Final Stats

TOLEDO, OH - Bowling Green (11-5, 4-1 MAC) shot nearly 61 percent in the second half and overcame a four-point halftime deficit to defeat Toledo, 57-54, in Mid-American Conference action before 2,501 fans in Savage Hall.

The setback snapped a four-game home win streak for the Rockets against their arch-rivals. It was also the first win for Bowling Green in Savage Hall since 1998.

"We watched a team come into our arena and shoot 61 percent in the second half," Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. " I can't tell you how badly that makes me feel. You have to give BG credit, though, because they played a fine game. They were the better team tonight. They attacked us better and played smarter down the stretch."

Stefanie Wenzel led the Falcons with 16 points, including 12 in the second half. Ali Mann also tallied double figures for the Orange and Brown finishing with 13 points and a team-leading eight rebounds. BGSU connected on 14-of-23 shots in the second half to bounce back from a 30-26 halftime deficit and finished the game at 43.6 percent (24-of-55).

Senior Kelly Walker led the Rockets (7-9, 3-2 MAC) with a game-high 21 points. Walker drained 6-of-13 shots from the floor, including 5-of-11 from three-point range. Entering tonight's action, Walker had been struggling shooting 30.3 percent (30-of-99) from the field, including 25.4 (16-of-63) from beyond the arc over the last 10 games. It was her fourth 20-plus point effort of the season for the two-time team captain.

Fellow senior Julie Hillis finished with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. It was her second-double double of the season and the third of her career. The Rockets also received a good performance from sophomore reserve Amanda Davis, who finished with eight points.

"Kelly played well tonight," Ehlen said. "She shot well for the first time in a long time, which was a good sign. I also thought Amanda (Davis) came off the bench and battled well for us."

Toledo's leading scorer junior Karin Hoogendam, who came into tonight's game averaging 11.7 points per game, was limited to a season-low three points in 15 minutes. The St. Catharines, ONT native was held to 1-of-7 shooting from the floor and two rebounds. She only played three minutes in the first half after picking up her second foul with 16:45 left in the first stanza.

The Rockets finished the contest shooting 35.5 percent (22-of-62) from the floor, including 22.7 percent (5-of-22) from three-point range. UT did do a good job on the boards outrebounding BGSU, 40-33. It was only the fourth time in 16 games the Rockets won the battle on the boards.

With Toledo clinging to its four-point halftime lead, freshman Danielle Bishop opened the second half with a jumper to make the score 32-26 and equal its largest lead of the game.

Wenzel quickly responded with five-straight points to make it a one-point game, 32-31.

After a pair of free throws by Walker, Wenzel buried another triple from the corner to knot the score at 34-34 and 17:31 remaining on the clock.

Back and forth the two teams would go for the next nine minutes with neither squad gaining more than a three-point advantage.

UT's Walker drained her fifth triple of the contest to break a 50-50 tie with 6:29 remaining. That jumper by Walker would be UT's final field goal of the contest.

The score would remain the same until Liz Honegger nailed a trey to again tie the score, 53-53.

After Hoogendam split a pair of free throws to give UT a 54-53 lead with 3:26 remaining, BGSU's Megan Thorburn scored a layup to give the Falcons a lead they would not surrender with 3:02 left in regulation.

Mann's layup off a Wenzel pass with 21 seconds left was the lone scoring in the game's final three minutes to make the final, 57-54.

"Bowling Green did a nice job switching to a zone late in the game, which put us on our heels," Ehlen said. "To make matters worse, we didn't have anybody step up for us. We had our opportunities to win a game on our own court and we let it get away."

Toledo returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 24 to battle Ohio in Athens. Game time is slated for 3:00 p.m. in The Convo.