University of Toledo
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Toledo Falls at Northern Illinois, 69-57
3/1/2003 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DeKALB, IL - Northern Illinois erased a nine-point halftime deficit Saturday night to register a 69-57 victory over Toledo in Mid-American Conference action before 2,142 fans in the brand new Convocation Center.
With the loss, the Rockets fall to 18-8 overall, 11-4 in the MAC, while the Huskies improve to 12-14, 8-7 in the league.
More importantly, the Rockets fall into second place in the West Division standings with only one regular-season game remaining. Front-runner Ball State (18-7, 12-3 MAC) can wrap up the division title and the number one seed in the conference tournament with a win over Eastern Michigan tomorrow.
Tonight's defeat was the first for the Rockets in 12 games when leading at the half.
"I just think we lost our composure, our focus and the intensity we played with in the first half," Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. "I'm disappointed because it derails our chances of winning a regular-season championship, unless Ball State loses."
Northern Illinois shot 60.9 percent from the field (14-of-23) after the intermission, while Toledo connected on only 25 percent (7-of-28) of its field goals en route to outscoring UT, 45-24 in the second half. Toledo came into tonight's action outscoring its opponents after halftime by an average of 6.6 points.
After falling behind early, UT found its groove in the first half and led by as many as 12 points, 33-21, before NIU's Monique Davis drained a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the team's to the locker room with UT in front, 33-24.
UT junior Kelly Walker was on fire in the first 20 minutes, scoring 16 points on 6-fo-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. The second half was not as kind for the captain from Sterling, MI, who finished with a game-high 22 points, but was limited to 2-of-9 shooting and 0-of-6 from beyond the arc.
"In the second half, I didn't have as many open looks," Walker said. "I had a few, but I wasn't able to knock them down."
The only other Rocket in double figures was junior Mary Blessing, who finished with 16 points.
In the second half, Toledo continued to hold the lead until Lindsay Secrest drained a three-pointer to give NIU its first lead since 11:11 remained in the first half. From there the Huskies outscored the Rockets, 19-9, to snap a two-game losing streak.
NIU was led by Jennifer Youngblood and Secrest, who each finished with 15 points apiece. Youngblood did most of her damage in the second half, tallying 13 points. Also scoring in double figures for the Huskies was Monique Davis (14 pts.) and Kristan Knake (12 pts.).
The Rockets close out the regular season at home on Tuesday, Mar. 4, hosting Central Michigan. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Hall. Tuesday's finale will also be the final home appearance for seniors Teresa Kahle and injured senior Tia Davis.
