DETROIT (2/9/2017) -- The stage is set for another thrilling #MetroSeries battle with the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team welcoming rival Oakland to Calihan Hall for a 1 p.m. game Saturday. The game is set to be streamed live on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications with
Denny Kapp calling all of the action. It's the annual Pink Game for the Titans with proceeds from the game going towards Gilda's Club, a local cancer support organization.
It's the second meeting between the two programs this season with the Titans earning an 80-71 victory at the O'rena early in January. Detroit Mercy out-scored the Golden Grizzlies 27-12 in the fourth quarter of the victory on the road. Senior guard
Rosanna Reynolds totaled 32 points and 10 rebounds in the victory.
The Titans (9-3 HL) enter the game on a hot streak, winning six of their past seven games, including a thrilling 76-72 win over No. 21/24-ranked Green Bay last weekend at Calihan Hall. It was the sixth victory for the Titans over a ranked program in the 40-year history of Detroit Mercy women's basketball.
Titan News & Notes
• For the second time this season, freshman guard
Anja Marinkovic was named the HL Freshman of the Week following a performance where she averaged 13.5 points and was 7-for-8 from beyond the arc.
• Detroit Mercy is 7-0 in Horizon League home contests this season. Overall, the Titans are 8-2 at Calihan Hall. The 7-0 home mark is the best home league start since the 2009-10 squad won its first seven HL home games.
•
Rosanna Reynolds became the career leader in assists vs. Milwaukee on Feb. 2, totaling eight dimes to surpass Jalesa Jones for No. 1 on the all-time list.
• Detroit Mercy is nearing the mark for the most 3-pointers made in one season (234), which was set last season in head coach
Bernard Scott's first season as head coach. The Titans have 196 treys after 23 games.
• The Titans have shot 40 percent or better in nine of 12 Horizon League games and rank second in Horizon League contests with a 45.6 FG percentage.
•
Brianne Cohen ranks first in the HL and 20th in the NCAA with 58.3 FG percentage. In the last nine games, Cohen is shooting 67.7 percent from the field (61-of-90). Cohen shot 9-of-10 at Green Bay, 9-of-11 vs. Cleveland State & 12-of-13 at NKU.
• Following her 10-assist performance against Green Bay,
Haleigh Ristovski now ranks 16th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.73). Ristovski and Reynolds are both in the top-three in the HL in the category.
• In Horizon League play, the Titans lead the league in assists (18.0 apg), 3-point field goal percentage (36.8%), def. rebounding (28.4), blocked shots (4.2 bpg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3).
• The Titans are among the NCAA leaders in defensive rebounding (13th, 29.5 per game), 3-point field goals per game (14th, 8.5), assists per game (35th, 16.2), assist-to-turnover ratio (44th, 1.12) and scoring offense (59th, 72.0 ppg).
• Reynolds has the top-two assist totals this season in the Horizon League, tallying 11 vs. UIC and 12 at Milwaukee. Reynolds ranks second in the conference in total assists (125) and assists per game (5.4).
•
Brianne Cohen (1st, 58.3) and
Kelsey Mitchell (2nd, 57.3) are the top duo in the Horizon League in field goal percentage. The pair are 1-2 in HL-only games with both shooting over 63 percent.
• Senior
Haleigh Ristovski became the seventh player with 750 rebounds after grabbing 10 at NKU. She moved into sixth all-time in rebounds with 10 more vs. Green Bay and has 775 in her career.
• Reynolds, who ranks 33rd in the nation in assists per game (5.4), reached 100 assists in the season for the fourth time in her career this season. Her career-best is 149 and she has 125 this season. Reynolds is 30th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.40).
• Reynolds is the top active scorer in the Horizon League with her 1,602 points, which is also 35th in the NCAA among active players. She is also the active HL leader in assists with 519, which is 14th in the country among active players in Division I.
• Detroit Mercy has assisted on nearly 70-percent (67.5) of its field goals in Horizon League play (216 assists on 320 field goals).
• Junior
Nicole Urbanick is quickly moving up the all-time 3-pointers made list and ranks sixth with 181. She is second in the HL in 3-pointers made per game (2.6), sinking 58 in 22 games and has 12 games of three or more made triples. She is third in the HL and 39th in the NCAA, sinking 40.6 percent of her treys.
Last Time Out
Behind an electric shooting performance and a first quarter that won't soon be forgotten, the Titans upset No. 21/24-ranked Green Bay at Calihan Hall on Feb. 4.
Detroit Mercy hit 8-of-9 triples in the opening quarter and jumped out to a 30-11 lead after one over the visiting Phoenix. Green Bay clawed back behind Mehryn Kraker's 35 points, but Detroit Mercy had several great defensive stands in the final minutes of the game.
Brittney Jackson, who hit the game-tying 3-pointer with three minutes left, also knocked down 3-of-4 free throws in the final 10 seconds to help lift the Titans to the victory.
Nicole Urbanick was perfect from beyond the arc, finishing 6-for-6 for 18 points. Cohen and
Kelsey Mitchell each had 11 points, while
Haleigh Ristovski had a career-best 10 assists and a team-high 10 boards. The Titans tied a school-record set earlier this season with 16 3-point field goals in the contest.
All-Time Series
Detroit Mercy holds a 14-10 series lead over Oakland entering Saturday's contest. The Titans are 2-1 against the Golden Grizzlies under head coach
Bernard Scott. In home games against Oakland, Detroit Mercy is 7-4 with OU earning a win last year at Calihan Hall, 79-73.
The Titans have won the last two meetings, however, earning an 82-77 overtime victory late last season in Rochester and then picking up an 80-71 triumph earlier this season behind a 27-12 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Rosanna Reynolds had 32 points and 10 rebounds in the earlier meeting this season, while
Kelsey Mitchell tallied 16 points and five blocks. Reynolds barely missed in the second half of the game, sinking all five shots and going 9-of-10 from the free throw line for 20 second-half points.
Junior
Brianne Cohen is averaging 18.3 points per game against Oakland in the past two seasons, while Reynolds has a 20.7 ppg average in the past two seasons.
Haleigh Ristovski has a 13.0 rebounding average in the past three meetings with OU.
Scouting Oakland
Like the Titans, Oakland is on a bit of a hot streak having won four of its past five, including both last week against Green Bay and Milwaukee. The Golden Grizzlies earned a 74-71 victory over the Phoenix on Thursday before picking up a 14-point win over the Panthers last weekend, 77-63. Oakland is 4-6 this season in games played away from the O'rena.
Taylor Gleason was named the Horizon League Player of the Week on Monday following a strong shooting performance and averaging 20.0 points in OU's wins last week. Gleason is one of four Golden Grizzlies to average 10 points per game or more. Sophomore Taylor Jones leads the way at 14.4 points per game. Senior Hannah Little (11.3 ppg) is among the league leaders in several statistical categories and ranks third in the NCAA in rebounding (11.9 rpg) and first in the Horizon League in steals (79). Oakland also likes to shoot from range and has made 176 treys on the year.
On Tap
Detroit Mercy returns to the road next weekend, visiting the Chicago area for games against UIC on Thursday and Valparaiso on Saturday. Thursday's tip against the Flames is set for 8 p.m. ET in the Windy City.
