Gameday Central
Game Notes vs. Cleveland State
BE HERE!!!!
 
DETROIT (2/20/2015) -- It will be a ceremony before the game and maybe some more celebrating after as the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team hosts Cleveland State on Saturday at historic Calihan Hall. It will be Senior Day for the Titans as Detroit will recognize its two seniors in Ellisha Crosby and Brie Wilcox prior to the start of the contest.
 
Game time is set for 2:00 p.m., on Dick Vitale Court with Denny Kapp calling all the action on ESPN3.
 
Fans can follow every Detroit game this season through the women's basketball GAMEDAY CENTRAL page located on the Titans Athletic Website that will keep fans one click away from all the action. This page will feature links for live stats (audio and video when applicable) as well as links for all the latest info while also making it easy to find the Titans on social media and to purchase game tickets. The Gameday Central page also carries all the information on each opponent from who is leading the all-time series to who won the last game.
 
The Titans nearly added another comeback to their resume at Oakland, but just came up short, 64-58, on Wednesday. The loss leaves Detroit at 9-15 overall and 4-7 in the Horizon League, where it is in sixth place.  UDM can still climb all the way to two if it can win out and get some help, but it can also fall to last with a losing streak to end the season.
 
If the season ended today, the Titans would be the sixth seed and would play at third-seeded Cleveland State in the quarterfinals.
 
Detroit will honor Crosby and Wilcox on Senior Day. Crosby transferred to Detroit after playing a year at Cornerstone University from 2010-11. When she finally got a chance to suit up as a junior in 2013-14, she didn't disappoint starting 12 games and finishing second on the team in scoring, while leading the Titans in rebounding and assists until an injury ended her year.
 
She has battled back to once again be one of the Titan and Horizon League top scorers ranking second on the team, and 14th in the league, at 14.0 points per game. She has played in 32 career games – all starts – and is averaging 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists. She has six career double-doubles as well as six career games with 20 or more points, with her career high of 33 against Eastern Michigan last season. A model student-athlete, she is a member of both the Detroit and Horizon League Academic Honor Rolls.
 
Wilcox was part of both the WBI championship team and the Titans' WNIT squad in 2012. She is one of UDM's vocal leaders and hardest workers in practice, and she can always be seen pumping up her teammates.
 
She has battled injuries as well, but has appeared in 47 games with three starts and posted career highs of 12 points against Milwaukee this season, eight rebounds against HL Champion Wright State last year and four blocks against UIC and Eastern Michigan. She has 18 blocks in her career and has grabbed 67 total rebounds. She is also a two-time member of the Detroit Athletic Director's Honor Roll.
 
Fans, to purchase tickets or for more information, contact the Titans' Ticket Office at (313) 993-1700. The Titans' Ticket Office is located in Calihan Hall and is open Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
 
DETROIT VS. CLEVELAND STATE
Detroit has lost three in a row and four of the last five to Cleveland State, but the Titans still lead the all-time series, 35-17.
 
The Titans are 20-5 at home against the Vikings and have won three of the last four at Calihan Hall.
 
ABOUT THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State has picked up its play of late and has won two in a row and five of the last six games - including two in overtime - and enters the contest at 15-9 overall and 7-4 in the Horizon League.
 
The Vikings have three of the top 14 scorers in the Horizon League, led by Cori Coleman's 17.1 ppg., good for fifth in the conference. Imani Gordon is seventh in the HL at 15.8 ppg., while Kiersten Green's 12.5 ppg., is 14th.
 
Cleveland State is third in the conference in offense at 70.5 points, while standing seventh in the league allowing 71.2 points.
 
LAST TIME VS. CLEVELAND STATE
Senior Ellisha Crosby led four Titans in double figures, but the Cleveland State Vikings staged a second-half comeback defeating Detroit, 71-65, at the Wolstein Center.
 
Crosby posted a team-high 16 points. Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds and sophomore Haleigh Ristovski netted 14 apiece, while freshman Darianne Seward had 12.
 
Detroit led by as many as 13 in the first half, but Cleveland State was able to erase that with a 26-11 run from the end of the first and into the second.
 
The Vikings would go on to open a 12-point lead, 56-44, with 6:12 left in the game and held a 10-point advantage, 65-55, with 1:24 on the clock when the Titans made one last charge for the victory. 
 
Ristovski started the effort with a three ball and with under a minute remaining, Reynolds and Ristovski had back-to-back layups to cut it to 67-62. After a CSU free throw, Reynolds drove to the rim and was fouled, laying it in and making the bonus for the old-fashioned three-point play to pull the Titans within three, 68-65, with 32 second left, but that was as close as they would get.
 
Crosby also had a team-high five assists and came away with four steals and six rebounds. Reynolds and Ristovski both pulled down a team-best seven boards and handed out four assists, and Seward tied her season-high for the second-straight game with four steals.
 
Detroit shot 37.3 percent from the field with seven 3-pointers and forced 15 total Cleveland State turnovers, 10 off steals.
 
MOVING FORWARD
The Titans have already posted more overall wins (6) and conference victories (3) than last season, recorded four road victories to last season's zero, and won a Horizon League game on the road against Youngstown State, which ended a 15-game conference road slide.
 
DARIANNE FOR 3
Freshman Darianne Seward was 3-of-26 from behind the arc in the first 20 games, but has found her stroke from downtown knocking in 8-of-16 in the last four, including 5-of-7 against Valparaiso.
 
TRIPLE TRY
Detroit had its 11th game of the year with eight or more 3-pointers knocking in eight at UIC on Feb. 11.
 
KEEPING THE BALL
The Titans are averaging just 12.9 turnovers per game, second in the Horizon League - and 21st in the nation - behind Wright State's 12.2.
 
Detroit has turned it over 10 or fewer times in six games this year.
 
PLAYING SMART
The Titans have done two things great this season that have been keys in their wins and keeping them in games.
 
Besides ranking second in the league with just 12.9 turnovers per game, UDM is also second in the HL and 26th in the nation averaging just 15.0 personal fouls per game.
 
Since UDM does a great job at not picking up any extra whistles, they have limited teams to 377 free throw attempts second in the HL to Youngstown State's 307.
 
GETTING TO 70
The Titans are 57-20 when they score 70 or more points as well as 21-5 when they score 80 or more under head coach Autumn Rademacher '97. UDM has also eclipsed 90 seven times under Coach Rad, with a season-high 96 against Eastern Michigan last year.
 
ELLICIOUS
Senior Ellisha Crosby saw her 13-game double figuring scoring streak come to an end at Oakland, but she has still been one of the team's and Horizon League's top scorers.
 
She tallied a season-high 25 points against Youngstown State on Feb. 14, tying her season high going 10-of-18 from the field with five triples along with grabbing nine rebounds and handing out three assists.
 
It was her third 20-point game of the season and the sixth of her career, and the most points she has scored since pouring in a career-high 33 against Eastern Michigan last year.
 
She missed four games at the end of December and early January due to an injury, but she returned in a big way at Wright State recording 24 points.
 
Against Toledo in early December, she also posted 24 points and was tabbed the Glass City Classic Tournament MVP after tallying 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and shooting 46.7 percent from the field in the two games against SEMO and the host Rockets.
 
Crosby started the weekend event with her first double-double of the year and the sixth of her career with 13 points and a season-high 10 rebounds against the Redhawks.
 
She now has 27 double-digit scoring games in her 32 career Division I contests, and in her Titan career, Crosby is tallying 15.3 ppg., including 14.0 ppg., this year, ninth in the HL.
 
OH MY ROSIE
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds posted her 20th double-digit scoring effort on the year with a game-high 26 points at Oakland, which included 17 in the second half.
 
The performance against Oakland was her second 20-point game against the Golden Grizzlies this year as she had 27 in the win at Calihan Hall.
 
She also now has five 20-point games this season - and six in her career - capitalized by her career-high 33 points at IPFW on Dec. 2, where she was a career-best 11-of-18 from the field with seven 3-pointers. She became just the 18th Titan in school history to score 30 or more in a game, with the 33 points the most since teammate Ellisha Crosby had 33 against EMU last season.
 
Reynolds also had a game-high 26 points at Toledo on Dec. 14 going 8-of-15 from the field with seven more treys and also netted a game-high with 22 versus Delaware State on Dec. 18.
 
On the year, she is currently leading the team and is sixth in the HL with 16.0 ppg.
 
A COCO HIGH
Freshman Brianne Cohen provided some much needed muscle at Oakland her last time out as she scored six points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
She also came away with her first three steals of the year.
 
SUCH A CROOK
Sophomore Haleigh Ristovski tied her career-high with five steals against Valparaiso on Feb. 5, matching the five steals she registered in the season opener at Michigan.
 
GOOD DECISIONS
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds and sophomore Haleigh Ristovski are both among the most trustworthy ball handlers in the HL.
 
Ristovski tops the league - and is 18th in the nation - with a 2.50 assist-to-turnover ratio (81 A, 33 TO). As a freshman, Ristovski recorded a 2.7 mark (47 A, 17 TO) last season.
 
Meanwhile, Reynolds is third in the HL - and is 20th in the nation - with a 2.10 assist-to-turnover ratio (76 A, 36 TO).
 
ALL-AROUND GAME
Sophomore Haleigh Ristovski continues to show her full basketball skills this season on both ends of the floor.
 
She might not be the typical frontcourt player, but she has grabbed at least eight rebounds in 13 of UDM's 24 games, including five with 10 or more. She also has four double-doubles on the season and tied her career high with 20 points and 12-rebounds at Eastern Michigan.
 
Ristovski had 13 points and 10 rebounds at Toledo, 13 points and 11 rebounds at IPFW and 20 points and 12 caroms versus Madonna. Her game against Madonna also saw her post nearly a triple-double as she handed out a career-high six assists.
 
She has recorded at least five assists seven times this year and leads the team and is ninth in the Horizon League at 3.4 per game.
 
Ristovski has also scored in double figures seven times this season and is fourth on the team - and 27th in the HL - in scoring at 9.2 ppg., as well as leading the team and tied for seventh in the conference in rebounding at 7.3 per contest.
 
MORE THAN JUST SCORE
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds has done more than just score on the season.
 
She has recorded five assists or more in seven games - including a season-high eight against Valparaiso and that followed seven at Youngstown State.
 
In fact, against Oakland her last time out, she did not record an assist for just the third time in her 61-game career with the other two games her freshman year contest at Green Bay and last year at Western Michigan, where she played just one minute before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
 
She is currently second on the team and 10th in the HL in assists at 3.2 per game.

Reynolds has pulled down five or more rebounds in 12 games and is third on the squad crashing the boards at 5.3 per night.
 
She also has four double-doubles with 19 points and 11 rebounds at Youngstown State, 33 points and 11 rebounds at IPFW, 19 points and 10 boards at Eastern Michigan and 27 points and 11 boards against Oakland.
 
LITTLE D BRINGS BIG O
Freshman Darianne Seward continues to be a force on offense recording her 17th game in double figures with 14 points against YSU.
 
Prior to that, she had her first collegiate 20-point game with a game-high 28 points against Valparaiso as she was 10-of-15 from the field with five 3-pointers.
 
The three-time HL Freshman of the Week is currently third on the team in scoring and 15th in the Horizon League at 12.0 ppg., the second highest freshman average in the HL behind Valparaiso's Dani Franklin's 13.2.
 
SEWARD NETS FRESHMAN RECORD
Darianne Seward is making her case for the Horizon League Freshman of the Year after scoring a season-best 28 points - her first career 20-point performance - on 10-of-15 shooting and 5-of-7 from three-point territory against Valparaiso.
 
She came into that game with just three triples on the season, but surpassed that with four in the first-half alone.
 
The 28 points was the highest-scoring game by a true freshman guard in school history and the highest by a true freshman since 2012.
 
In the season opener, she tallied 19 points at Michigan, the most by a true freshman in a season opener since the 2011-12 season and the most by a true freshman guard since Titan Hall-Of-Famer and school's all-time leading scorer Cassandra Pack had 23 at home against Bowling Green to open the 1983-84 campaign.
 
A TRIPLE THREAT
Redshirt sophomore Rosanna Reynolds has become one of the deadliest long-range shooters in the Horizon League.
 
She is second in the HL - and is 93rd in the country - in three-point field goals per game (2.30) as well as fourth in three-point field goal percentage (39.4%), 50th in the NCAA.
 
Reynolds has twice nailed seven 3-pointers in a game - one away from the school record of eight that Daphne Smith (8-of-11) had versus Butler on Jan. 10, 1987. She had seven treys (7-of-10) in a 33-point outburst at IPFW on Dec. 2 and also had seven (7-of-12) in a 26-point effort at Toledo.
 
Reynolds has at least one 3-pointer in 22 of the Titans' 24 games on the year - only at Cincinnati and at Cleveland State did she not have one - and has 54 triples, a new career high passing the 25 she had as a freshman in 34 games in 2012-13.
 
URBANICK ON THE MARK
Freshman Nicole Urbanick missed four games with an injury, but just like senior teammate Ellisha Crosby, she has come back very strong.
 
Since her return six games ago, she is averaging 7.9 points, while shooting 21-of-48 (43.8%) from the field and 11-of-30 (36.7%) from three.
 
She tied her season high for the third time this season with 12 points at UIC and just tallied eight points and a season-high seven boards against Youngstown State. She also had 12 points and nailed a season-best four 3-pointers against Green Bay and 12 versus Madonna.
 
Urbanick now has six double-digit scoring efforts on the season .
She has also been a three-point specialist for the Titans with 11 of her last 18 buckets 3-pointers as have 25 of her 47 baskets on the year.
 
NEVER GIVE UP
The Titans have come away with two conference wins the hard way - making up a double-digit deficit in the second half.
 
UDM erased a 10-point Oakland lead to post a 73-62 victory over the Golden Grizzlies on Jan. 22. The Titans trailed, 46-36, with 14:39 left before going on a 12-0 run to take the lead.
 
Against Youngstown State on Jan. 28, Detroit was down by 16, 35-19, coming out of the half, but a 14-0 spurt to start the second half and a 22-4 total run propelled the red, white and blue to victory.
 
The 16-point comeback was the largest on the season and the most since coming from a 17-point first-half score of 32-15 last year in an 81-79 home triumph over Valparaiso.