DETROIT (11/18/2013) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team just got richer as head coach Autumn Rademacher announced the signing of Darianne Seward (Columbus, Ohio/Africentric Early College), Lariah Stevens (Flint, Mich./Southwestern – St. Clair County CC), Chea Taylor (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) and Nicole Urbanick (Grosse Ile, Mich./Divine Child) during the early signing period.
 
Seward, Taylor and Urbanick will all enroll as freshmen in the fall of 2014, while Stevens will enter UDM as a junior with two years of eligibility.
 
"These are four tremendous players and we are extremely excited to welcome them and their families to Detroit," said Coach Rademacher.
 
One of the top 10 players in the area, Seward is coming off a great junior season that saw her average 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.9 steals per game, leading her team to a state championship runner-up appearance as well as two-straight regional and district championships and three-straight city titles. She also won a state championship as a sophomore in 2012. For her efforts, she has been named All-City three times, including First Team in 2013, All-Ohio Honorable Mention as a junior and has been tabbed the team's Defensive Player of the Year two years in a row. She also played AAU with All Ohio Black and won a National Championship over the summer.
 
"Darianne is an absolute pit bull on the court," said Coach Rademacher. "She is a tenacious defender who is going to make it difficult for any opposing guard to bring the ball up the court. She is athletic and outstanding in the open floor, and can create for herself and for her teammates on the offensive end. She is also a scoring machine when her team needs her to play that role. Darianne has been a member of a prolific AAU team in Ohio and knows what is takes to compete at the highest level."
 
Stevens was a highly ranked prep while at Flint Southwestern and then enjoyed great success as a freshman at St. Clair County Community College. She was named MCCAA Eastern Conference Honor Mention after tallying 7.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game last year. She helped the Lady Skippers to a 32-3 record, the school's first conference championship since 1997, a fourth-place finish at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament, and a No. 5 ranking in the final NJCAA poll. In high school, she was Team MVP and Second Team All-Conference two years in a row and was ranked No. 10 on the Players to Watch in Genesee County in 2012.
 
"Lariah is a dominant guard who absolutely does everything. She is extremely athletic, runs the floor hard, converts fast break opportunities, and never takes a possession off," Coach Rademacher said. "She is a great shooter and can also create off the dribble and get to the basket. She is a relentless defender and comes from a winning junior college program where the expectations are very high and I look forward to Lariah bringing her successful experience at the junior college level and her winning attitude to the Detroit Titans."
 
Taylor posted 11.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 steals, and 1.4 assists per game as a junior last season and has received numerous accolades in high school. A Dayton Top 100 recruit, she started her prep career as a Miami Valley Freshman to Watch in 2010 and was also touted the Most Improved Player as a sophomore, Defensive Player of the Year and SWBL Honorable Mention as a junior. She also played AAU with Ohio Glory Gold.
 
"Chea Taylor is the most energetic and passionate player I have come across. She plays every possession with enthusiasm and really stood out at our Elite camp and at National AAU tournaments this past summer. She is strong, athletic, runs the floor, and creates chaos on the defensive end in any press scenario, and loves to take charges and has also been a part of a winning program with experience at the high school championship level," added Coach Rademacher.

Urbanick served as team captain last year and earned Detroit News All-State Honorable Mention, Special Mention BCAM's Best Girls' All-State Team, All-Catholic League, All-Area All-West Third Team, and All-City. She finished the season with 14.9 points per game, shooting over 46% from the field. She won a state championship along current Titan sophomore Rosanna Reynolds in 2011 and was tabbed one of the top 70 seniors by the Midwest Girls Basketball Report.
 
"Nicole is one of the most solid, fundamental, underrated guards I have ever seen and we are excited to bring another Divine Child student-athlete and her family into our program," said Coach Rademacher. "She is in exceptional shape, extremely fast in the open floor, can hit the open shot and is a hawk on defense. She comes from a winning program and fits perfectly into our up tempo style of play."
 
The newly signed Titans can watch their future teammates return to action on Wednesday as Detroit travels to East Lansing to face the national-ranked Michigan State Spartans.