DETROIT (12/27/2016) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team welcomes two teams to Calihan Hall this weekend to open the Horizon League slate, hosting Valparaiso and UIC for Thursday and Saturday games, respectively.

Both games are set to be on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications as well as locally on TV on WADL Channel 38 with the Voice of Titan women's basketball Denny Kapp calling all of the action.

Under second-year head coach Bernard Scott, the Titans play five of their opening eight games in Detroit, beginning with the pair this weekend. Both games are also doubleheaders with the Detroit Mercy men's basketball team from Calihan Hall.

The contest against Valparaiso on Dec. 29 is Tommy Titan's Birthday Party with several local mascots joining in on the fun from Calihan Hall. Opening tip is slated for 5 p.m. ET. UIC comes to town for a New Years Eve date with the Titans with opening tip set for 1 p.m. ET.
 

Games 12 & 13  |  Detroit Mercy (4-7) vs. Valparaiso (5-6) & UIC (3-7)
Dates / Times	Thursday, Dec. 29 | 5 p.m. ET // Saturday, Dec. 31 | 1 p.m. ET
Location	Detroit, Mich. (Calihan Hall)
Live Stats	DetroitTitans.com
Live Stream / TV	Valpo: ESPN3 / WADL  //  UIC: ESPN3 / WADL
Social Media	Twitter (In-game tweets): @DetroitTitans  |  @Detroit_WBB  |  Facebook     Instagram  |  Tweet #DetroitsCollegeTeam
All-Time Series	Titans lead VU, 15-10  |  Last Meeting: Valpo 94, Titans 91 (3/10/16)
	Titans lead UIC, 26-23  |  Last Meeting: UIC 65, Titans 51 (2/11/16)

Titan News & Notes
• Senior guard Rosanna Reynolds became the seventh player in school history to pass the 1,400-point plateau and moved into second place in career assists (452) against Toledo. She is 16 points away from sixth on the all-time scoring list and 30 points back of fifth place.
• The Titans lead the Horizon League in 3-pointers made per game (8.1) and defensive rebounds per game (30.5). Detroit Mercy ranks second in blocked shots (3.8 per game) and field goal defense (38.3 percent) and third in scoring offense (71.8 points per game) in the Horizon League.
• Reynolds is the first player in school history to record 1,400 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 100 steals.
• Reynolds ranks sixth in the league in scoring (16.7 ppg), second in assists per game (5.3), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9) and tied for fifth in steals (2.0).
• Detroit Mercy set a single-game school record with 16 3-pointers at Minnesota. It topped the previous record of 15 treys at Toledo on Dec. 14, 2014.
• The Titans have also set new highs in the Bernard Scott with 31 free throws made (at Eastern Michigan) and 25 assists (at Minnesota).
• The red, white and blue are 18th in the NCAA in defensive rebounding (30.5 per game) and 35th in the country in 3-point field goals per game (8.1).
• Kelsey Mitchell leads the team in rebounding at 6.7 boards per game (11th in the HL) off the bench, while Haleigh Ristovski is just behind her in 12th at 6.5 boards per contest.
• The reigning Sixth Player of the Year, junior Brianne Cohen ranks ninth in the HL in scoring (13.8 ppg) and sixth in field goal percentage (52.4). Cohen just passed the 700-point plateau in her career (712 points), after scoring a game-high 17 points at Toledo.
• Nicole Urbanick ranks second in the HL in 3-pointers made per game (2.2), and she also just recently surpassed the 700-point plateau (708) in her career.
• Haleigh Ristovski is fifth in 3-point percentage (37.3) and 3-pointers made per game (1.7). Freshman guard Anja Marinkovic is ninth in both 3-point FG per game (1.6) and 3-point field goal percentage (35.3).
• Reynolds is the top active scorer in the Horizon League with her 1,410 points, which is also 36th in the NCAA among active players. She is also the active HL leader in assists with 452, which is 14th in the country among active players in Division I.
• Three current Titans are in the top 11 all-time in 3-pointers made -- Nicole Urbanick (8th, 145), Haleigh Ristovski (9th, 134) and Reynolds (11th, 124).
• Detroit Mercy is out-scoring its opponents 214-184 in the first quarter this season. Overall in the first half, the Titans have a 391-363 scoring advantage.
• The Titans were 11-7 in the Horizon League last season, finishing in fourth place in the 2015-16 regular season standings.
• Head coach Bernard Scott is 19-22 overall in his second season at the helm of the Titans.

Last Time Out
Brianne Cohen tallied a game-high 17 points and Rosanna Reynolds surpassed the 1,400-point plateau and moved in second place on the career assists list, but Detroit Mercy fell in its non-conference finale at Toledo on Dec. 21, 72-66, at Savage Arena.

Anja Marinkovic added 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Detroit Mercy sank eight 3-pointers during the contest, with two more coming from Haleigh Ristovski, who had nine points.

The game was back and forth, but Toledo started to pull away in the fourth quarter. The Titans had a season-high 24 turnovers, however out-rebounded the Rockets by a 41-38 margin. It was the sixth game this season Detroit Mercy has had 40 or more caroms.

All-Time Series
The Titans hold a 15-10 series lead over Valparaiso in the series that began in 1989. Detroit Mercy played VU three times last year in coach Scott's first season as head coach, winning the first two, but falling in the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament in overtime, 94-91. The Titans are 8-5 at home against Valparaiso.

Detroit Mercy split with UIC last season, with each team winning away from their friendly confines. The Titans earned an 89-80 victory at UIC in early January as Nicole Urbanick (31 points, seven 3-pointers), Rosanna Reynolds (26 points) and Brianne Cohen (20 points) combined for 77 points and 10 3-pointers in the victory.

It'll be the 50th meeting between UIC and Detroit Mercy with the Titans holding a 26-23 series edge. The Titans hold a 14-12 advantage in games from Detroit.

Scouting Valparaiso
The Crusaders enter Horizon League play 5-6 and led by the leading scorer in the HL, Dani Franklin. She is averaging 20.2 points per game and also leads the league in 3-pointers made (28), 3-point field goal percentage (50.0 percent) and free throw percentage (95.8). She is seventh with 7.2 boards per game.

Hannah Schaub is just ahead of Reynolds in assists per game at 5.7, while Amber Lindfors has 26 blocks and 6.9 boards per game. As a team, Valparaiso is shooting a league-best 79.6 percent from the free throw stripe and also leads the HL in blocked shots (49 total).

Scouting UIC
The Flames enter HL play with a 3-8 record and have dropped seven of their past eight contests. Most recently, UIC fell to Bradley, 65-56.

Melita Emanuel-Carr leads the squad in total points and is averaging 9.3 per game, having started all 11 contests. She also leads the squad with 14 triples. Teodora Zagorac grabs 6.3 rebounds per game to lead the team, while senior Terri Bender, who missed all of last season with an injury has a team-high 40 assists and has started 10 games this year.

Brittany Byrd has played in just four games, but is scoring 14.3 points per game. She had 16 points in the team's last game against Bradley.

Moving On Up
Senior guard Rosanna Reynolds began the season 15th on the all-time scoring list and is quickly moving up the list as she is up to seventh place with 1,410 points. She is 16 points away from sixth place and 30 points away from fifth. Reynolds moved into second place in career assists with six helpers against Toledo and has 452 all-time. Reynolds also became the sixth player in school history to start in 100 career games, with her start against Bradley earlier in the year. She is the first player in school history with 1,400 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists and 100 steals.

Senior Haleigh Ristovski is also moving up in the Titan record books, having moved into the top 10 in rebounds. She ranks seventh all-time with 681 career caroms. Ristovski is also ninth in career 3-pointers made (134) and 10th all-time in total blocks (77).

Titan NCAA Ranks
Detroit Mercy is among the national leaders in 3-pointers made, ranking 35th overall at 8.1 per game. The Titans are 18th in the country in defensive rebounding (30.5 per game) and 98th in the country in turnovers per game (15.0).

Individually, Rosanna Reynolds is in the top 100 in several statistical categories and ranks second in the Horizon League with 58 assists, which is 55th nationally. She is 43rd in the country at 5.3 assists per game and 73rd in total free throws made (44).

On Tap
The Titans return to the road following this weekend's games, visiting Oakland on Jan. 7 before heading to Wisconsin the week after for games at Green Bay (Jan. 11) and Milwaukee (Jan. 13).