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Postgame Interview On The Titan YouTube Channel

INDIANAPOLIS – Every Titan that played scored and Detroit needed every last point as UDM went into Hinkle Fieldhouse and came away with a 55-51 victory over second-place Butler on Thursday night.

The win ended a 12-game losing streak to the rival Bulldogs (14-8, 8-2 HL) as the Titans moved to 10-11 on the season and 4-6 in the Horizon League.

“This is the second half of the season and we have seen all of these teams so I talked about just really playing hard and I challenged them to play hard every possession and they ended up doing that and this is the result,” said head coach Autumn Rademacher.

Sophomore Cherridy Thornton (Detroit, MI/Frank Cody Senior) led the way with a game-high 14 points, while sophomore Yar Shayok (Ottawa, ON/Hillcrest) had 12 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Dominique Dixon (Detroit, MI/Renaissance) added seven points, including two key late free throws, while junior Jalesa Jones (Detroit, MI/Pershing) totaled six points and a game-high five assists.

The Titans were up by one, 33-32, with 16:10 to go in the second period, when Detroit took the lead for good with a 13-3 run over the next six minutes to jump out in front, 46-35. The Titan defense held Butler to just 1-of-6 from the field in that span and forced five turnovers. On the other end, it was a balanced spurt as four Titans scored, led by Jones' five points, and Shayok's four markers.

“We wanted to play hard on both ends and try to disrupt what they do on offense and get them off track,” added Rademacher.”

The home team answered with a run of their own as Butler got within two, 47-45, on the strength of a 10-1 charge, with 4:38 left. Sophomore Demeisha Fambro (Detroit, MI/Crockett Tech) ended that with a short jumper, but two Bulldogs' free throws once again made it a two-point game. That is when Thornton and junior Britney Murphy (Saginaw, MI/Arthur Hill) connected on back-to-back baskets to push the Titan advantage back to six, 53-47, with just under three minutes left.

Neither team would score much down the stretch, but the red, white and blue did see Butler pull within two again, 53-51 with 36 seconds left, but Detroit was able to beat the Bulldogs press, taking almost 30 seconds off the clock before Dixon was fouled. She would step to the line and seal the triumph hitting both of her attempts from the charity stripe.

The Titans shot 43 percent and hit five important 3-pointers on the night. Defensively, they held the Bulldogs to just 2-of-11 from behind the arc, while forcing 15 turnovers. Detroit also won the battle of the boards, 32-25, including holding the Bulldogs to just two offensive rebounds.

Freshman Megan Hatter (Howell, MI/Howell), in her first collegiate start, finished with five points, two assists a steal and a rebound. Fambro ended with five points, while Murphy tallied four markers, three assists, two boards and a steal. 

“Megan hit a real clutch three for us and Cherridy came into the game and hit two (3-pointers) for us,” said Rademacher. “We knew that they were a zone team and we knew we needed great ball movement to get the ball to our shooters and we were able to drive, penetrate, kick and find them so we shot a great percentage from the three-point line.”

Detroit was down 11-5 five minutes into the game, but the Titans stormed back to take a 19-15 lead with 7:49 left in the first half. Shayok started the spurt with a layup and then Thornton caught fire scoring seven straight points, the last three on a 3-pointer off a great pass from Jones. Junior Lauren Allen (Rochester Hills, MI/Rochester) then gave UDM its first lead, 16-15, with a jumper and the next time down the floor, Allen found Thornton who nailed another triple to push the Titans' advantage to four, 19-15.

Butler answered with an 8-0 to retake the lead, 23-19, but Shayok field goal followed by a trey from Fambro once again had Detroit up, this time by one, 24-23, before a late free throw by Shayok tied things up at 25-all entering the intermission.

Detroit will head to Valparaiso on Saturday as the Titans look to make it a season sweep over the Crusaders. Game time is set for 2:35 p.m. (EST).

Game Notes:
The last start by a “Hatter” for Detroit was on Feb. 14, 2009 when her older sister Heather was in the starting five for a game against Green Bay…She also hit her first collegiate field goal and her first 3-pointer…Detroit has now used eighth different starting line-ups on the year…The Titans last win against Butler was also on the road, 71-69, on Jan. 12, 2006…Head coach Autumn Rademacher has now defeated every team in the Horizon League…Shayok's run of five-straight games with a double-double came to an end...Every Titan that played scored a basket, grabbed a rebound and had an assist.