Final Stats
TOLEDO, OH - In a battle of the Mid-American Conference's most dominate teams over the past three-plus years, the University of Toledo bested Ball State, 91-69, before 2,201 fans in Savage Hall.
UT and BSU have had a hold on the MAC West Division as of late with each team claiming two divisional titles. The Rockets are a league-best 28-12 (.700) vs. all West Division competition in the past three-plus seasons, while the Cardinals are second-best at 24-13 (.649).
With the victory, the Rockets improve to 9-9 overall on the season and 5-2 in the MAC, while the setback drops the Cardinals to 10-9 and 5-3 in the league. As a result of tonight's win and the culmination of Bowling Green's loss at Eastern Michigan, the Rockets find themselves alone in second-place in the MAC-West.
"We're starting to look like a basketball team," said Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen, whose team improved to 4-4 at Savage Hall this season. "The last time we played at home, I wasn't very happy. Since then, we have won two straight and its good to win one at home and dominate like we did. We're starting to play with a lot more confidence. It always helps if you could put the ball into the basket like we did tonight."
Senior Kelly Walker led four Rockets in double figures with 21 points. It is the third game in a row Walker has tallied at least 20 points. She has led Toledo, or shared the team lead, in scoring in eight of the 18 games this season. The two-time team captain has scored 20 or more points on nine occasions, including a team-leading six times in 2003-04.
"This win is very important for us to keep our momentum going in the right direction," Walker said. "Each home win gives us more momentum and as far as standings go, it keeps us in league contention. Every game we play from here in is equally important."
Other Rockets in double figures included junior Karin Hoogendam (18 pts.), senior Julie Hillis (14 pts.) and freshman Danielle Bishop (10 pts.). The Rockets shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the field, including a blistering 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the final 20 minutes.
The Rockets also cashed in at the charity stripe, converting a season-high 30-of-37 attempts, while holding the Cardinals to 15-of-22. Prior to tonight's game, Toledo had attempted a league-low 68 free throws in six MAC games. In the battle of the boards, UT held a 42-33 advantage, including a 16-11 margin on the offensive glass.
"We've been trying to attack the basket more and get to the free throw line more," Ehlen said. "By shooting 37 free throws in tonight's game, I think that is a good sign. Before this game, we were last in the league in free throw attempts so that should help that stat out and move us up the ladder a little bit."
The 91 points scored is the highest point total of the season and the most in a MAC game since UT's 95-67 win against Akron on Feb. 13, 1999, a span of 72 games.
"One of main differences in the game was our ability to attack the basket, get high percentage shots and convert, and if we did not convert, we were able to get to the foul line," Ehlen said. "If we can put ourselves into position to get high-percentage shots every night, I feel that's going to help our players with their confidence shooting the basketball."
Kate Endress led four Cardinals in double figures with a game-high 26 points. Other BSU players in double digits included Jessica Reiter (14 pts.), Tina Bolte (11 pts.) and Johna Goff (10 pts.). Reiter also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season.
"I thought we played pretty good defense with the exception of Kate (Endress)," Ehlen said. "She's pretty hard to stop, and we didn't do much to stop her, but we did a good job on everybody else."
Toledo returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 31 when the Rockets host Northern Illinois. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Hall.
