DETROIT (11/9/2016) -- The 2016-17 college basketball season is upon us and the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team opens its 40th campaign on the road this weekend, visiting Delaware State on Friday before facing East Carolina on Sunday for an afternoon matchup.
The Titans enter their second year under head coach
Bernard Scott with a lot of buzz surrounding the program. Detroit Mercy, which went 15-15 last year and 11-7 in the Horizon League, was picked to finish second in the conference in the preseason poll. The Titans return nearly their entire scoring output from last season and have added several new players to the squad.
Detroit Mercy opens at Delaware State in a 6 p.m. ET contest from Dover, Delaware, and plays at 1 p.m., Sunday at East Carolina in Greenville, North Carolina. The Titans play five of their first six contests in 2016-17 away from Calihan Hall. Detroit Mercy's first home game is Monday, Nov. 21, against Kent State.
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Preseason Honors
The Titans were picked to finish second in the Horizon League Preseason Poll. Detroit Mercy received 253 votes to finish second to reigning league champion Green Bay, who earned 299 votes and received 29 of the 30 first-place tallies. Senior guard
Rosanna Reynolds, a two-time All-League player, was named the Preseason Player of the Year, while junior forward
Brianne Cohen was named to the Preseason All-HL Second Team.Â
The selection of second in the preseason poll is the highest for the squad since the 2012-13 season, which Detroit Mercy was also picked second behind the Phoenix. The Titans finished last season fourth in the regular season standings.
2015-16 Season Review
The Titans went 11-7 in Horizon League play to finish fourth under first-year head coach
Bernard Scott. Detroit Mercy went 15-15 overall, which included a 7-2 mark in league games away from Calihan Hall.
Detroit Mercy led the Horizon League in conference games in both field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage and didn't drop consecutive games during the Horizon League season, sweeping the series with Milwaukee, Valparaiso and Cleveland State.
Everyone Returns
Detroit Mercy is in rare company entering 2016-17, bringing back all of its major contributors from last season, including all five starters. The Titans bring back 99.5 percent of their offense from 2015-16.
Two-time All-Horizon League honoree
Rosanna Reynolds (15.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 5.0 apg) returns for her final season as one of the premier players in the conference. She ranked sixth in scoring, third in assists and second in assist-to-turnover ratio in 2015-16.
Senior forward
Haleigh Ristovski (8.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 3.1 apg) led Detroit Mercy in minutes and rebounding in 2015-16, ranking third in the HL in boards. She broke the single-season school record for defensive rebounds (247) and also led the Titans with 31 blocks. Along with Reynolds, she started all 30 games last year.
Junior forward
Brianne Cohen (15.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 57.3 FG%) was the Horizon League Sixth Player of the Year in 2015-16 after leading the Titans in scoring. She was fourth in the HL in conference scoring (17.9 ppg) despite coming off the bench in all 18 HL contests.
Junior guard
Nicole Urbanick (14.1 ppg, 83 3-PT) led the Horizon League and ranked 19th in the NCAA in 3-pointers made per game (2.77), while also ranking eighth in the Horizon League in scoring. She enters her junior season already ninth all-time in career triples.
Sophomore guard
Lola Ristovski (4.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg) started 28 games during her rookie season and sank 43.6 percent of her 3-pointers in HL play, which was second in the conference. Junior forward
Chea Taylor (4.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg) also started 28 games and was third on the team with 40 offensive rebounds.
Sophomore guard
Brittney Jackson (6.1 ppg, 41 3-PT) was a key reserve for the Titans off the bench last season, ranking third on the team in 3-pointers made. She played in all 30 games last year. Classmate
Taylor Malone also returns, playing in 27 contests in 2015-16.Â
Also back is redshirt-sophomore
Cortney Williams, who spent the entire 2015-16 season with the Titans but sat out due to NCAA's transfer rules. She joined the Titans from Loyola (Ill.), appearing in 22 games in 2014-15.
Newcomers
The Titans added to their depth in the offseason, bringing in two transfers and three true freshmen. Graduate transfer
Kelsey Mitchell bolsters the front court after playing the last three years at the University of Michigan. She was named the team's Most Improved Player, averaging 6.2 points and 4.6 boards for U-M last season. New Zealand native, guard
Gracie Roberts, joins the squad as a JUCO transfer from North Idaho.
Three freshmen are vying for playing time in guard
Anja Marinkovic (Toronto, Ont.), wing
Zoey Oatis (Detroit) and forward
Ashley Miller (Toledo, Ohio).
Three's Company
The Titans set a school record with 234, 3-pointers last season and have three players who are in the top 11 in career triples made entering 2016-17.
Nicole Urbanick (123 triples),
Haleigh Ristovski (115) and
Rosanna Reynolds (114) all surpassed 100 3-pointers made last year, having combined for 154 treys last year.
Sister, Sister
Sisters
Haleigh Ristovski and
Lola Ristovski enter their second season playing together for the Titans. The pair started in all but two games together last year. Haleigh, a senior, and Lola, a sophomore, went to high school at University Liggett in Grosse Pointe Woods.
Motor City Madness
For the first time, the Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship joins the men's at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. The championship is set to run from March 3-7 with the title game being televised on ESPNU at 12 p.m. on March 7. The championships move from Joe Louis Arena to the new Little Caesars Arena in 2017-18.
On Tap
Following the pair of road games this weekend, Detroit Mercy travels to Bradley on Friday, Nov. 18 for a 12 p.m. contest against the Braves from Peoria, Ill. The Titans open the home schedule Monday, Nov. 21 against Kent State at 7 p.m.
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