DETROIT (1/5/2017) -- A pair of early season Horizon League unbeatens are set to go head-to-head Saturday afternoon in Rochester with the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team traveling to Oakland for a #MetroSeries battle with the Golden Grizzlies.
First tip is set for 3 p.m. from the O'Rena with all of the action set to be broadcast on ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN Applications. Tickets are priced at $7 for reserved seating for adults and $5 for general admission.
Detroit Mercy (6-7, 2-0 HL) and Oakland (8-5, 2-0 HL) split in the season series last year, the first for head coach
Bernard Scott. The Titans and Golden Grizzlies come into the game as the top-two scoring teams in the Horizon League so far in 2016-17.
A special rally for all Titan fans begins at 1 p.m. prior to the contest at
Buddy's Pizza in Auburn Hills.
Titan News & Notes
• Detroit Mercy has a 2-0 start in the Horizon League for the first time since the 2011-12 season. Both victories came by 20 or more points.
• The 98 points scored in Detroit Mercy's win over UIC was the highest for the Titans in the two-year tenure for head coach
Bernard Scott.
• Senior guard
Rosanna Reynolds moved into sixth place on the all-time scoring list against UIC. She has 1,432 points and is eight away from fifth place. Reynolds is also 16 assists from second place in career helpers. She has 470 entering Saturday's game.
• Reynolds, who had a Horizon League single-game high 11 assists for this season in her last game against UIC, leads the conference in assists (5.8 per game) and ranks 28th in the nation in the category.
• The Titans are tied with Oakland in 3-pointers made per game (8.5). Detroit Mercy has sank 110 triples in 13 games so far this season. The Titans are also first in the league in defensive rebounding (30.2) and 3-point field goal defense (27.6%), while ranking second in scoring offense (74.8 points per contest), field goal defense (38.1%) and blocked shots (4.1 per game).
• Reynolds is the first player in school history to record 1,400 points, 500 rebounds, 450 assists and 100 steals.
•
Kelsey Mitchell tied a career-high with 15 points in the Titans' last game. She has scored in double figures in both HL contest so far, shooting 13-for-19 from the field (68.4 percent). She ranks second in the HL in FG percentage (54.9).
• Detroit Mercy set a single-game school record with 16 3-pointers at Minnesota. The Titans have reached 15 treys in a game twice this season, also sinking 15 triples against UIC on Dec. 31.
• The red, white and blue are 16th in the NCAA in defensive rebounding (30.2 per game), 23rd in 3-point field goals per game (8.5) and 49th in scoring offense (74.8 points per game).
• The reigning Sixth Player of the Year, junior
Brianne Cohen ranks 10th in the HL in scoring (13.7 ppg) and seventh in field goal percentage (53.2).
•
Nicole Urbanick ranks first in the HL in 3-pointers made per game (2.6), sinking 31 in 12 games. She also led the HL in 3-pointers made per game last season.
• Freshman guard
Anja Marinkovic is tied for first in the HL in free throw percentage (93.1) and ranks sixth in the conference in 3-point FG percentage (38.1).
• Reynolds is the top active scorer in the Horizon League with her 1,432 points, which is also 38th in the NCAA among active players. She is also the active HL leader in assists with 470, which is 14th in the country among active players in Division I.
• Three current Titans are in the top 11 all-time in 3-pointers made --
Nicole Urbanick (8th, 154),
Haleigh Ristovski (9th, 136) and Reynolds (11th, 126).
• Detroit Mercy is out-scoring its opponents 257-213 in the first quarter this season. Overall this season, the Titans are out-scoring their opponents, 973-929.
• The Titans have three games of 25 assists this season, which is the most in the
Bernard Scott era. Detroit Mercy has 25 assists in each of the past two games.
• Detroit Mercy's 3-point field goal percentage of 55.6 in its last game vs. UIC is also the highest in the Scott era. The Titans made 15-of-27 shots from downtown.
• The Titans' nine blocks vs. Valparaiso is a single-game league high this season.
• Head coach
Bernard Scott has a 13-7 record in Horizon League play in his two years as head coach.
Last Time Out
Detroit Mercy won its second-straight conference game in a 98-76 victory over UIC at Calihan Hall on New Years Eve. The Titans set season-highs in field goal percentage (54.1) and 3-point field goal percentage (55.6), also sinking 15 3-pointers in the contest.
The Titans scored at least 22 points in each quarter, scoring 31 in the final frame against the Flames.
Nicole Urbanick and
Anja Marinkovic each tallied 20 points, combining to go 9-of-13 from 3-point range. It was Urbanick's first 20-point game of the season.
Reynolds added 15 points and 11 assists for her 13th career double-double and third 10-assist game of her Titan career.
Kelsey Mitchell also scored in double figures for the third time this season, finishing with a career-high-tying 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
Detroit Mercy had 25 assists for the third time this season and was one 3-pointer off the school record of 16, set earlier this season at Minnesota.
All-Time Series
The Titans have a 13-10 series lead over Oakland in the all-time series that began in 1979. Detroit Mercy is 4-6 in road games against the Golden Grizzlies. The teams split last year with Detroit Mercy earning an 82-77 overtime win at Oakland on Feb. 27, 2016.
Brianne Cohen scored 22 points,
Rosanna Reynolds added 20 points and
Haleigh Ristovski totaled a career-best 17 rebounds in the victory.
Haleigh Ristovski had 21 points and 13 rebounds in the other contest against Oakland last season, a 79-73 loss at Calihan Hall on Jan. 23. Cohen added 21 points with Reynolds totaling 10 points and nine assists.
Scouting Oakland
The Golden Grizzlies are also 2-0 in the Horizon League to open the 2016-17 conference campaign and have an 8-5 overall record under head coach Jeff Tungate. Oakland most recently earned a 104-63 triumph over Valparaiso at home and also crusied past UIC in its league opener. OU is on a three-game win streak.
Taylor Jones leads the squad in scoring at 16.2 points per game off the bench. Taylor Gleason (12.2 ppg), Hannah Little (11.4 ppg) and Sha'Keya Graves (10.8 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. Little leads the league in rebounding at 11.8 boards per game and has a HL-high 51 steals.
Five players have made 15 or more 3-pointers on the season and Oakland is the top scoring team in the HL so far at 82.2 points per game.
Moving On Up
Senior guard
Rosanna Reynolds began the season 15th on the all-time scoring list and is quickly moving up the list as she is up to sixth place with 1,432 points. She is eight points away from fifth place all-time. Reynolds sits in third place in career assists with 470, just 16 back of second place. Reynolds also became the sixth player in school history to start in 100 career games, with her start against Bradley earlier in the year. She is the first player in school history with 1,400 points, 500 rebounds, 450 assists and 100 steals.
Senior
Haleigh Ristovski is also moving up in the Titan record books, having moved into the top 10 in rebounds. She ranks seventh all-time with 690 career caroms and would become the seventh player with 700 boards with 10 more. Ristovski is also ninth in career 3-pointers made (136) and tied-for-ninth all-time in total blocks (78).
Titan NCAA Ranks
Detroit Mercy is among the national leaders in 3-pointers made, ranking 23rd overall at 8.5 per game. The Titans are 16th in the country in defensive rebounding (30.2 per game) and 49th in scoring offense (74.8 points per game).
Individually,
Rosanna Reynolds ranks 28th in the country in assists per game (5.8), 36th in total assists (76) and 54th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.24).
Nicole Urbanick is 62nd in the NCAA in 3-pointers made per game (2.58), while
Brianne Cohen is 52nd in field goal percentage (53.2).
Up Next
The Titans return to the road next week, visiting Wisconsin for games against Green Bay (Jan. 11) and Milwaukee (Feb. 13). Game times are set for 8 p.m. ET at Green Bay and Noon against the Panthers. Both games are set to be broadcast on ESPN3.com.
