DETROIT (11/15/2018) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball squad plays the first of five games against Mid-American Conference teams Friday, hosting Miami for a 7 p.m. contest from Calihan Hall. Fans who bring a canned good to the game gain admission into the contest for just $3.
The game may also be seen live via ESPN-Plus for a monthly subscription with play-by-play man
Denny Kapp calling all of the action.
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Last Time Out
The Titans held their third-straight opponent to under 60 points, leading for the first three quarters in a 52-43 setback to Loyola on the road Monday night. Detroit Mercy jumped out to a 12-2 lead on the strength of four 3-pointers and led at the half, 22-19, and after three quarters, 36-31.
Three Titans scored eight points with
Paige Bellman,
Brittney Jackson and
Zoey Oatis all reaching the mark. Bellman added nine rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
Sophia DiMilia played in her first collegiate action for the Titans, sinking her first career shot -- sinking a 3-pointer in the first quarter. DiMilia had five points and classmate
Jess Bicknell also scored her first collegiate points with a bucket in the third quarter.
Oatis, Tobel Lead Titans in Season-Opening Win
Junior
Zoey Oatis notched her first career double-double and sophomore
Lexey Tobel scored a career-high 23 points as the Titans led wire-to-wire in a 68-60 victory over UM-Dearborn in the 2018-19 season opener.
Oatis had 16 points, 11 rebounds (six offensive), five blocks and three steals in the victory. Tobel was 9-of-11 from the free throw line and also sank two 3-pointers for the Titans. She added a career-best five assists and five rebounds. Senior guard
Brittney Jackson added 13 points, making seven free throws.
Saved By The Bell-man
Freshman forward
Paige Bellman has been a force on the boards in the first three games, totaling nine in her Detroit Mercy debut, grabbing 11 caroms at Ohio State and then nine more at Loyola on Monday. She also leads the team with eight steals and is tied for the team-lead with
Zoey Oatis with six blocks.
Her nine rebounds in the season opener were the most in a debut by a Titan freshman since Shareta Brown grabbed 10 rebounds in 2011.
Bellman is averaging 9.7 rebounds per game so far in 2018-19 and ranks third overall in the Horizon League. She has three blocks in back-to-back contests, at both Ohio State and Loyola, adding four steals at Loyola.
Oatis Notches First Career Double-Double
Junior
Zoey Oatis notched her first career double-double in a season-opening victory over UM-Dearborn, totaling 16 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.
Oatis' stat line of five blocks with a double-double was the first of its kind since Feb. 1, 2007, when former Titan India Bruster had 12 points, 15 boards and five blocks against Milwaukee.
Both the 11 rebounds and five blocks were career-bests for Oatis, who is averaging 11.0 points after three games, second on the squad. Oatis led the Titans in field goal percentage a year ago at 48.7 percent (56-for-115). Oatis has 11 offensive rebounds in three games and in her Titan career has 43 offensive boards and 42 defensive rebounds.
Action Jackson
Senior point guard
Brittney Jackson has scored in double figures in two of three contests in 2018-19. She sank seven free throws and scored 13 points in the opener and followed it with 11 more points at Ohio State. She sank two 3-pointers for eight points at Loyola.
Jackson leads active Titans with 19 career games scoring 10 or more points. She is the active Titan leader in 3-pointers made (90, 19th all-time in school history), assists (147) and points (516), surpassing the 500-point plateau against Ohio State.
Lexey Leads in Scoring
Sophomore forward
Lexey Tobel scored a career-high 23 points in the season opener, which was also her first career 20-point game. Like her freshman season, she has been efficient from the free throw line, sinking 13-of-16 shots (81.3 percent) so far on the season.
Tobel has led Detroit Mercy in scoring in the first two contests this season, adding 12 points at Ohio State. She is averaging a team-high 14.0 points per game after two contests and also has team-bests in assists (10) and 3-pointers (3).
Block Party
The Titans led the Horizon League in blocks in 2017-18, swatting away 4.0 shots per game and totaling 120 blocks in 30 contests.
Titan junior forward
Ashley Miller ranked 10th in the Horizon League last season with 0.8 blocks per game and tied-for-ninth in total blocks with 25.
During coach Scott's second season at the helm of the Titans in 2016-17, Detroit Mercy recorded 130 blocks, which was the most since the 1996-97 campaign and the sixth most in team history.
Detroit Mercy has 373 blocks total in coach Scott's tenure, including three-straight seasons of 100 or more. The Titans opened 2018-19 with eight blocks against UM-Dearborn, including five from
Zoey Oatis and have a league-high 17 after three games.
Titans Ink Five to National Letters of Intent (NLI)
The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball program and head coach
Bernard Scott has announced the signing of five student-athletes, who all inked their National Letters of Intent (NLI) this week. The five are set to join the Titans next summer prior to the 2019-20 academic school year.
The five signees are
Annika Corcoran (Chardon, Ohio / Gilmour Academy),
Bridgid Fox (Altoona, Pa. / Altoona Area High School),
Markyia McCormick (Canal Winchester, Ohio / Canal Winchester High School),
Abbie McDowell (Tecumseh, Mich. / Tecumseh High School) and
Sylare Starks (Fort Wayne, Ind. / Homestead High School). Read more about the five in the
release on DetroitTitans.com.
Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to the road for a Monday contest at the University of Michigan. It'll be the second contest against a Big Ten foe this season. The opening tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor. The game may be seen live via Big Ten Network Plus.
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