Box Score

The Detroit Titans made their final women's basketball pre-season tune-up a good one as they turned a close game into a rout, rolling over Saginaw Valley State on Sunday at Calihan Hall, 81-54, behind freshman forward Yar Shayok's 20 points. 

Four other Titans - Lauren Allen (15), Sandi Brown (12), Brigid Mulroy (12) and Jalesa Jones (10) - joined Shayok in double figures as Detroit spread the wealth around. Allen added six assists and five steals to take game honors in both departments. The win evened Detroit's exhibition record at 1-1 and proved to be a successful bounce-back from Thursday's loss at the hands of Wayne State. 

Ahead by just a single point at halftime, the Titans ran off six straight markers -including two buckets by Brown - out of the locker room to make their lead a little more comfortable. The second-half blitz extended to 13-4 over the first four minutes of the stanza as Detroit opened its first double-figure lead at 45-35. SVSU never got closer than nine the rest of the way as UDM steadily pulled ahead to post its 27-point victory. 

It was a stark contrast to the see-saw first 20 minutes. Saginaw opened up a quick 5-0 lead before the Titans knotted the game at 10-all, then ran off a 12-4 spurt to go up by eight, 22-14, after 7:35 had ticked off the first-half clock. The Cardinals rallied for a brief lead late in the half, only to see UDM take a 32-31 advantage into intermission. 

Shayok shot a sizzling 7-for-7 from the field as the Titans finished at a .569 clip as a team. SVSU, at the other end, hit only 20 of its 48 attempts (.417). SVSU committed 29 turnovers vs. just 16 by the Titans, while the Cardinals claimed a small edge in rebounding, 30-38. Marah Kyle ended up with the game scoring lead for Saginaw Valley, finishing with 16 points. 

The Titans now turn their attention to Friday's regular-season opener at Cincinnati, Autumn Raemacher's official head coaching debut at the UDM helm. Game time at Fifth Third Arena is set for 7:00 p.m.