DETROIT (1/17/2020) -- The University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team returns to the court Saturday to close out a four-game home-stand as the Titans welcome Youngstown State to Calihan Hall for a 1 p.m. contest. The game may be seen live on ESPN-Plus with the Voice of the Titans, Denny Kapp, calling all of the action.

Detroit Mercy moved to 2-4 in Horizon League play with a 70-59 victory over Cleveland State in Detroit on Thursday. The Titans gained the lead in the second quarter and never looked back in earning their first home win of the season. The Titans tallied a season-best 22 assists in the game and shot 47-percent in the victory.

Admission into Saturday's game is FREE for all fans.

On The Court:

• Detroit Mercy tallied 22 assists in Thursday's 70-59 win over Cleveland State, the most for the program since 25 helpers in a victory over UIC on Dec. 31, 2016.
• Freshman Sylare Starks scored in double figures for the 10th time on Thursday and leads all HL freshmen in scoring at 9.6 points per game.
• Freshman guard Annika Corcoran had a Titan season-high six assists in the last game and is averaging 3.2 assists in six league contests.
• Senior Zoey Oatis ranks second in the Horizon League in steals per game (1.9) and ninth in offensive rebounding in the conference (2.1 per game).
• Detroit Mercy shot 47.4-percent on Thursday which was the second-highest mark of the season and seventh time shooting above 40-percent in 2019-20.
• The Titans have earned three Horizon League Freshman of the Week honors from three different players -- Sylare Starks (Nov. 25), Bridgid Fox (Dec. 16) and Markyia McCormick (Dec. 23). It's the first time in league history that three different players from the same team have earned the Freshman of the Week honor in the same season.
• More than half of the scoring output in 2019-20 has been by Titan true freshmen with 54-percent of the scoring achieved by the five Detroit Mercy freshmen (539 points).
• Four Titan freshmen have already surpassed 100 career points through 17 games -- Starks (164 points), McCormick (143), Fox (106) and Annika Corcoran (104).
• The Titans are meeting YSU for the 46th time in women's basketball (YSU holds a slim series advantage, 23-22).
• The Titans are one of the youngest teams in NCAA Division I with 10 underclassmen (five freshmen, five sophomores) and holds an average age of 19.3 on its roster.
• Head coach Bernard Scott is in his fifth season at the helm of the Titans and has led them to two top-four finishes and a Horizon League championship game in 2017.
• The Titans were picked to finish in ninth place in the 2019-20 Horizon League Preseason Poll.

Scouting Youngstown State:

• Youngstown State is 10-7 overall and 3-3 in Horizon League play after earning a 79-74 victory at Oakland on Thursday. YSU had dropped three-straight HL games before its win over the Golden Grizzlies. Prior to that three-game skid, the Penguins had won seven of their previous eight contests. YSU is 3-6 in road games.
• Former Titan standout player and head coach Autumn Rademacher '97 is an assistant coach with YSU. Rademacher played at Detroit Mercy from 1993-97 and ranks fourth in school history in total points (1,686), fourth in 3-pointers made (201) and fifth in total assists (439). She was part of the 1996-97 MCC Championship squad that advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
• The Penguins are led in scoring by junior Chelsea Olson, who has started all 17 games and leads to team at a 10.9 points per game clip.
• Junior McKenah Peters also averages in double figures at 10.6 points per game.
• Olson also leads the team in rebounding (8.0 rpg) and assists per game (2.9). Olson also has 19 blocks.
• Freshman guard Maddie Schires has a team-best 39 triples made and YSU is first in the conference in 3-pointers made per game (8.0).

Last Time Out
The Titans shot 47-percent from the floor, assisted on 22 of 27 field goals and never trailed in the second half in a 70-59 home victory over Cleveland State on Thursday. Detroit Mercy shut down the Vikings in the fourth quarter, out-scoring CSU 12-6 in the frame and holding them scoreless in the final 5:30 of the contest as the Titans closed the game on an 8-0 run.

It was a balanaced scoring effort with six players scoring better than seven points, but none more than 13. Sylare Starks and Markyia McCormick each had 13 points, while Bridgid Fox added 12 points and eight rebounds. Maxine Moore and Annika Corcoran both added eight points, while Corcoran dished out a career-high six assists and Moore tallied seven rebounds.

Freshmen Scoring
A bulk of the scoring output for the Titans this season have come from their freshmen class with the five true Detroit Mercy freshmen scoring 53-percent of the points in the 2019-20 season. Titan freshmen have accounted for 539 of the 998 points scored this season (54.0%) or 31.7 points of the 58.7 points scored per game. 

Sylare Starks leads the team and all Horizon League freshmen at 9.6 points per game, while classmate Markyia McCormick is second on the squad and fourth among league rookies in scoring at 8.4 points per game. Bridgid Fox (6.2 ppg) and Annika Corcoran (6.1 ppg) are fifth and sixth on the squad in scoring. Further, 67 of the 92, 3-pointers made this season have been by the freshmen class -- Starks (25), Corcoran (18), McCormick (17), Abbie McDowell (6) and Fox (1). Four Titan freshmen have score more than 100 career points already with Starks (164), McCormick (143), Fox (106) and Corcoran (104) all surpassing the plateau in their first 17 games.

Up Next
Detroit Mercy returns to the road for its next three outings, beginning with next weekend's trip to Ohio and Kentucky for contests against Wright State and Northern Kentucky. The Titans play the Raiders Thursday evening at 7 p.m. before heading to NKU for a Saturday contest at 2 p.m. against the Norse.