DETROIT (2/7/2019) -- Following a four-game road swing, the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team returns home for just one game this weekend, hosting Metro Series rival Oakland on Saturday. The 1 p.m. contest from Calihan Hall opens a stretch of three-straight from the friendly confines.
It's the second meeting between the two teams this season after a furious Detroit Mercy rally fell short in a 74-67 defeat in Rochester earlier this season on Jan. 4. Saturday's game is Superhero Day from Calihan Hall with the first 500 fans receiving free Titan superhero capes prior to the contest.
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Quick Hits
• The Titans are 15-13 all-time against Oakland, which includes a 3-4 mark under head coach
Bernard Scott. Detroit Mercy went 3-1 in the first four games under Scott, but have fell in the past three meetings, including at Oakland on Jan. 4.
• Detroit Mercy has had nine different players lead the team in scoring this season. A trio of Titans have tied for the scoring lead or led Detroit Mercy in scoring this season with five each --
Jess Bicknell,
Brittney Jackson and
Zoey Oatis.
• The red, white and blue have tallied 183 steals this season, the most for a Titan team in any of the four seasons under head coach
Bernard Scott. Detroit Mercy ranks fourth in the Horizon League in steals per game (8.3).
• Senior guard
Brittney Jackson leads the team in scoring (9.5 points per game) and assists per game (2.3).
Scouting Oakland
Oakland is 1-10 in the Horizon League and 4-18 overall after a pair of losses last weekend on the road to Youngstown State (76-61) and Cleveland State (98-90). The Golden Grizzlies received a Freshman of the Week honor with guard Kahlaijah Dean averaging 26.0 points per game and hitting on 9-of-17 from beyond the arc in two games last weekend. It was the first weekly honor of the season for the Golden Grizzlies.
Dean is among the freshman scoring leaders at 10.9 points per game. Senior Taylor Jones leads OU and ranks fourth in the Horizon League at 13.5 points per game. She also ranks second in the league at 4.1 assists per contest and notched a triple-double in her last game at Cleveland State (18-10-10). Chloe Guingrich is the top rebounder on the team at 7.0 caroms per game.
All-Time Series
The Titans are 15-13 all-time against Oakland in the series that began back in 1979. Detroit Mercy is 8-5 in home games from Calihan Hall.
Under head coach
Bernard Scott, the Titans are 3-4 against the Golden Grizzlies. Detroit Mercy won three of the first four meetings in Scott's tenure, but OU has won the last three games. The Titans rallied in the last meeting, falling 74-67 on the road on Jan. 4.
Pink Game / NGWSD
The University of Detroit Mercy Department of Athletics and the women's basketball program is set to host its Pink Game and National Girls & Women in Sports Day on Saturday, Feb. 16. Admission into the game is
FREE. Registration for NGWSD begins at 10 a.m. with the clinic starting at 11 a.m. from Calihan Hall.
Both the Pink Game is a long-standing traditions of the Titan women's basketball program under head coach
Bernard Scott. The Titans have raised more than $7,000 through Pink Game initiatives in the past three years for Gilda's Club and are looking to raise more than $5,000 in this year's game against IUPUI. Donations may be made at any Titan basketball home game in February and fans may also buy raffle tickets for Pink Game items.
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Up Next
Detroit Mercy is home in each of the next two contests -- hosting UIC on Thursday, Feb. 14 for Valentine's Day. The Titans then welcome IUPUI to Detroit for a 1 p.m. game Saturday, marking Detroit Mercy's Pink Game, as well as National Girls & Women in Sports Day for 2019.
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