Toledo Comes From Behind to Defeat Akron on the Road, 61-57

Wednesday, February 15

Akron, OH

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

17-7, 8-5MAC

Akron

9-15, 2-11MAC

Toledo

Akron

Sophomore Kaayla McIntyre scored a career-high 20 points at Akron on Wednesday.

Photo by: Toledo Athletics

Toledo Comes From Behind to Defeat Akron on the Road, 61-57

2/15/2017 10:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Toledo at Akron Final Stats (PDF)

AKRON, OH – Toledo clawed and scratched its way to a 61-57 victory at Akron in Wednesday's Mid-American Conference action in James A. Rhodes Arena. With the win, UT improves to 17-7 overall, 8-5 in the league.

The Rockets outscored the Zips 22-15 in the pivotal fourth quarter to claim their fifth victory in the last six contests. The Midnight Blue & Gold also stopped a six-game losing skid against UA (9-15, 2-11 MAC) in the process.

Sophomore Kaayla McIntyre paced Toledo with a career-high 20 points, followed closely by junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott with 19.

UT also received nine points from freshman Mariella Santucci, seven by sophomore Mikaela Boyd and six from senior Janice Monakana to secure its first win in the "Rubber City" since 2013. In total, Toledo's starting five accounted for all 61 points.

Hannah Plybon led Akron with 18 points, Alex Ricketts had 11 and Megan Sefik contributed 10 off the bench.

The Rockets trailed 40-32 with 2:45 left in the third quarter before going on a 9-2 run to close the margin to a single point with 9:48 remaining in regulation. Bravo-Harriott scored the first four points in the rally, McIntyre accounted for the next four and Boyd finished it off with two to pull the visitors within 42-41.

Following a triple by Akron's Plybon, UT reeled off eight of the next 10 points to assume its first lead since late in the first period, 49-47, at the 6:41 mark. Once again, Toledo did all of its damage in the paint, benefiting from two layups by McIntyre and one each from Boyd and Santucci to prompt UA to call a timeout.

The teams then traded baskets over the ensuing three-plus minutes, before UT rattled off five-straight points to make its advantage 58-54 with 2:16 left in the final period. Monakana registered the initial two points with a pair of free throws, while Bravo-Harriott was credited with a traditional three-point play.

The Zips tallied points on their next couple of possessions to draw within one point late, but UT's Monakana successfully converted an offensive putback with only 13.9 seconds remaining to make the score 60-57.

Following an Akron timeout, the home team was guilty of a turnover and forced to immediately foul Santucci with a mere 11.1 seconds showing on the clock.

The first-year Rocket calmly split a pair of charity tosses to make the final difference 61-57.

UT shot a splendid 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from the floor and 80.0 percent (4-of-5) from the free throw line in the final 10 minutes to complete the comeback and hand UA its fifth straight loss.

After a back-and-forth opening period, the Zips broke the game open with a 15-4 run to create a 24-17 lead at the 3:51 mark. Five different UA players scored in the quarter-opening burst to force UT to burn two timeouts in a span of two-plus minutes.

The Rockets just could not find their offensive rhythm and were held without a field goal over the final 4:44 in the first half. As a result, they were limited to a season-low six points in the stanza and found themselves down 24-19 at the intermission.

UT began its comeback with a quick 8-3 rally early in the third period to cut the deficit to 35-31 at the 4:33 mark. They did all of its damage down low, receiving two baskets from McIntyre and one each by Bravo-Harriott and Monakana to make it a two-possession difference and set the stage for an action-packed final quarter-and-a-half.

For the game, Toledo shot 37.7 percent (23-of-61) from the field and a respectable 76.5 percent (13-of-17) from the charity stripe. The Rockets scored 40 of their 61 points in the paint and finished with a sizable 44-34 edge in rebounding.

Santucci and Bravo-Harriott paced UT's efforts on the glass with nine caroms each, while McIntyre had seven.

The Rockets will remain on the road and venture to MAC West Division co-leader Central Michigan (19-6, 11-2 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 18. The opening tip versus the Chippewas is scheduled for Noon in McGuirk Arena and will be televised on the American Sports Network (ASN), as well as streamed on ESPN3.

UT and CMU will compete for the second time this year and the 79th time overall. The Rockets claimed a 74-72 home victory over the Chippewas on Jan. 28. Toledo leads the all-time series, 48-30, and has won the last five meetings against its division foe.

Toledo also maintains a slim 19-16 advantage in games played in Mount Pleasant, and has won four of the last five meetings away from home. A season ago, UT secured an 81-79 overtime road victory in McGuirk Arena (Feb. 20).