ROYAL OAK, Mich. (4/1/2019) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball program and fourth-year head coach Bernard Scott held its year-end, 2018-19 team banquet on Saturday from Pasquale's in Royal Oak.

Scott and his coaching staff handed out several team awards during the banquet and honored the two Detroit Mercy seniors in guards Brittney Jackson and Lola Ristovski. Four awards were handed out honoring several of the top performers on the team from 2018-19.

Junior wing Zoey Oatis (Detroit, Mich. / Cass Tech) earned two awards, receiving Defensive Player of the Year honors as well as the Academic Excellence award. Oatis, who holds a 3.65 GPA and is currently enrolled in Health Services Administration, has had a 3.0 GPA or better in each semester at the University. She was named a Presidential Ambassador at Detroit Mercy prior to the 2018-19 school year.

On the court, Oatis was a top performer all season long. She led the team with a career-high 49 steals and ranked fourth in the Horizon League in steals per game (1.8). She was one of four players in the league to rank in the top-15 in both steals and blocks as she had 18 rejections on the year, averaging 0.7 per contest. She had 14 games of multiple steals, including five games of four or more steals. Oatis also led Detroit Mercy in field goal percentage (43.5), while scoring a career-high 8.1 points per game, second on the squad.

Freshman forward Alex Burr (Topeka, Ind. / Westview) was named the team's Most Improved player. Burr, who played in 28 of 29 games during the season, started the final seven games of the season, averaging 6.4 points per game over the final 10 contests, scoring six or more points in seven of those 10 games. She shot 49.2 percent (30-for-61) for the team overall and ranked third on the squad in blocks shots with 15, averaging 2.7 points and 1.9 rebounds total for her freshman campaign.

Freshman guard Jess Bicknell (Saginaw, Mich. / Heritage) earned the team's Freshman of the Year honor following a season in which she led all Detroit Mercy players in scoring during league games at 8.2 points per game. Bicknell led all Titan freshmen in scoring overall at 7.6 points per game, scoring in double figures nine times. Bicknell was also second on the team in assists (37) and fourth in steals (25), recording multiple assists in 12 games and in the final eight of the 2018-19 campaign.

Both Jackson and Ristovski were honored following their four-year careers with the Titans. Both players were integral parts of the 2016-17 squad that won 18 games and made a run to the 2017 Horizon League Championship game. Both players played more than 110 games during their Detroit Mercy careers and were part of the first class that came in under head coach Bernard Scott prior to his first season in 2015-16.

Jackson finished her career 12th all-time in 3-pointers made (112), adding more than 700 points and 200 assists during her Titan career. Jackson was 12th in the Horizon League in assists per game (2.5) in 2018-19, leading Detroit Mercy in scoring at a career-high 8.3 points, while also dishing out a career-best 67 assists. Jackson was the only player on the team to start all 18 league games in 2018-19 and had at least three assists in 15 contests.

Ristovski played in 116 games (top-20 in program history) during her Titan career, including 30 games in a season three times. She concluded her career seventh all-time in free-throw percentage (77.6), sinking 101 foul shots all-time. She led Detroit Mercy this season at 84.2 percent (32-for-38). Ristovski finished top-30 all-time with 37 career blocks, while totaling 300 points, 200 rebounds, 100 assists and 50 steals in the red, white and blue.

The Detroit Mercy women's basketball team would like to thank all of their longtime and steadfast fans, alumni, parents and friends for their continued support of the team. Stay tuned all summer long for updates on the squad as the Titans prepare for the 2019-20 school year.