Gameday Central
Game Notes vs. Milwaukee

DETROIT (2/6/2014) -- The Titans will open the second half of the Horizon League season this Saturday, Feb. 8, in a festive way as the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team hosts Milwaukee in historic Calihan Hall. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m., in a Play 4Kay Pink Game.

The Play 4Kay initiative (formerly known as WBCA Pink Zone) is an opportunity for a nation of coaches to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for research on the court, across campuses, in communities and beyond. Since its inception in 2007, the Play 4Kay initiative has raised over $2.8 million to support women's cancer research.

For more information on the event, visit play4kay.org.

Kay Yow, former North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and passed away on January 24, 2009, after facing her third bout with the disease. With the creation of the Fund, Kay hoped to raise money to further cutting-edge research conducted by the nation's top doctors and medical experts to allow more and more cancer patients to have access to experimental drugs and clinical trials. Since the majority of these research projects are privately funded, these researchers desperately need our support in order for them to continue to make strides in finding a cure for cancer.

To date, the Fund has contributed over $3.8 million in support of women's cancer research. Due to our unique partnership with The V Foundation, we utilize their Scientific Advisory Board to ensure your donations support the cancer research projects with the most potential. Thus, grant recipients funded by the Kay Yow Cancer Fund have remarkable standing within the scientific community.

Titan fans can follow every UDM game this season through the women's basketball GAMEDAY CENTRAL page located on the Titans Athletic Website that will keep fans one click away from all the action. This page will feature links for live stats (audio and video when applicable) as well as links for all the latest info while also making it easy to find the Titans on social media and to purchase photos and game tickets. The Game Day Central page also carries all the information on each opponent from who is leading the all-time series to who won the last game.

Detroit will look for some revenge against the Panthers as UWM used a 20-2 second-half run to win the first match-up, 81-69, back in Milwaukee on Jan. 25. Senior Senee Shearer had 21 in that contest, while sophomore Tayelor McCalister added 17 and freshman Reyna Montgomery netted 11.

Shearer passed head coach Autumn Rademacher her last time out against Green Bay by hitting six 3-pointers to reach 202 in her career, second in school history, and she will look to climb her way to the top just 15 away from Michelle James' 217.

McCalister had a career day with 24 points and nine rebounds versus the Phoenix, while freshman Haleigh Ristovski totaled eight points, seven rebounds and five assists.

For tickets, click here or call the Titan Ticket Office at 313-993-1700

DETROIT VS. MILWAUKEE
Detroit won four in a row coming into the season, but the Panthers won the first meeting, 81-69, in Milwaukee a few weeks ago.

UDM has still won eight of the last 10 as the series is tied at 23-all. The Titans are 11-9 against the Panthers in the Motor City and have won four of the last five in Calihan Hall.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS
Milwaukee (7-13, 3-4 HL) has won two of its last three heading into its Michigan trip as the Panthers will play at Oakland on Thursday before visiting Detroit.

The Panthers are in the middle of the pack in the Horizon League in scoring at 69.2 points per game, but are eighth in points allowed (75.5). They are also among the conference leaders in three-point field-goal percentage (33.3%) and three-point field goals per game (8.2).

Angela Rodriguez - who had 16 points but shot just 5-of-14 in the first meeting - is fifth in the conference in scoring at 17.5 ppg., while leading the HL with 6.1 apg.

Ashley Green is tallying 14.1 ppg., and 6.8 rpg., while Avyanna Young is third in the league in rebounding (9.0) and is averaging 13.4 ppg.

SIGN UP NOW FOR NATIONAL GIRLS & WOMEN IN SPORT DAY
Make sure to sign up and don't miss out on the excitement as the University of Detroit Mercy has announced that its annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day will be held on Saturday, Feb. 22, at Calihan Hall. The event is FREE and will start at 10:00 a.m.

The event will precede Detroit's women's basketball game at 2:00 p.m., against conference rival Wright State.

The 2014 National Girls and Women in Sports Day will celebrate 28 years of an annual event that brings attention to the success of Title IX and the thousands of opportunities it has provided young girls in the United States.

The event is open to all girls ages 6-13, who will take part in a number of exciting events. The celebration will feature a variety of sports clinics at Calihan Hall, where student-athletes from nearly all of UDM's varsity teams will provide skill instruction and hands-on demonstrations with all the signees.

Following the event, the Titan women's basketball team will battle the Raiders and during halftime of that contest, all the participants will come together on the court for a special halftime presentation with the UDM cheer and dance team.

The cost of the program is FREE, and all participants will receive complimentary admission for the basketball game. In addition, all attendees will receive a gift bag and lunch.

And parents, while your kid is enjoying all the fun with the Titan student-athletes, you will be able to relax in the Titan Club.

Registration for the event starts at 10:00 a.m. To register, visit DetroitTitans.com and fill out the online registration form or call Titan athletics at 313-993-1700, or email event organizer Jonathan Olson at jonathan.olson@udmercy.edu.

Come and learn about the opportunities for girls and women in sports from Detroit's own Titan student-athletes. See what it takes to play with skills showcases, get autographs with your favorite players and get active!

AERIAL ASSULT
A three-point threat might not be sufficient enough to describe Senee Shearer's game.

In her career, Shearer has attempted 954 shots and 614 of them have been from behind the arc. That means 64.3% of her career looks have been from downtown.

Her 216 three-point attempts on the season is tied for second in the country behind Oregon's Katelyn Looper's (234).

Shearer also has 202 career 3-pointers, second in school history and just 15 away from school record-holder Michelle James (1998-02) who has 217.

She just passed Coach Rademacher in that race as she had 201 in 568 attempts in 117 career games.

Coach Rademacher does have her beat in total points with 1,686 points – compared to 1,088 for Shearer - as she hit on more than 250 more field goals and she also dished out 439 career assists to Shearer's 136.

SHEARER NAMED TO 2014 NANCY LIEBERMAN AWARD WATCH LIST
Senior Senee Shearer was named to the 2014 Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The award recognizes the top point guard in women's NCAA Division I college basketball. Candidates exhibit the floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills of Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman.

Shearer was joined by 28 other players on the initial watch list, which includes the likes of Odyssey Sims of Baylor, Bria Hartley of Connecticut, Duke's Chelsea Gray, Amber Orrange of Stanford and Tennessee's Ariel Massengale. She is also the only player from the Horizon League as well as from a school in Michigan on the list.

The list will be narrowed down to a final 20 in February, then final five by March. The Lieberman Award winner will be announced during Final Four weekend activities.

Previous winners of the Nancy Lieberman Award include last year's recipient Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), Sue Bird (Connecticut), Renee Montgomery (Connecticut) and Diana Taurasi (Connecticut).

AMONG THE NATION'S LEADERS
Senior Senee Shearer is currently eighth in the nation with 3.24 three-point field goals per game. Shearer's 68 trifectas on the year are tied for seventh in the nation.

She is also 32nd in the country with 426 total points and 33rd averaging 20.3 ppg.

FRESHMEN STEPPING UP
Freshmen usually have their ups and downs, but in a season that has seen the Titans use five of their six freshmen, a few have contributed some big games recently.

At Youngstown State, Haleigh Ristovski nailed five 3-pointers – she had five all season coming into the game - en route to a season-best 15 points, and then had a good all-around game with eight points, seven rebounds and tying her season best with five assists against Green Bay.

Megan Galloway grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds at YSU, while Reyna Montgomery tied her season high for the third time with 11 markers at Milwaukee. Freshman Minisha Frederick-Childress was also inserted into the starting line-up in the last three games and she had seven points, five rebounds and four assists against the Panthers and totaled a season-high 11 points with six assists against the Penguins.

KNOCK EM DOWN ROOK
Freshman Haleigh Ristovski turned in a great performance at Youngstown State as the rookie connected on five 3-pointers en route to a season-high 15 points.

Ristovski came into the game just 5-of-24 from three, but ended the contest 5-of-8, while adding five rebounds and a season-best two blocks playing all 40 minutes.

In her last time out against Green Bay, Ristovski put together a great game with eight points, seven rebounds and tying her career high with five assists.

OK TAY
Sophomore Tayelor McCalister is coming off a career performance as her first career 20-point game saw her put in a team-high 24 against Green Bay.

After scoring just 17 total points in three-straight games going a combined 7-of-24 (29.1%) from the field and being held scoreless at Valparaiso, McCalister has turned it on offensively with three-straight double-digit scoring contests, including tying her career best with 17 at Milwaukee, netting 14 at Youngstown State and then setting a new career high with that 24 against the Phoenix.

During this streak, she is averaging 18.3 ppg., on 22-of-39 (56.4%) shooting and 11-of-14 from the free throw line, while adding 22 rebounds (7.3) and 11 assists (3.6).

GETTING BACK TO FORM
Tayelor McCalister had a fine start to her sophomore year with career highs in nearly every category in her first four games, before an injury forced her out of five straight.

Her offense has once again picked up in the last seven games with five double-digit performances a career-high 24 points and nine rebounds against Green Bay.

Earlier in the year, she nearly had a triple-double against Eastern Michigan with eight points, eight rebounds and a career-high nine assists.

Against Michigan, McCalister was in double figures with 14 points (7-9 FG) to go with six rebounds and four assists.

On the year, she is averaging 10.6 points - fourth on the team - a team-high 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals as well as 4.3 rebounds per game.

SHEARER NETS 1,000
The UDM 1,000-point club added another member as Senee Shearer became the 19th player to reach the mark against UIC on Jan. 16. Shearer now has 1,088 points and is just 55 points away from 16th place.

She is currently second in the Horizon League - and 33rd in the nation - in scoring at 20.3 points per game, trailing only Wright State's Kim Demmings' 21.5

She has already scored a career-high 426 points this season in 21 games, more than her previous career best of 367 she totaled in 33 games as a sophomore.

ALL GAME FOR RISTOVSKI
Titan rookie Haleigh Ristovski is doing a good job of protecting the ball, something that a lot of rookies have trouble with.

She currently has a 35-9 assist-to-turnover ratio on the year and is also doing a good job hitting the glass at 4.0 rebounds per game, with a season-high 10 caroms at Wright State.

In her last five games, she is averaging 9.2 points and 4.4 rebounds, shooting 46.2% (18-of-39) from the field and 8-of-20 (40.0%) from three.

During this span, she tallied 15 points and five boards at Youngstown State, 11 points with five assists versus UIC and eight points, seven rebounds and five assists against Green Bay.

A REIGN OF OFFENSE
Freshman Reyna Montgomery - who missed the UIC with an injury - is starting to find a zone on offense tallying two double-digit performances in her last five games. She had 11 points, while adding five rebounds, two steals and an assist at Milwaukee and that was after posting 11 points and tying her season high with eight rebounds against UIC.

In her last five games, she is averaging 7.3 points and 4.5 rebounds, while also coming away with seven steals.

ON THE DL
Sophomore Rosanna Reynolds will miss the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury early in the game at Western Michigan.

Reynolds was selected to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team last year after starting all 34 games and averaging a team-high 35.3 minutes per game, tallying 7.8 points – fifth on the team – along with 3.3 rebounds, and a team-high 4.0 assists per game (135).

Freshman Megan Galloway missed the Eastern Michigan game and fellow freshman Reyna Montgomery sat against UIC with various ailments. The Titans have also seen Tayelor McCalister and Minisha Frederick-Childress miss five games with a concussion earlier in the year.

The latest on the DL and two more key players that have not returned yet are junior Ellisha Crosby and senior Megan Hatter.

Crosby has missed the last nine contests and is day-to-day with a leg injury and Hatter has missed the last eight games with a leg injury.

All told, the injured Titans have missed a total of 45 games on the season.

THREE BALL
Detroit has knocked down nine 3-pointers in back-to-back games the most since connecting on 10 against Madonna, a streak of six-straight games.