Gameday Central
Game Notes vs. Youngstown State
 
DETROIT (3/9/2015) -- Let the craziness begin as the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team heads to Youngstown State on Wednesday, March 11, to take on the Penguins in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Championship.
 
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3 from the Beeghly Center with the opening tip slated for 7:00 p.m.
 
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 enters the conference tournament with a 12-17 overall record and a 7-9 mark in league play, good for fifth place and the No. 5 seed just behind fourth-seeded Youngstown State (20-9, 9-7 HL). The two teams split this year's series with both squads winning on the road. The teams have also split the last eight games with each going 3-1 on its' home court.
 
The Titans have won two of their last three and nearly made it three in a row as they came up just short at Green Bay, 52-51, in their regular-season finale. Freshman Nicole Urbanick led the offense by tying her season high with 17 points and Detroit outscored the Phoenix, 18-3, in the last 6:33.
 
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds was named Second Team All-Horizon League as she led the team and was seventh in the HL in scoring at 15.6 points per game. Freshman Darianne Seward was tabbed to the All-Freshman squad after ranking in the top five in several statistics among the league freshmen, including second in scoring at 11.7 ppg.
 
A win and who knows where the Titans will be for the Horizon League Semifinals as the Titans will play the winner of No. 8 Milwaukee and No. 1 Green Bay. The Titans would play the Phoenix at Green Bay, but if the Panthers pull off the upset, the game will be played at the highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals.
 
DETROIT VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE
The Titans and Penguins have split the regular season match-ups the last four years with the Titans winning three times at home and once on the road - which was this year. Detroit still leads the overall series, 20-16.
 
Detroit is 6-12 all-time in Youngstown and ended a three-game slide at the Beeghly Center with a win back in January.
           
ABOUT YSU
Youngstown State got to 20 wins with a dominating 80-57 victory over Valparaiso in the regular season finale, posting a 20-9 overall record and a 9-7 mark in the Horizon League.
 
First Team All-Horizon League honoree Heidi Schlegel leads the team and is third in the Horizon League in scoring (17.9 ppg.) and rebounding (9.6), while shooting 48.0 percent from the field - fifth in the HL.
 
Latisha Walker is tallying 10.6 ppg., and 7.1 rebounds and Indiya Benjamin is averaging 9.1 ppg., and a team-best 3.7 apg.
 
The Penguins were third in the regular season in scoring offense (68.8) as well as third in scoring defense (62.9).
 
 A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST MEETING
Senior Ellisha Crosby netted a team and season-high 25 points and a valiant second-half rally had the Titans thinking another come-from-behind win, but Youngstown State was able to hold off Detroit, 70-65, at Calihan Hall. 
 
Crosby was 10-of-18 from the field and 5-of-10 from three, while posting nine rebounds and three assists. Freshman Darianne Seward had 14 points, three rebounds and two assists and redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds ended with 10 points, six boards and two steals.
 
The Titans trailed by 14 in the second half, 49-35, at the 13:43 mark when the red, white and blue made a move for the comeback victory with a 10-0 run.
 
Youngstown State would end that run with a three and push its advantage back to double-digits, 58-47, with 4:39 left. YSU also led by 11, 60-49, with just under four minutes when the Titans made one last charge for the win.
 
Seward began the rally with a three-point play and then after a defensive rebound, she went inside for two more. Later on, Crosby's fifth trey of the game had the Titans down by just four, 64-60, with 1:46 remaining.
 
UDM kept pushing and Reynolds made it a one-possession game, 66-63, hitting a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, but the Titans couldn't get any closer.
 
HORIZON LEAGUE HISTORY
The Titans are 222-222 all-time in the Horizon League with the 222 victories the third most in league history trailing only Green Bay's 300 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 won the conference tournament, advancing to their only NCAA Tournament.
 
Detroit is in its 35th season as a member of the HL and now stands as the eldest member by 14 years over Cleveland State, Green Bay, Milwaukee, UIC, and Wright State, who all joined in 1994 with the Titans entering in 1980.
 
PRESEASON POLL WHAT?
Detroit was picked to finish last in the Horizon League Preseason Poll, but the fighting Titans responded from losing their first two conference games to record a 7-9 record and the fifth seed in the HL Championship.
 
HL POSTSEASON HISTORY
Detroit has two Horizon League championships to its credit. The Titans captured the 1987 title with a 21-6 record and a 10-2 mark in MCC play, as there was no tournament held.
 
UDM's other championship came with current head coach Autumn Rademacher '97 leading the way in 1997 as Detroit defeated Wright State, Milwaukee and Green Bay - in Green Bay - to raise the banner and advance to its only NCAA Tournament. For her efforts, Rademacher was named to the All-Tournament team.
 
The Titans have also finished runner-up five times (1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012) with each loss in the championship game to the Phoenix.
 
LOOKING TO GET BACK
Detroit made its sixth trip to the title game and first under Coach Rademacher in 2012.
 
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD
The Titans are 24-23 all-time in the Horizon League postseason tournament, including a 1-2 record as the No. 5 seed.
 
The other two times that Detroit was a fifth seed was in 1998, when the red, white and blue defeated No. 4 Milwaukee before falling at top-seeded Butler. In 1991, the fifth-seeded Titans lost ay No. 4 Dayton.
 
UDM is 5-14 all-time in true road playoff games and has lost its last six with four of those coming at Green Bay. The last road win by Detroit was in 2007 when the No. 9 Titans defeated #8 Loyola, 75-68, in the first round.
 
IN THE OPENING ROUND
UDM is 11-5 in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Championship, winning its last two contests - both at home - in the round of eight.
 
TOURNAMENT RECORDS
Detroit has seen players net 20 or more points 16 times in the Horizon League Tournament, with the Titan record set at 31 by Heather Longar against Evansville in 1992.
 
A UDM player has recorded 12 or more rebounds eight times, with the school mark by India Bruster with 19 at Green Bay in 2007.
 
UDM has also seen eight players collect a double-double in a conference tournament game.
 
MEETING THE PENGUINS
This is actually just the second time Detroit and Youngstown State will meet in the postseason.
 
The only other time was in 2008 when the 10th-seeded Titans were ousted by the seventh-seeded Penguins, 65-54, in the first round.
 
THE HISTORY OF #5
The Titans will look to become the first No. 5 seed to ever win the Horizon League Championship.
 
In the history of the tournament, only eight No. 5 seeds have made it to the semifinals and none have made the title game.
 
MOVING FORWARD
The Titans have posted more overall wins (6) and conference victories (3) than last season, recorded six road victories to last year's zero, and won two Horizon League games on the road, the first coming at Youngstown State, which ended a 15-game conference road slide.
 
SHOTS FALLING
Detroit has been shooting the ball much better of late hitting the 50.0 percent mark three times in the past eight games and going over 40.0 percent six times in that span.
 
Prior to the last eight games, UDM had been over 38.0 percent just once in five games.
 
The Titans hit 50.0 percent against both Cleveland State (26-of-52) on Feb. 21 and at Valparaiso (33-of-66) on Feb. 28 as well as connecting on a season-best 50.9 percent (27-of-53) at UIC on Feb. 11.
 
The 33 field goals at Valparaiso on Feb. 28 were the most since the Titans tallied 37 against Eastern Michigan last season.
 
REYNOLDS, SEWARD EARN PAIR OF REGULAR SEASON AWARDS
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds and freshman Darianne Seward were honored by the Horizon League as the conference announced its postseason awards on Monday.
 
Reynolds was tabbed All-HL Second Team, while Seward was named to the All-Freshman squad. In addition, Reynolds was also named Second Team by College Sports Madness.
 
Reynolds leads the team and is seventh in the Horizon League in scoring at 15.6 points per game. She also ranks among the team leaders and in the top 15 in the league in minutes played (35.1), rebounding (5.2), assists (3.3), assistant-to-turnover ratio (2.55), field goal percentage (41.5%), three-point field goal percentage (38.3%) and three-point field goals made (59).
 
Her 59, 3-pointers is eighth in school history and she has scored in double figures in 25 of the Titans' 29 games, including six 20-point games and a career-high 33-point outburst at IPFW back in December.
 
She started all 29 games and totaled five double-doubles on the year and was third on the team with 33 steals.
 
The All-League honor is the first in her career and she is the 28th Titan to earn All-Conference accolades.
 
Seward has also been a starter for the Titans all season and made a name for herself in the season opener as she had 19 points at Michigan, 17 in the first half alone. She ended up scoring in double digits on 20 occasions with two 20-point games, including a season-high 28 against Valparaiso.
 
The rookie ended the regular season ranking first among true freshmen in steals (46) and was second in scoring (11.7), made field goals (122) and minutes played (29.9), third in assists per game (2.7) and total assists (79), fifth in rebounds (3.9), sixth in field goal percentage (39.9%) and ninth in three-point field goals made (14).
 
She is also the 18th Titan in school history to be named to the Horizon League Newcomer/All-Freshman Team.
 
GOOD DECISIONS
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds and sophomore Haleigh Ristovski are both among the most trustworthy ball handlers in the HL.
 
Ristovski tops the league - and is 13th in the nation - with a 2.55 assist-to-turnover ratio (97 A, 38 TO). As a freshman, Ristovski recorded a 2.7 mark (47 A, 17 TO) last season.
 
Meanwhile, Reynolds is second in the HL - and is 25th in the nation - with a 2.32 assist-to-turnover ratio (95 A, 41 TO).
 
KEEPING THE BALL
UDM had an uncharacteristic 21 turnovers against Cleveland State on Feb. 21, but came back to that ball security with only 10 turnovers against Wright State on Feb. 26 and a season-low six at Valparaiso on Feb. 28.
 
The Titans are averaging just 12.9 turnovers per game, second in the HL - and 21st in the nation - behind Wright State's 12.1.
 
Detroit has turned it over 10 or fewer times in eight games this year.
 
PLAYING SMART
The Titans have done two things great this season that have been keys in their wins and keeping them in games.
 
Besides ranking second in the league with just 12.9 turnovers per game, UDM leads the HL and is 25th in the nation averaging just 14.9 personal fouls per game.
 
Since UDM does a great job at not picking up any extra whistles, it has been able to limit teams to 466 free throw attempts, second in the HL to Youngstown State's 377.
 
OH MY ROSIE
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds posted her 25th double-digit scoring effort of the year with 10 points her last time out.
 
She recently tallied a game-high 26 points at Oakland, which included 17 in the second half.
 
The performance against Oakland was her second 20-point game against the Golden Grizzlies this year as she had 27 in the win at Calihan Hall.
 
She now has six 20-point games this season - and seven in her career - 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 Ellisha Crosby had 33 against EMU last season.
 
Reynolds also 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 versus Delaware State on Dec. 18.
 
On the year, she is currently leading the team and is seventh in the HL with 15.6 ppg.
 
MORE THAN JUST SCORE
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds has done more than just score on the season as she has also crashed the boards and set up the offense.
 
Reynolds has pulled down five or more rebounds in 14 games and is third on the squad crashing the boards at 5.2 per night, 15th in the Horizon League.
 
She has five double-doubles with 15 points and 10 rebounds against Cleveland State, 19 points and 11 rebounds at Youngstown State, 33 points and 11 rebounds at IPFW, 19 points and 10 boards at Eastern Michigan and 27 points and 11 boards against Oakland.
 
She has also recorded five assists or more in eight games - including a season-high eight against Valparaiso and that followed seven at Youngstown State.
 
In fact at Oakland on Feb. 18, she did not record an assist for just the third time in her 66-game career with the other two games her freshman year contest at Green Bay and last year at Western Michigan, where she played just one minute before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
 
She is currently second on the team and 10th in the HL in assists at 3.3 per game.
 
ELLICIOUS
Senior Ellisha Crosby - who came back at Milwaukee after missing two games with an illness - saw her 13-game double figuring scoring streak come to an end at Oakland, but she regrouped in a big way with 21 points against Cleveland State on Senior Day on Feb. 21.  It was her seventh career 20-point game and fourth of the season.
 
Against the Vikings, she was 7-of-10 from the field and 6-of-9 from three, while grabbing six rebounds and handing out three assists.
 
She tallied a season-high 25 points against Youngstown State on Feb. 14, tying her season high going 10-of-18 from the field with five triples along with grabbing nine rebounds and handing out three assists.
 
It was the most points she has scored since pouring in a career-high 33 against Eastern Michigan last year.
 
She missed four games at the end of December and early January due to an injury, but she returned in a big way at Wright State recording 24 points.
 
Against Toledo in early December, she also 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 SEMO 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 28 double-digit scoring games in her 35 career Division I contests, and in her Titan career, Crosby is tallying 14.6 ppg., including 13.3 ppg., this year, ninth in the HL.
 
A TRIPLE THREAT
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds has become one of the deadliest long-range shooters in the Horizon League.
 
She is third in the HL - and is 137th in the country - in three-point field goals per game (2.02) as well as fourth in three-point field goal percentage (38.3%), 58th in the NCAA.
 
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 26 of the Titans' 29 games on the year - only at Cincinnati and in both games against Cleveland State did she not have one - and has 59 triples, a new career high and eighth in school history, passing the 25 she had as a freshman in 34 games in 2012-13.
 
She recently passed head coach Autumn Rademacher '97 to move to eighth in school history and is just three away from tying Lindsey Pasquinzo (62-2006) for seventh.
 
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 14 times, including five with 10+.
 
She also has four double-doubles on the season and tied her career high with 20 points and 12-rebounds at Eastern Michigan.
 
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 recorded at least five assists eight times this year and leads the team and is ninth in the Horizon League at 3.3 per game.
 
Ristovski has also scored in double figures eight times this season and is fourth on the team - and 26th in the HL - in scoring at 9.3 ppg., as well as leading the team and eighth in the conference in rebounding at 7.2 per night.
 
MAKING A NAME FOR HERSELF
Freshman Darianne Seward currently ranks first among true freshmen in steals (46), second in scoring (11.7) and third in assists per game (2.7). She is also one of just three Titan players to play and start all 29 games.
 
Below is where she ranks among true freshman in several statistics.
 
Steals - 46 - 1st
Points Per Game - 11.7 - 2nd
Made Field Goals - 122 - 2nd
Free Throw % - 70.8% - 2nd
Minutes Played - 29.9 - 2nd
Total Assists - 79 - 3rd
Assists Per Game - 2.7 - 3rd
Rebounds Per Game - 3.9 - 5th
Three-Point Field Goals Made - 14 - 9th
Field Goal % (2 Made FG Per Game) - 39.9% - 6th
 
LITTLE D BRINGS BIG O
Freshman Darianne Seward continues to be a force on offense recording her 20th game in double figures with 10 points at Milwaukee on March 4. She recently tied her career high with eight rebounds and handed out a season-best five assists at Valparaiso on Feb. 28.
 
Against Cleveland State on Feb. 21, she tied for the team lead with 21 points.
 
She posted her first collegiate 20-point game in a huge way with a game-high 28 points against Valparaiso on Feb. 5, as she was 10-of-15 from the field with five 3-pointers.
 
The three-time HL Freshman of the Week is currently third on the team in scoring and 15th in the Horizon League at 11.7 ppg., the second highest freshman average in the HL behind Valparaiso's Dani Franklin's 13.0.
 
SEWARD NETS FRESHMAN RECORD
Freshman Darianne Seward is doing things that very few Titan rookie guards in school history have accomplished.
 
She scored a season-best 28 points against Valparaiso on Feb. 5, the highest-scoring game by a true freshman guard in school history and the highest by a true freshman since 2012.
 
In the season opener, she tallied 19 points at Michigan, the most by a true freshman in a season opener since the 2011-12 season and the most by a true freshman guard since Titan Hall-Of-Famer all-time leading scorer Cassandra Pack had 23 at home against Bowling Green to open the 1983-84 campaign.
 
TRIPLE TRY
Detroit had its 14th game of the year with eight or more 3-pointers draining 10 at Green Bay its last time out.
 
The Titans also have four players on their team with 40 or more treys on the season in Ellisha Crosby (40), Nicole Urbanick (40), Haleigh Ristovski (48) and Rosanna Reynolds (59).
 
URBANICK ON THE MARK
Freshman Nicole Urbanick missed four games with an injury, but just like Ellisha Crosby, she has come back very strong.
 
Since her return 12 games ago, she is averaging 9.1 points and 3.6 rebounds, while shooting 40-of-88 (45.5%) from the field and 26-of-60 (43.3%) from three.
 
She just recorded her seventh game in double figures by tying her season high with 17 points at Green Bay, where she was 6-of-11 from the field with a career-best five triples. She also had 17 points at Valpo on Feb. 28, tying for the team lead. She was 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from three in that one.
 
Some of her other big games came with 12 points at UIC, against Green Bay and versus Madonna. She also tallied eight points and a season-high seven boards against YSU.
 
Urbanick has also been a three-point specialist for the Titans with 26 of her last 37 buckets from three as have 40 of her 66 baskets on the year.
 
LARIAH ON FIRE
The Titans needed someone to step up with Ellisha Crosby out against Wright State on Feb. 26 and junior Lariah Stevens was up to the challenge netting a season-high 17 points on a season-best 7-of-11 shooting with three triples.
 
She also added three rebounds, a season-high three assists and a steal.
 
Stevens had not played in the prior six games and had not scored since Jan. 15 contest against UIC before going off against the Raiders, just the second time this season she has scored double-digits as she had 10 versus Marygrove in the second game of the year.
 
A COCO HIGH
Freshman Brianne Cohen has been a big spark for the Titans, giving Detroit some much-needed muscle in the middle.
 
She is coming off a career game at Valparaiso on Feb. 28 as she totaled a season-high 15 points, four steals and three assists in the road victory.
 
At Oakland on Feb. 18, she scored six points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, along with three steals, while versus Wright State, she recorded seven points, blocked a season-best three shots and had six boards.
 
In the last six games, she is averaging 7.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.
 
GETTING TO 70
The Titans are 59-20 when they score 70 or more points as well as 21-5 when they score 80 or more under head coach Autumn Rademacher '97. UDM has also eclipsed 90 seven times under Coach Rademacher, with a season-high 96 against EMU last year.
 
STRONG DEFENSE
The Titans have played some tough defense this season, holding teams to just 66.0 points per game, down from last year's 80.5 ppg.
 
UDM has held eight opponents to 60 or less on the season and twice to under 50.
 
In the last three games, the Titans have lowered their points allowed in each game with 57 at Valparaiso, 56 at Milwaukee and 52 at Green Bay, an average of just 55.0 per game.
 
BLOCK PARTY
Detroit tallied five blocks against Wright State on6, the sixth time this season UDM has had five swats in a game.
 
The Titans are currently sixth in the Horizon League with 2.7 blocks per contest, but are averaging 3.1 per game in the last 10 games.
 
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 three, including 12-of-21 in the first half alone.
 
Against Green Bay their last time out, the Titans put up a school record 34 shots from behind the arc, breaking the school record of 33 set at Eastern Michigan back in December.
 
UDM had just 52 total shots in that game with 19 of its 27 attempts in the second half all from long range.
 
RECORD-SETTING WIN 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.
 
She currently has 101 wins getting to three digits in Detroit's 78-57 victory at Valparaiso on Feb. 28.
 
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.