University of Toledo
Michigan
Toledo Ousts Michigan in Overtime, 61-55
11/26/2005 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
ANN ARBOR, MI - Toledo defeated Michigan 61-55 in overtime Saturday night in non-conference action at Crisler Arena. The Rockets (2-1) trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and by seven with under five minutes to play in regulation, but the Midnight Blue and Gold stormed back to force overtime and hold U-M (2-3) without a single field goal in the extra session.
"We played with great focus and hit some big shots when it counted most," said Head Coach Mark Ehlen, who improved to 5-9 in overtime contests at Toledo. "But I thought our defense was the difference. We rebounded well and did not give them too many easy looks, especially in the second half."
Sophomore Jasmine House paced the Rockets with a career-high 18 points, to go along with five rebounds and five steals. Junior Danielle Bishop also finished in double figures with 14 points.
"This was Jasmine's best game in a Toledo uniform," Ehlen said. "She played with a lot of passion. We knew she had it in her and hopefully this is a start of big things for her."
UT shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field and an impressive 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from three-point range to end a two-game losing skid to the Wolverines. The Rockets also connected on 66.7 percent (12-of-18) from the charity stripe, including 83.3 percent (5-of-6) in overtime. UT won the battle on the boards, 43-42.
In the extra session, House's fourth three-pointer of the night with 2:57 left put the Rockets ahead for good, and Bishop increased the lead to 56-53 with two free throws after a technical foul on the Michigan bench. The ensuing possession resulted in another Bishop jumper as the shot clock expired to push the lead to 58-53 with 1:13 to go. Michigan, which was held without a field goal in overtime, could only manage two more free throws in the last minute, while the Rockets split two pair of free throws to make it a six-point decision.
"We hit some big shots in overtime," Bishop said. "Coming into their house and winning is awesome."
Toledo jumped out to an early 5-4 lead following a short jumper by Bishop with 17:11 left in the first half. That would be the Rockets' lone field goal for the next five minutes, as the Wolverines built a 15-5 cushion.
Junior Allison Lindborg ended the drought at 12:11 left and jump started the Rockets as their reserves scored 10-consecutive points, including back-to-back triples by sophomores Kristi Zeller and Olivia Terry, to knot the score at 15-15 with 8:37 remaining in the opening half.
The teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes, before a three-point field by House gave UT its first lead of the game, 20-19, with 3:28 remaining. The Rockets continued to push the action and back-to-back layups by Bishop gave UT a 24-21 lead and forced UM into a timeout. As the first half came to a close, UM got a basket by Janelle Cooper to make the score 24-23 at the intermission.
In the second half, the Rockets turned the ball over on their first four possessions and Michigan knocked down a pair of three-point field goals and built a 38-32 lead with 12:35 left.
The Rockets continued to trail by at least four points until a layup followed quickly by a pair of free throws by House cut Michigan's lead to 49-46 with 3:45 left.
The Wolverines countered with a basket by Benson to build a five-point lead, before a pair of free throws by senior Crystal Young and a layup by senior Monique Lloyd closed the gap to 51-50 with 1:00 left.
On Michigan's ensuing possession, Kristie Clement shot an air ball out of bounds. Young drew a foul on UT's trip down the floor and split a pair of free throws to knot the score at 51-51 with 29.8 left in regulation. The Wolverines had four chances at a game-winning basket in the last seconds of regulation, but none found the mark. Helvey's first attempt fell short, but Toledo lost the ball out of bounds to give U-M another shot. Benson took an inbound pass on the blocks, but her shot was too strong. Ta'Shia Walker collected the errant shot and fired two consecutive attempts off the side of the backboard as time expired.
"Anytime you beat a Big Ten school is something special," Ehlen said.
Michigan was held to 32.8 percent (21-of-64) shooting from the field, including 15.0 percent (3-of-20) from beyond the arc. Walker led UM with nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Toledo returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 29 when it continues its season-long, four-game road swing at St. Francis (PA). Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m. at the Maurice Stokes Athletic Center.
