Gameday Central
Game Notes vs. Oakland
BE HERE!
 
DETROIT (1/20/2015) -- Rivalry Week comes to the Motor City on Thursday as the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team will host Oakland in a Metro Series battle on Dick Vitale Court. It will be a RED OUT at Calihan Hall as all fans are encouraged to wear RED to the contest.
 
Game time is set for 7:00 p.m., with Denny Kapp calling all the action on ESPN3.com.
 
Fans can follow every Detroit 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 game tickets. The Gameday 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 and Oakland branded the annual rivalry called the Metro Series, driven by Trinity Transportation, which will be awarded to the school with the most head-to-head victories over the course of the academic year. Separated by just 26 miles, Detroit and Oakland are the only Division I schools located in the Metro Detroit area and are both members of the Horizon League.
 
The rivalry received an extra boost from the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and PASS Charters as the winner of the Metro Series will get $10,000 in scholarship funding and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Cup will be awarded to the winning teams between men's and women's basketball.
 
Detroit currently leads Oakland, 6-4, this season in the battle for the Metro Rivalry Cup as the Titans won the first meeting in men's basketball (74-54) as well as the regular season's match-up in women's soccer (2-1, OT), and men's cross country finishing higher at the HL Championship (1st-4th). Oakland took the regular season men's soccer contest (2-1, OT) and placed higher at the HL's women's cross country championship (3rd-5th).
 
The Titans enter the game at 6-11 overall and 1-3 in the Horizon League after defeating UIC and falling on the road at Cleveland State last week. Senior Ellisha Crosby led the way offensively in both games, tallying 19 against the Flames and 16 versus the Vikings.
 
Oakland is 8-8 on the year and 2-1 in conference play, dropping a 75-60 decision to UIC its last time out. The Golden Grizzlies won their first two league games by double digits, 89-56 over Milwaukee and 71-54 at Valparaiso.
 
Fans, to purchase tickets or for more information, contact the Titans' Ticket office at (313) 993-1700. The Titans' Ticket Office is located in Calihan Hall and is open Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 
DETROIT VS. OAKLAND
Detroit dropped both meetings last season, but still lead the all-time series, 11-8.
 
The Titans are also 6-3 at home against the Golden Grizzles.
 
ABOUT THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland was picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League Preseason Poll and started the year 2-0 in the conference with wins over Milwaukee and Valparaiso before falling to UIC last Saturday. Overall, Oakland is 8-8 on the year.
 
Olivia Nash leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points - ninth in the HL - and rebounding at 8.9 a night - fourth in the league. Elena Popkey is tied for third in the conference with 4.5 assists to go with 11.7 ppg., and 4.8 rpg., while Nola Anderson is tallying 11.4 ppg., and 3.6 rpg.
 
The Golden Grizzlies are third in the Horizon League in scoring at 70.3 point per game, while standing fifth in scoring defense at 65.8.
 
HORIZON LEAGUE HISTORY
The Titans are 216-216 all-time in the Horizon League with the 216 victories the third most in league history trailing only Green Bay's 285 and former member Butler's 227.
 
UDM has won two regular season titles claiming the 1987 crown with a 10-2 record and the 1997 championship as senior Autumn Rademacher '97 led Detroit to a 14-2 mark. The Titans also finished that year winning the conference tournament and advancing to their only NCAA Tournament.
 
Detroit is in its 35th season as a member of the Horizon League this year and now stands as the eldest member in the conference by 14 years over Cleveland State, Green Bay, Milwaukee, UIC, and Wright State, who all joined in 1994 with the Titans entering in 1980.
 
A HOUSE DIVIDED
Detroit is known to be a close family on and off the court, but some bloodlines will be tested this year between the Titans and their home.
 
Detroit has two family rivalries going on and experienced one in the season opener at Michigan as UM junior guard Madison Ristovski is the sister of Titan sophomore Haleigh Ristovski. What makes it more interesting is that their younger sister, Lola, just signed her NLI to play for the Titans.
 
All three players attended University Liggett High School.
 
The Ristovski sisters is not the only family battle that the Titans will have this season as senior Ellisha Crosby will see her younger brother, Kris, attend Oakland and he is a freshman on the men's basketball team.
 
SMART ATHLETES
Eighty student-athletes from the University of Detroit Mercy received 2014 Fall Horizon League Academic Honor Roll distinction after the academic accolade was announced by the league office on Jan. 17.
 
In all, four Detroit squads were either first or tied for first with the number of honorees in their respective sports, including women's basketball, whose seven members was the most of any Horizon League team.
 
For candidates to meet the honor roll criteria, student-athletes must have participated in one of the league's 19 sports during the most recent season, have completed three semesters (or four quarters, where applicable) as a full-time student and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20.
 
MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME
Senior Ellisha Crosby missed four-straight games with an upper body injury, but she has returned to the court and has not missed a beat.
 
Since her return three games ago, Crosby is averaging 19.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting 56.0 percent (23-of-41) from the field and 40.0 percent from behind the arc (6-of-15).
 
She returned in a big way with a team-high 24 points at Wright State on Jan. 10, matching her season high and the fifth time in her career - just 25 games at the Division I level - that she has reached the 20-point plateau.
 
She followed that performance with 19 points and six rebounds against UIC and 16 points, six boards and five assists at Cleveland State.
 
ELLICIOUS
Senior Ellisha Crosby is coming off her seventh-straight game in double figures as she led Detroit with 16 points at Cleveland State.
 
Before the injury against Delaware State, she was beginning to find her offensive rhythm with fourth-straight games in double figures. 
 
She tallied 12 points in just 16 minutes versus Delaware State, handing out a career-high six assists in that contest.
 
Against Toledo, she posted 24 points and was tabbed the Glass City Classic Tournament MVP after tallying 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shooting 46.7 percent from the field in the two games against Southeast Missouri and the host Rockets.
 
Crosby started the weekend event with her first double-double of the year and the sixth of her career with 13 points and a season-high 10 rebounds against the Redhawks.
 
She now has 21 double-digit scoring games in her 25 career Division I contests, and in her Titan career, Crosby is tallying 15.4 ppg., including 13.4 ppg., this year, 10th in the HL.
 
KEEPING THE BALL
The Titans are averaging just 13.2 turnovers per game, tops in the Horizon League and 22nd in the nation.
 
Detroit has turned it over 10 or fewer times in five games this year.
 
MAKE IT 12 FOR ROSIE
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds posted her 14th double-digit scoring effort - and fifth straight - on the year with 14 points at Cleveland State.
 
She already has three 20+ point games on the year capitalized by her career-high 33 points at IPFW on Dec. 2, where she was a career-best 11-of-18 from the field with seven 3-pointers. She became just the 18th Titan in school history to score 30 or more in a game, with the 33 points the most since teammate Ellisha Crosby had 33 against EMU last season.
 
Reynolds had a game-high 26 points at Toledo on Dec. 14 going 8-of-15 from the field with seven more treys and also netted a game-high with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting versus Delaware State on Dec. 18.
 
On the year, she is currently leading the team and sixth in the HL with 15.5 ppg.
 
A TRIPLE THREAT
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds has become one of the deadliest long-range shooters in the Horizon League.
 
She is currently first in the HL - and 54th in the country - in three-point field goals per game (2.51) and fifth in three-point field goal percentage (40.2%), which is 42nd in the nation.
 
Reynolds has twice nailed seven 3-pointers in a game - one away from the school record of eight that Daphne Smith (8-of-11) had versus Butler on Jan. 10, 1987.
 
She had seven treys (7-of-10) in a 33-point outburst at IPFW on Dec. 2 and also had seven (7-of-12) in a 26-point effort at Toledo.
 
Reynolds has at least one 3-pointer in 15 of the Titans' 17 games on the year - only at Cincinnati and at Cleveland State did she not have one - and has an HL-best 43 triples on the year, a new career high passing the 25 she had as a freshman in 34 games in 2012-13.
 
In fact, 43 of her 94 total field goals (45.7%) on the year are from three.
 
MORE THAN JUST SCORE
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds has done more than just score on the season.
 
She has recorded five assists or more in four games and is second on the team and 11th in the Horizon League at 2.9 per game.
 
She also has a pair of double-doubles with 33 points and 11 rebounds at IPFW and 19 points and 10 boards at Eastern Michigan.
 
LITTLE D BRINGS BIG O
Freshman Darianne Seward might have been making her first collegiate start in her first career game at Michigan, but you would never know by the way the rookie played
.
The 5-4 guard from Ohio ended the day with a game-high 19 points - 17 in the first half - along with three rebounds and three assists.
 
The 19 points in a collegiate debut was the most by a Titan true freshman since the 2011-12 season and the most by a Titan true freshman guard since Titan Hall-Of-Famer and the school's all-time leading scorer Cassandra Pack netted 23 at home against Bowling Green to open the 1983-84 campaign.
 
Seward has continued to be a force on offense recording her 12th game in double figures with 12 points at Cleveland State. She also tied her season high with 19 against Western Michigan on Dec. 20.
 
The two-time Horizon League Freshman of the Week is currently third on the team in scoring and 16th in the Horizon League at 11.6 ppg., the second highest freshman average in the HL behind Valparaiso's Dani Franklin's 12.3.
 
She is also 11th in the league in free throw percentage (71.1%) connecting on 54-of-76, the seventh most free throws and attempts among conference peers.
 
ALL-AROUND GAME
Sophomore Haleigh Ristovski continues to show her full basketball skills this season on both ends of the floor.
 
She might not be the typical frontcourt player, but she has grabbed at least eight rebounds in 10 of UDM's 17 games, including five of the last 12 with 10 or more.
She also has a team-high four double-doubles on the season and recently tied her career high with 20 points and 12-rebounds at Eastern Michigan on Dec. 30.
 
Ristovski had 13 points and 10 rebounds at Toledo, 13 points and 11 rebounds at IPFW and 20 points and 12 caroms versus Madonna.
 
Her game against Madonna also saw her post nearly a triple-double as she handed out a career-high six assists.
 
She has also recorded at least five assists five times this year and is leading the team and ninth in the Horizon League at 3.4 per game.
 
Ristovski has also scored in double figures six times this season and is fourth on the team - and 24th in the HL - in scoring at 9.8 ppg., as well as leading the team and ranking fifth in the conference in rebounding at 7.6 per contest.
 
GETTING TO 70
The Titans are 55-20 when they score 70 or more points as well as 20-5 when they score 80 or more under head coach Autumn Rademacher '97. UDM has also eclipsed 90 seven times under Coach Rad, with a season-high 96 against Eastern Michigan last year.
 
STEAL THE BACON
Detroit tied its season high for the second-straight game and the fourth time this season with 10 steals at Cleveland State. Senior Ellisha Crosby tied her season high with four steals, while freshman Darianne Seward tied her season high with four.
 
UDM had 10 steals against UIC as Seward and sophomore Minisha Frederick-Childress came away four steals.
 
Detroit also had 10 steals against Marygrove and Madonna earlier in the season.
 
WHO SAYS YOU NEED TO REBOUND
Detroit knew it was in for a tough battle on the glass against UIC on Jan. 17, but even the Titans did not expect a 55-31 Flames' margin.
 
The -24 rebounding margin was the biggest since losing the battle of the glass, 79-24 (-55), at Dayton on Dec. 18, 2004.
 
Despite the -24 margin, Detroit would go on to win the game marking the biggest rebounding deficit victory since a -18 (42-24) 65-60 triumph at home against Milwaukee on Feb. 11, 1999.
 
While research is still being conducted, it is believed to be the biggest rebounding margin ever overcome by UDM in its history.
 
OFFENSE COMING AROUND
Detroit earned a 70-65 victory over UIC on Jan. 17, and it used offense against the league's top-rated defense.
 
The Flames actually came into the game leading the Horizon League in scoring defense at 52.9 points, but UDM shot 50 percent in the first half and had 38 points alone at the break.
 
Overall, UDM ended the game hitting 25-of-55 attempts (45.5%), including 7-of-17 (41.2%) from three and 13-of-17 (76.5%) at the free throw line.
 
The Titans also moved the ball well with 14 assists on its' 25 baskets, including 10 in their 15 first-half buckets.
 
Detroit is also coming off a game that it posted 16 assists on its 25 baskets at Cleveland State last Saturday.
 
BOMBS AWAYS IN RECORD FASHION
The Titans connected on 15, 3-pointers at Toledo on Dec. 14, breaking the school mark of 13 at Butler on Jan. 30, 1999.
 
UDM finished the game 15-for-32 from behind the arc, including 12-of-21 in the first half alone.
 
The game marked the fourth time this season that Detroit has made 10 or more threes in a contest (15 at Toledo, 11 at IPFW, 10 vs. Madonna), while the 33 three-point attempts tied a school record with the 33 UDM had against Ball State last season.
 
STRONG DEFENSE
The Titans have played some tough defense to start the 2014-15 season, holding teams to just 67.0 points per game, down from last season's 80.5 ppg.
 
UDM has held four opponents to 60 or less on the season and twice to under 50.
Detroit had one of its best defensive games in school history in defeating Marygrove, 88-46, in the home opener on Nov. 16.
 
The 46 points allowed were the fewest since Detroit downed Youngstown State at home, 62-48, during the 2012-13 campaign.
 
The 25.0% (16-of-64) shooting by Marygrove was the lowest UDM has held a team since Milwaukee's 22.8% on Mar. 2, 2013.
 
Detroit held IPFW to just 29.7% shooting, including 28.5% (12-of-42) in the second half and overtime and 16.7% (2-of-12) in the extra session alone, while limiting Madonna to 29.4% (15-of-51). The 15 made field goals by Madonna were the fewest by an opponent since Youngstown State had just 15 in that 62-48 win.
 
Against Toledo, the Titans held an offensive Rockets team to 32.5% (26-of-80) overall and 27.5% (11-of-40) from three, while Delaware State shot just 37.7% (21-of-56) and 1-of-15 from distance. 
 
GOOD DECISIONS
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds and sophomore Haleigh Ristovski are both among the most trustworthy ball handlers in the HL.
 
Ristovski is second in the Horizon League - and 36th in the nation - with a 2.19 assist-to-turnover ratio (57 A, 25 TO). As a freshman, Ristovski recorded a 2.7 mark (47 A, 17 TO) last season.
 
Meanwhile, Reynolds is just a few assists shy of the minimum needed to rank fourth in the Horizon League with a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio totaling 50 assists and just 25 turnovers on the season.
 
HALEIGH HITS 6
Sophomore Haleigh Ristovski came into the Eastern Michigan game just 15-of-57 (26.3%) from three-point range, but she showed off her shooting touch by knocking down a career-best six triples in nine attempts.
 
In fact, Ristovski has 16 treys in the last five games alone (16-of-48).
 
SUCH A CROOK
Sophomore Haleigh Ristovski came away with a career-high five steals in the season opener at Michigan, besting her previous high of three last year against Lawrence Tech.
 
RECORD-SETTING WIN NO. 94 FOR COACH RAD
Head coach Autumn Rademacher '97 accomplished something that many coaches don't even get a chance to attempt as she became the all-time wins leader at her alma mater with victory No. 94 on Dec. 18 against Delaware State.
 
UDM used an early run in dominating DSU, 74-52, for the record-breaking win, surpassing her coach in college Fred Procter (1990-96).
 
Coach Rademacher did it inside Calihan Hall where as a player she scored over 1,600 points and helped lead the Titans to their only NCAA bid as a senior in 1997.
Her first coaching win was also on the very same floor as she guided UDM to a 70-66 upset victory over No. 23 Georgia on Nov. 22, 2008.
 
It is not like Coach Rademacher took over a top of the line program as Detroit was coming off back-to-back last-place finishes and just 11 total wins from 2006-08.
 
In her first six years, Detroit has recorded three winning seasons, a pair of 20-win campaigns, five years with a conference tournament victory, a trip to the WNIT in 2012 - the first postseason action for UDM since 1997 - and the school's first postseason title since 1981 when the Titans won the WBI in 2013. 
 
NO "MINNIE ME" HERE
Sophomore Minisha Frederick-Childress might stand just 5-4, but she can crash the boards witnessed by her three game this season with seven rebounds; including back-to-back against Southeast Missouri and at Toledo at the Glass City Classic. She also had seven caroms at IPFW.
 
In the close setback to SEMO, she also had a season-best five assists, the most since her career high of seven at Oakland last year.
 
The seven boards are two away from her career high of nine.
 
Frederick-Childress also recorded her second double-figure scoring outing of the season with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists at Eastern Michigan on Dec. 30.