Gameday Central
Game notes vs. Youngstown State
 
DETROIT (1/26/2015) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team will look to get back to its winning ways when the Titans travel to Youngstown State to battle the Penguins on Wednesday. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m., at the Beeghly Center.
 
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 (7-12, 2-4 HL) had a tough challenge its last time out as the Titans took on first-place Green Bay, falling 75-58. UDM got off to a slow start as the Phoenix started the game on an 18-0 run in the first six minutes. Green Bay eventually opened up a 27-5 lead at the 11:42 mark, but the Titans hung in there and outscored the Phoenix, 53-50, the rest of the way.
 
Youngstown State began the year with 10-straight wins, but has split its last eight games and is 14-4 on the season and 3-2 in the Horizon League. YSU is 7-0 at home, but is coming off an 85-82 setback at Oakland on Saturday.
 
After the game, UDM will have a week off before hosting Valparaiso next Thursday, Feb. 5, with a 7:00 p.m., tip at historic Calihan Hall.
 
DETROIT VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE
Detroit and Youngstown State have split the last six meetings, but UDM has won nine of the last 12 and leads the overall series, 19-15.
 
The Titans are 5-12 all-time on the road against the Penguins, but have dropped the last three at the Beeghly Center.
 
ABOUT THE PENGUINS
Youngstown State began the year with 10-straight wins, but has split its last eight games and is 14-4 on the season and 3-2 in the Horizon League. YSU is 7-0 at home, but is coming off an 85-82 setback at Oakland on Saturday.
 
Heidi Schlegel leads the team in scoring (15.7 ppg.) and rebounding (9.6 rpg.) and ranks in the top six in the HL in both stats. Latisha Walker is second on the team with 12.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game - top 13 in the league in both stats - while Indiya Benjamin paces the squad with 3.4 assists per game.
 
YSU is third in the Horizon League in scoring at 71.2 ppg., and third in scoring defense giving up 60.0 ppg. The Penguins also lead the HL in field-goal percentage (.428) and free throw percentage (.777).
 
HORIZON LEAGUE HISTORY
The Titans are 217-217 all-time in the Horizon League with the 217 victories the third most in league history trailing only Green Bay's 288 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 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.
 
URBANICK COMING BACK
Sophomore Nicole Urbanick missed four games with an injury, but just like senior teammate Ellisha Crosby, she has come back very strong.
 
After scoring four points against Oakland, she tied her season high with 12 points and nailed a season-best four 3-pointers the last time out against Green Bay.

It was her fifth double-digit scoring effort on the season and the most since tallying 12 versus Madonna on Dec. 8.
 
SHARING THE BALL
The Titans finished with 17 assists on their 22 baskets against Green Bay, the third highest of the season behind the 22 they had against Marygrove and the 18 they registered versus Delaware State.
 
Detroit is fifth in the Horizon League in assists at 14.1 per game and has bumped that up to 14.4 in the last seven contests.
 
MY SWEET ROSE
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds totaled a game-high 27 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists in the win over Oakland.
 
The 11 rebounds and five assists matched her season highs as she recorded her fourth career double-double.
 
STRONG DEFENSE
The Titans have played some tough defense this season, holding teams to just 67.2 points per game, down from last year's 80.5 ppg.
 
UDM has held four opponents to 60 or less on the season and twice to under 50.
 
In their win over Oakland on Thursday, the Titans held the Golden Grizzlies to 37.5 percent shooting, including just 6-for-25 (24.0%) with four turnovers in the final 14:31. The defense allowed Detroit to end the game on a 37-16 run, eliminating a 10-point deficit and cruising to an 11-point victory.
 
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 tops the Horizon League - and is 36th in the nation - with a 2.29 assist-to-turnover ratio (62 A, 27 TO). As a freshman, Ristovski recorded a 2.7 mark (47 A, 17 TO) last season.
 
Meanwhile, Reynolds is now third in the Horizon League - and 35th in the nation - with a 2.19 assist-to-turnover ratio totaling 57 assists and just 27 turnovers.
 
MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME
Senior Ellisha Crosby missed four straight games with an injury, but she has returned to the court and has not missed a beat.
 
Since her return five games ago, Crosby is averaging 18.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 54.7 percent (35-of-64) from the field.
 
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 26 games at the Division I level - that she has reached the 20-point plateau.
 
She followed that performance with 19 points and six rebounds in the victory against UIC, 16 points, six boards and five assists at Cleveland State, 14 points and six caroms in the win over Oakland and a game-high 17 points with seven rebounds versus Green Bay.
 
MAKE IT 12 FOR ROSIE
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds posted her 15th double-digit scoring effort on the year with a game-high 27 points against Oakland on Jan. 22.
 
It was her fifth career game with 20 or more - and fourth this season - 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 seventh in the HL with 15.6 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 53rd in the country - in three-point field goals per game (2.56) and third in three-point field goal percentage (40.5%), which is 35th 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 16 of the Titans' 18 games on the year - only at Cincinnati and at Cleveland State did she not have one - and has an HL-best 46 triples, a new career high passing the 25 she had as a freshman in 34 games in 2012-13.
 
In fact, 47 of her 104 total field goals (44.7%) 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 five games and is second on the team and 11th in the Horizon League at 3.0 per game.
 
She also has three double-doubles with 33 points and 11 rebounds at IPFW, 19 points and 10 boards at Eastern Michigan and her most recent one of 27 points and 11 boards against Oakland.
 
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 19 games, including five 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 six times this year and is leading the team and ninth in the Horizon League at 3.3 per game.
 
Ristovski has also scored in double figures seven times this season and is fourth on the team - and 24th in the HL - in scoring at 9.9 ppg., as well as leading the team and ranking sixth in the conference in rebounding at 7.5 per contest.
 
ROAD WOES
The Titans are looking to end a 15-game road losing streak in the Horizon League. The last time Detroit won a HL game on the road was on Feb. 2, 2013, when the Titans downed Milwaukee, 61-59.
 
QUITE A COMEBACK
The Titans erased a 10-point second-half deficit against Oakland to post a 73-62 victory over the Golden Grizzlies on Jan. 22.
 
The 10-point comeback was the largest on the season and the most since coming from a 17-point first-half score of 32-15 last year in an 81-79 home triumph over Valparaiso.
 
It was the first double-digit deficit in the second half overcome since Feb. 9, 2013, when Detroit trailed Valpo by 12 early in the second before rallying to win, 70-61.
 
SMART ATHLETES
Eighty student-athletes from UDM 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.
 
GETTING TO 70
The Titans are 56-20 when they score 70 or more points as well as 21-5 when they score 80 or more under head coach Autumn Rademacher. UDM has also eclipsed 90 seven times under Coach Rad, with a season-high 96 against Eastern Michigan last year.
 
ELLICIOUS
Senior Ellisha Crosby is coming off her nine-straight game in double figures as she tallied a game-best 17 against Green Bay.
 
Before the injury against Delaware State, she was beginning to find her offensive rhythm with four-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 23 double-digit scoring games in her 27 career Division I contests, and in her Titan career, Crosby is tallying 15.4 ppg., including 13.7 ppg., this year, 10th in the HL.
 
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 13th game in double figures with 13 points against Oakland.
 
She also tied her season high with 19 against Western Michigan on Dec. 20.
 
The two-time HL Freshman of the Week is currently third on the team in scoring and 16th in the Horizon League at 11.1 ppg., the second highest freshman average in the HL behind Valparaiso's Dani Franklin's 12.8.
 
STEAL THE BACON
Detroit tallied a season-high 11 steals against Oakland on Jan. 22.
 
It was the third-straight game that Detroit has posted 10 or more steals in a game after registering 10 at Cleveland St. and versus UIC.
 
The last few games have seen senior Ellisha Crosby and freshman Darianne Seward tie their season high with four at CSU as well as Seward and sophomore Minisha Frederick-Childress coming away with four in the win over the Flames.
 
Detroit also had 10 steals against Marygrove and Madonna earlier in the season.
 
OFFENSE BEATING DEFENSE
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 line.
 
The Titans also moved the ball well with 14 assists on its' 25 baskets, including 10 in their 15 first-half buckets.
 
KEEPING THE BALL
The Titans are averaging just 13.4 turnovers per game, second in the Horizon League - and 19th in the nation - behind Wright State's 13.0.
 
Detroit has turned it over 10 or fewer times in five games this year.
 
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 on nine attempts.
 
She now has 20 treys in the last seven games.
 
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.