Game Notes vs. Milwaukee

Horizon League Network

Live Stats

Autumn Rademacher ShootAround Show On The Titan YouTube Channel

DETROIT -- The regular season comes to an end this weekend, but the push for playoff seeding and positioning is still ongoing as Detroit prepares for a home game against Milwaukee with a bye in the opening round on the line. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m., at historic Calihan Hall.

Detroit currently sits in seventh place in the Horizon League with a 6-10 record, while Milwaukee is in sixth at 8-8. With the Titans winning the first game of the year in Milwaukee, 90-76, UDM could jump the Panthers for the sixth spot and the last bye in the opening round with two wins this week coupled with a pair of UWM losses.

At the moment, only one seed has been set for the upcoming Horizon League championship (Green Bay at No. 1), but Butler, Cleveland State, Wright State and UIC have all earned at least a bye in the opening round.

The Titans have already clinched a home game in the opening round - which would be held on Monday - as a seventh or eighth seed, thanks to the red, white and blue's 71-62 victory at Loyola last Saturday.

DETROIT VS. MILWAUKEE
After dropping seven in a row, the Titans have rebounded to take the last four meetings from Milwaukee, including a 90-76 victory earlier in the year. The Panthers still hold a slight edge in the all-time series, 21-18.

At home, UDM is 9-8 in the Motor City, with home wins in each of the last two seasons.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee, who had a nine-game losing streak at one point during the year, has rebounded nicely and comes into the game at 11-16 overall and 8-8 in the Horizon League. The Panthers have won two in a row and currently sit in sixth place in the standings, which would give them a bye in the opening round.

Lindsay Laur has 11 double-doubles on the year, and leads the team in scoring (17.6) and rebounding (9.2). Angela Rodriguez is tallying 12.1 ppg., and 3.0 apg., while Courtney Lindfors is third on the team in scoring at 9.5 per night.

LAST TIME VS. MILWAUKEE
Dominique Dixon tallied a career-high 32 points, and the Titans raced out to a huge lead that they would never relinquish as UDM outgunned Milwaukee, 90-76.

Dixon was 11-of-16 from the field, hitting a career-best six 3-pointers while also collecting five assists and five rebounds. Cherridy Thornton had 20 points, including four 3-pointers, while Yar Shayok had 17 points and nine rebounds.

It was all Titans from the very start as Detroit hit eight of its first 11 shots from the field. The Titans took command with a 24-7 run to open a 31-13 lead with 8:41 left in the first half. Dixon was the main catalyst hitting her first five shots from the field, including three 3-pointers, while Thornton was also hitting from deep connecting on a pair of triples.

Milwaukee was able to trim the Titan lead down to 11, 31-20, but a 17-2 Detroit spurt followed to end any hopes of a comeback as the red, white and blue would take a 49-26 advantage into the half.

The Titans shot 57.6 percent from the field (19-of-33) in the first half, including 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from behind the arc en route to Detroit scoring a season-high 49 points. The Detroit defense forced 14 Milwaukee turnovers, which it converted into 16 points, and held the Panthers to 1-of-12 from three.

Detroit ended the game shooting 53.7 percent (29-of-54), including a hair under 50 percent from the three-point line (10-of-21).

GOOD NUMBERS VS. MILWAUKEE
Sophomore Yar Shayok is averaging 14.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game in three career games against Milwaukee. She has netted double figures in all three games and has pulled down at least eight rebounds in every outing. She is also shooting 66 percent from the field hitting 16 of her 24 shots.

Junior Jalesa Jones is averaging 8.6 points, 3.8 assists and 3.6 rebounds in five career games, while junior Lauren Allen is tallying 7.8 points, 4.0 assists and 3.4 rebounds, also in five games. Last year at home, she recorded a 19-point, eight-assists, seven-rebound game versus the Panthers.

AMONG THE NATION'S LEADERS
Sophomore Yar Shayok currently ranks 18th in the nation in rebounding according to the latest NCAA statistics, released on Monday.

Shayok has 17 games this year where she has collected double digit rebounds, including 10 in her last 12 outings.

In Horizon League play, the 6-1 forward is averaging 11.7 rebounds with 12 games corralling at least 10 boards, including a season high and her personal Horizon League-best 16 rebounds against Youngstown State on Feb. 17.

TITAN BRACKETOLOGY
With just two games left in the regular season, the Titans still have a chance to move to sixth place and get a bye in the opening round. At the very least, Detroit can't fall lower than eighth meaning they will host an opening round game on Monday. Below are the Titan playoff scenarios:

- Detroit can move to sixth with two wins and two Milwaukee losses.
- Detroit can clinch 7th with a win or a Loyola loss.
- UDM could slide to 8th with two losses and two Loyola wins

* If Detroit is tied with Loyola at the end of the year, UDM will win the tiebreaker based on beating Butler (victory over higher seed) because even if Loyola defeats Cleveland State, that would assure that Butler would finish higher than them in the standings.

DETROIT'S LUCKY NUMBERS
Sophomore Cherridy Thornton and junior Lauren Allen seem to bring out the winning formula for the Titans

On the year, Detroit is 3-0 when Thornton scores 20+ points and 5-1 when she grabs at least five rebounds in a game.

For Allen, UDM is also 4-1 on the season and 17-7 in her career when she reaches double digits in scoring.

JONES NEARING ANOTHER MARK
Junior Jalesa Jones has 345 career assists and is now just three behind Katie Solner (2002-06) for seventh and 20 in back of Amira Danforth (1991-95) for sixth in Titan history.

Last season, the heady point guard put herself in the Detroit record books with 159 assists, the fourth-most in a season at UDM.

SHAYOK'S DOUBLE-DOUBLES
With her 10 points and 12 rebounds at Loyola on Feb. 26, sophomore Yar Shayok posted her 10th double-double on the year and the 20th of her career.

The 10 double-doubles match her effort from last season and are the most by a Titan since Cheryl Ford posted 12 during the 1989-90 season.

At one point this season, she recorded five consecutive double-doubles and the five-straight games with double-digit rebounds, both career-bests.

Eight of her double-doubles have come in conference play, while her 10 total double-doubles are tied for second in the HL.

VALUE THE BALL
Detroit is coming off a game in which the Titans turned it over a season-low eight times at Loyola. The eight turnovers tied Detroit for the second least by an HL team this year, and it was also the fourth time this season UDM had 10 or fewer turnovers in a contest.

Detroit is currently 41st in the country in turnovers committing just 15.2 per game.