averaging 76.2 points per game.

Fans that can't make it to the game can follow all the action live on the Horizon League Network as well as with a live stats feed from SIDEARM Sports. Followers of the Titans on Twitter will also get live updates throughout the game.

THE DETROIT-VALPARAISO SERIES
The Titans have won five of the last six meetings against Valparaiso and lead the overall series, 8-5. Last season, Detroit faced the Crusaders three times, splitting the regular season with each team winning on its home court. UDM then got the better of VU in the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament, downing the Crusaders at home, 57-50.

Detroit is 4-3 against Valparaiso in the Motor City, winning the last three meetings. 

ABOUT THE CRUSADERS
Valparaiso opened the conference season on Wednesday with a 58-42 setback at Wright State. With that game played on Wednesday, the Crusaders will have the benefit of an extra day of preparation for the Titans.

VU is 4-8 on the year after opening the season on a five-game losing streak. The Crusaders have seen injuries play a major role in their start as only three players have played in all 12 games with senior Betsy Adams – a preseason second team All-League selection - and sophomore Maegan Callaway appearing in just one game, while sophomore Stefanie Lang has not played yet. Sophomore Tabitha Gerardot tops the team in scoring at 11.6 ppg., while senior Ashley Varner is tallying 10.9 ppg., and a team-best 9.2 rebounds per game.

Valparaiso has faced two common opponents with UDM recording wins over IPFW (64-43) and Ball State (67-53).

GOOD NUMBERS VS. VALPO
Junior Yar Shayok is posting 8.0 points and 10.4 rebounds in five games against Valpo. She has three games with double-digit rebounds and two double-digit scoring outings.

Senior Lauren Allen has netted double figures in scoring three times against the Crusaders, and is averaging 7.1 ppg., 4.0 rpg., and 2.5 apg., in seven career meetings.

Senior Jalesa Jones is tallying 6.4 points, 4.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game in seven career games against Valpo. She has scored in double-digits twice and has three games with five or more assists, with her best game a 16-point, 8-assist, 5-rebound effort as a sophomore in a 67-49 win.

SENEE SIZZLING
While sophomore Senee Shearer had a bumpy game her last time out against Butler (1-10 FG), there is no question that the second-year guard has been one of the main catalysts in the Titans' four-game winning streak.

She has posted career highs with 15 against Michigan and 23 in back-to-back games versus IPFW and Eastern Michigan before establishing a new career high with 24 at Western Michigan.

Against Butler her last time out, she only had five, but came up with a career-high four assists.

Prior to this recent streak, Shearer's only career double-digit game was a 13-point effort at IPFW last season, while her season high was just seven at UTSA.

In the last five games, Shearer is averaging 18.0 points on 27-of-67 from the field (41.7%), 17-of-45 from three (37.7%) and 17-of-19 from the free throw line (89.4%).

Prior to that, Shearer was 7-of-33 (21.2%) on the season and 0-of-14 from three.

Even deeper, through her first 35 collegiate games, she was just 26-of-114 (22.8%) from the field and 6-of-56 (10.7%) from behind the arc.

THREE STRAIGHT WITH 20+
Sophomore Senee Shearer now shares a common stat with her head coach.

The last Titan to post 20+ in three straight was none other than current head coach Autumn Rademacher, who netted 22 versus Cleveland State and 21 against Loyola and UIC as a junior during the 1995-96 season.

YAR STRONG OFF THE BENCH
Junior Yar Shayok has given the Titans' bench a lift this season, especially in the last four games. Shayok just missed her 21st career double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds against Butler, her fourth-straight game with six or more points and rebounds.

In the last four games, Shayok is averaging 8.7 points and 8.0 rebounds.

JJ TURNING IT ON
Senior Jalesa Jones has turned it on in the last seven games, which is a big reason why the Titans are 5-2 during this stretch.

She is averaging 7.5 points with a season-high 18 against Eastern Michigan and 17 against Butler during that span after tallying just 3.5 through the first six games.

Jones has recorded 32 assists in her last seven games (4.5 apg.) - compared to 17 in her first six (2.8) – while posting a season-high of eight at Ball State.

She also has 32 rebounds in the last seven games (4.5), up from 15 in her first six (2.5), including a career-best nine against WMU.

She is currently tied for second in the HL in assists with 3.8 per game and third in the conference with a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio (49 assists, 37 turnovers).

ANOTHER DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Freshman Shareta Brown tallied her fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds against Butler.

Her five double-doubles are tied for the second most in the Horizon League.

She is also third in the HL in scoring (15.5) and field goal percentage (53.6%) and seventh in rebounding (8.8).

Brown does lead the league with 3.7 offensive rebounds per game.

GETTING OFFENSIVE
During the Titans four-game winning streak, Detroit's offense has really taken off averaging 76.2 points per game, scoring 70 or more in all four games.  UDM is shooting 47.9% from the field (107-of-223), 36.1% from three (26-of-72) and 70.6% from the charity stripe (65-of-92).

During this stretch, the Titans tallied a season-best 90 points against IPFW on Dec. 18, shooting a school record 65.5% in the process. UDM connected on 38-of-58 shots, including 22-of-29 (75%) in the second half.

The 90 points (53 in the second half) were the most by Detroit since posting 90 in a winning effort at Milwaukee last season and the most UDM has scored at home since a 94-67 victory against Cleveland State on Jan. 12, 2002.

It is also the second most by a Horizon League team this season following Youngstown State's 91 it had against IPFW.

ALLEN IN THE TOP 10
With three more assists against Butler, senior Lauren Allen now has 293 career helpers and is in 10th place in school, just two away from passing Lisa Blackburn's ninth-place mark of 294.