DETROIT (2/28/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team opens Horizon League Championship play Friday at 2:30 p.m., playing as the No. 9 seed against eighth-seeded Northern Kentucky from Little Caesars Arena.
The game may be seen live via ESPN3.com and the WatchESPNÂ Applications. General admission, single-session tickets are $15, while student tickets are $10 for the game. For full ticket info on Motor City Madness, visit the
Horizon League website.
Starting at 11 a.m., Titan fans can gather at Kid Rock's Made In Detroit Restaurant - located inside Little Caesars Arena - for a pre-game party that will feature food and drink specials before every Detroit Mercy men's and women's game in the tournament.
It's also the first of two-straight games of Detroit Mercy basketball at LCA on Friday. The Titan men's basketball team plays in the game immediately following the women's squad at 5:30 p.m. from Little Caesars Arena.
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Quick Hits
• The Titans went over 200 made 3-pointers for the fourth-straight season this year. Detroit Mercy ranks third in the Horizon League this season with 202 treys, sinking 7.0 per game. Three Titans have sank more than 40 3-pointers this season --
Anja Marinkovic (59),
Nicole Urbanick (44) and
Lexey Tobel (44).
• Freshman forward
Lexey Tobel was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team on Wednesday following a stellar first season with the Titans. Tobel led all HL freshmen in 3-pointers made (44), ranking fifth among league freshmen in scoring (8.0 points per game) and sixth in rebounding (4.0 boards per game).
• Seniors
Brianne Cohen and
Nicole Urbanick have met several different milestones this season. Cohen ranks No. 7 all-time in career scoring (1,430 points), while Urbanick became the 22nd player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point milestone and recently broke the career mark for 3-pointers made in a career.
• Detroit Mercy leads the league in blocked shots, tallying 117 rejections on the season at an average of 4.0 per game. Cohen has 19 blocks in 18 HL contests (1.1 per game) and has 23 blocks. Sophomore
Ashley Miller has 22 blocks for the Titans.
Horizon League Championship History
The Titans are playing NKU in the Horizon League Championship for the first time in women's basketball. Detroit Mercy is 2-2 all-time in the tournament under third-year head coach
Bernard Scott.
Detroit Mercy won two-straight games in the tournament last season, defeating Cleveland State and Wright State before falling 64-52 in the championship game to top-seeded Green Bay.
Detroit Mercy has an overall record of 26-25 in the tournament and has reached the Horizon League Championship game seven times (1-6 in those games with a title coming in 1997).
Last Time Out
Senior guard
Nicole Urbanick tied her season-high with 17 points, knocking down five 3-pointers, but the Titans dropped their regular-season finale at #22/21-Green Bay on Sunday, 88-45.
Urbanick, who made career start No. 100, in the regular season finale made 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc. Senior forward
Brianne Cohen added 10 points. Cohen moved into seventh place in career scoring (1,430 points), while Urbanick went into 19th place in career scoring (1,152 points). Detroit Mercy hit six 3-pointers, moving past 200 treys on the season.
Scouting Northern Kentucky
The Norse dropped their final four games of the year, falling in the regular-season finale to the league runner-up, 56-54, on Feb. 25. NKU is 3-12 in games played away from home this season.
Molly Glick leads the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) in 3-pointers made (59). Kailey Coffey, named to the HL All-Freshman Team, has started all 29 games and ranks first in rebounding (5.9) and second in scoring (8.8 ppg).
All-Time Series
Detroit Mercy and Northern Kentucky have split all six match-ups (3-3) with the Norse winning both this season. It's the first meeting between the two programs on a neutral court or in a tournament setting.
The Titans dropped both meetings during the regular season this year, but fell just 64-60 at NKU less than a month ago on Feb. 10. Detroit Mercy made 11 treys during the game.
In the meeting at Calihan Hall on Jan. 4, the Norse picked up a 78-67 victory with
Anja Marinkovic scoring a game-high 23 points and Detroit Mercy sinking 12 3-pointers.
Brianne Cohen had a double-double in the first meeting at home (11 points, 10 rebounds) and nearly had a second on the road, tallying 14 points and nine rebounds.
Up Next
If the Titans win on Friday over NKU, Detroit Mercy plays top-seeded Green Bay on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET from Little Caesars Arena. Should the Titans advance in that game, they would play on Monday.
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