University of Toledo
NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Toledo Prevails at Northern Illinois, 64-55
2/19/2005 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DeKALB, IL - Toledo utilized clutch runs to end both halves Wednesday night at Northern Illinois and escaped with a 64-55 victory at the Convocation Center.
The Rockets tallied an 18-2 run in the first half and a 13-4 burst to finish regulation and improved to 12-11 overall on the season and 8-4 in the Mid-American Conference.
"This was a hard-earned road win," Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. "I thought defensively we played pretty well, and we were able to knock down some shots in key situations."
Sophomore Danielle Bishop led the Rockets with a game-high 25 points, nine rebounds and three steals. It is the fifth time this season Bishop has tallied at-least 20 points in a game. Also finishing in double figures for UT were sophomore Savannah Werner (13 pts.) and freshman Olivia Terry (12 pts.).
"Danielle stepped-up her play in a big way tonight," Ehlen said. "She was a scorer for us."
Toledo shot 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from the field, including 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three-point range and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the charity stripe. The Rockets also won the battle of the boards, 35-33.
After spotting NIU an early 10-2 lead, the Rockets rode the coattail of Bishop, who scored their first nine points and had a steal and an assist on a fast-break layup by junior Crystal Young to cut the Huskies' margin to 12-11 with 14:11 left in the first half.
The score would remain in NIU's favor until Terry ignited the Rockets' end-of-the-first-half rally with eight straight points, including back-to-back triples to give UT a 27-21 cushion with 7:05 remaining.
UT continued to build its lead and a three-point play by Werner made the score 32-21 with 4:32 left. Werner tallied nine of her career-high 13 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Toledo held the Huskies without a point for nearly 10:30 during the run, despite only shooting 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from the field and led 34-23 at the half.
To start the second half, the Rockets pushed the action and received another three-point play by Werner to lead 41-33 with 14:52 left.
As the half progressed, NIU slowly cut into the lead and after back-to-back three point field goals by Stephanie Raymond, the UT lead had dwindled to 48-43, but the Rockets quickly retaliated with a Terry triple.
NIU once again came roaring back and tied the score at 51-51 on a three-point play by Raymond with 5:02 left in regulation. But from there, the Rockets seized control of the contest with the game-clinching 13-4 run to stretch their winning streak to three-straight games. UT retook the lead for good, 53-51, on an off-balanced jumper by Young with the shot clock running down. Eight more points from Bishop quickly followed to make the final, 64-55.
"We had a big lead and blew it, but we buckled down and found a way to win," Ehlen said. "We also got big runs to end both halves and those were the difference."
Jamie Wilson led the Huskies with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Raymond had 14 points and five steals in 40 minutes.
Toledo returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 19 when it hosts Kent State at noon. Saturday's contest can be seen live on FoxSports Ohio and Comcast Local (Michigan).
