University of Toledo
Kent State
Kent State Runs Away from Toledo, 60-51
2/19/2005 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
TOLEDO, OH - Toledo had its three-game win streak snapped Saturday afternoon with a 60-51 setback to Kent State at Savage Hall.
Melissa DeGrate paced Kent State's attack with a career-high 25 points. DeGrate was the only KSU player in double digits. The Golden Flashes did have three other players tally at least seven points. Kent State's leading scorer Lindsay Shearer was held to a season-low four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the floor before fouling out.
"Kent State was better in every aspect of today's game," Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. "Their defense put pressure on us and that took us out of our offense."
Senior Karin Hoogendam led two Rockets in double figures with 17 points and nine rebounds, while junior Crystal Young added 10 points and four assists. UT's leading scorer sophomore Danielle Bishop was shut down by KSU's athletic guards and held to a MAC season-low seven points on 2-of-11 shooting from the field, including 1-of-5 from three-point range. Bishop, who finished with a game-high six turnovers, entered today's showdown averaging 16.4 points per game in MAC action.
Toledo shot 37.2 percent (16-of-43) from the field, including 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from three-point range and 65.2 percent (15-of-23) from the charity stripe. The Rockets were also plagued by 23 turnovers, which Kent State turned into 26 points.
"We just didn't execute well enough," Ehlen said. "I thought we were careless with the basketball."
For a majority of the opening half, both teams struggled to find the range. The Rockets sustained nearly a seven-minute drought midway through the first 20 minutes, while the Golden Flashes misfired on 16 of their first 20 shots.
Kent State then started to find its groove and led 18-13 on a jumper by Malika Willoughby with 5:19 left. The Rockets came firing back and four consecutive points from sophomore Savannah Werner cut the deficit to 18-17.
Kent State continued to hold the slim lead until Toledo tied the score at 22-22 on a baseline jumper by freshman Jasmine House with 2:27 remaining. KSU quickly answered scoring the last 12 points of the half, including six by DeGrate to lead 34-22 at the intermission.
DeGrate paced KSU's attack in the opening half with 16 points and three steals. The Golden Flashes held a commanding 24-14 advantage on the boards, including 10-3 on the offensive glass. KSU also picked up its shooting as the half wore on and finished at 40.6 percent (13-of-32).
Toledo did not enjoy the same success from the floor, connecting on only 33.3 percent (7-of-21) in the opening stanza.
In the second half, KSU continued to ride the coattails of DeGrate, who nailed a three-point field goal to push its lead to 39-26 with 15:25 left. The Golden Flashes looked to have the contest in control after an offensive putback by Mallorie Griffith, but the Rockets made one final push and received back-to-back layups by Hoogendam to cut the margin to 53-46 with 3:46 left and force KSU into a timeout.
KSU turned the ball over on its next possession but the Rockets could not take advantage. The Golden Flashes eventually put the game away on a three-point play by La'Kia Stewart to push the lead back to double digits, 56-46, and claim their four-straight win of the season.
"When you are a team having trouble scoring like we are, you have to finish your defensive effort with a good play and we didn't do it enough today," Ehlen said. "We'd play sound defense for 25 seconds and then give up a lay-up or commit a foul to bail them out."
Toledo returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 23 when it travels to Muncie, IN to battle Ball State. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Worthen Arena.
