Final Stats
TOLEDO, OH - Toledo (3-4) played its best game of the season Saturday evening, registering a 76-61 victory against Cleveland State (2-6) at Savage Hall.
The Rockets posted season highs in points, field-goal percentage (52.7 percent, 29-of-55), rebounds (45) and assists (17) to defeat CSU for the seventh-straight time at home. UT entered tonight's game 12th in the Mid-American Conference in scoring offense (54.8 ppg), 10th in assists (11.50 apg) and 11th in field-goal percentage (36.2%).
"Overall stat wise tonight was a good game," Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. "We guarded the threes fairly well, especially in the first half. Hey it's a win we'll take it."
Senior Savannah Werner led three UT players in double figures with a game-high 15 points. Werner finished only 4-of-11 shooting from the field, but was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line to score double digits for the second-straight game. Other Rockets in double figures included sophomore Lacey McNulty (11 pts.) and junior Tamesha Scotton (10 pts., 5 rebs.). All 12 Toledo players saw action tonight and three others tallied at least eight points. UT also received an outstanding performance from junior Nacole Stocks, who tallied eight points, a season-high 10 assists and six caroms. It was the first time a UT player dished out 10 assists in a game since Shekinah Brazzle turned the trick against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 12, 2002.
UT dominated the action inside and outscored CSU in the paint, 44-28. Toledo also registered a 45-36 edge on the boards, including 31-17 on the defensive glass.
The Midnight Blue and Gold started quickly and scored the game's first five points. The teams then traded baskets, before the Rockets went on a 17-0 run to push its advantage to 25-5 with 10 minutes left. CSU was held without a point for almost eight minutes, as the home team established the 20-point cushion. UT pounded the Vikings on the inside behind the strong play of Werner, Scotton, McNulty and freshman Lisa Johnson, who combined to score 24 points in the opening half.
Toledo shot an impressive 53.1 percent (17-of-32) in the opening 20 minutes and held a 43-24 edge at the intermission. A total of eight Rockets scored in the stanza to help establish the 19-point halftime lead. UT also took care of the ball and committed only eight turnovers in the half.
"I liked the way we started tonight," Ehlen said. "We attacked them and played with confidence. I also thought we shot the ball well the whole game and that felt good."
CSU refused to go quietly and opened the second half with an 8-0 run over the first three minutes to cut the deficit to 43-32.
UT's Werner stopped the run with a jumper on its next possession to settle things down. The home team seemed to get things under control from that point, as they scored 11 of the next 14 points to re-establish a nine-point lead, 54-35, with 10:50 left.
As soone as things looked to be under control for UT, the Vikings stormed back and a jumper by Stephanie Youdath followed quickly by a Jessica Roque layup made the 54-39 with 9:08 left and forced the home team into a timeout.
The Rockets responded out of the timeout with a mini 13-7 run over the next five minutes to put the contest away. The closest CSU would get the rest of the way was 13 points.
Jessica Roque and Dominque Butler paced the Vikings (2-6) with 12 points apiece. They were limited to 33.3 percent (22-of-66) shooting from the field, including 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from three-point land.
"I thought the second half got a little sloppy," Ehlen said. "We put them to the line a lot and turned the ball over. That's disappointing but none the less, we kept a comfortable lead and there was a lot of good thing out there tonight."
The Rockets return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 5 when they travel to Rochester, MI to battle Oakland in non-conference action. Tipoff from the Athletics Center `O' Rena is slated for 7:00 p.m.
