University of Toledo
TEMPLE
Rockets Drops 61-51 Decision to Temple at Home
11/26/2006 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats
TOLEDO, OH - Toledo (1-4) dropped its fourth game of the season this afternoon with a 61-51 setback to Temple (3-1) in non-conference action at Savage Hall.
Sophomore Diana Reindl led the Rockets with 13 points and 10 rebounds to record her third double-double of the season and sixth of the career. Reindl was the only UT player in double figures for the second-consecutive contest. Junior Nacole Stocks added a career-high six assists in a losing effort.
UT shot 32.8 (21-of-64) from the field, including 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from three-point land. The Rockets' three-starting guards (Danielle Bishop, Ta'Yani Clark and Nacole Stocks) were a combined 7-of-30 from the floor. Toledo was also outmuscled on the boards, 52-37, including 33-14 in the second half.
"Diana posted another double-double, her third of the season," Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. "She's nearly averaging a double-double for the year which is real good, but you look at our guard scoring and we don't have anyone shooting close to 50 percent on the floor. Someone has got to step up and knock down some shots for us on a consistent basis, and we're not getting there right now."
The game started off sluggish for both teams, as they combined to miss 13 of their first 14 shots from the floor. Toledo scored the contest's first basket at 17:47 when Reindl connected on a jumper. Temple did not convert a field goal until Fatima Maddox hit a jumper almost two minutes later. The Owls then started to get things rolling in their favor and scored 11 of the next 14 points to take an 11-5 lead with 12:13 left.
Trailing by six points, the Rockets began to chip away at the deficit over the next four minutes on the strength of a pair of layups by senior Savannah Werner off the bench to knot the score at 16-16 with 8:02 remaining. It was Werner's first appearance of the season. She had missed the first four games of the season with a leg injury.
UT continued to stay hot shooting from the floor and upped its advantage to 23-19 with 4:40 left. The Rockets' defense also did their part and held Temple to only three points over a period of five-and-half-minutes to build the four-point cushion. Reindl and sophomore Lacey McNulty sparked the stretch offensively with back-to-back offensive putbacks.
As the first half came to a close, Toledo kept to the attack and another offensive putback by Clark followed quickly by a fast-break layup from classmate Olivia Terry gave the home team a 32-27 advantage at the intermission.
Despite the slow start, the Rockets shot a respectable 42.4 percent (14-of-33) from the field, while holding the Owls to just 25.8 percent (8-of-31) shooting. UT's 32 point scored was a season high. Their previous best effort was 22 points on two occasions. It also marked the first time UT led at halftime.
Temple got things rolling to start the second half and scored the first 11 points to retake the lead for good, 38-32. Toledo Bowsher High School graduate Kamesha Hairston sparked the run with six of the 11 points and forced the Rockets into a timeout. The home team finally stopped the Owls' second-stanza opening run on a Stocks' layup with 15:13 left in regulation.
The Owls maintained their momentum and strong play inside from Shenita Landry, Nicole Pittman and Hairston increased their lead to 51-40 with 9:40 remaining in regulation and forced UT into calling another timeout. Toledo could not get anything to fall at the offensive end of the floor, as the Midnight Blue and Gold missed 13 of its first 16 shots in the second stanza to fall behind by double digits.
"We certainly had the opportunity to score in the second half, but once in a while someone has to step up and make a shot," Ehlen said. "We don't have that person right now that's able to do that. We're starting the season extremely cold. We're missing layups and open jumpers and our ball movement isn't where it needs to be. Offensively, we just don't quite understand what we need to do yet as a team."
As badly as the Rockets were shooting in the second stanza, they did not go quietly and a triple by junior Kristi Zeller followed quickly by a three-point play by Werner cut the deficit to 55-49 with 3:58 left. Unfortunately, the closest UT would get the rest of the contest was six points.
"Temple came out and played hard in the second half," Ehlen said. "They just killed us on the boards in the second half. Temple outrebounded us by 19 (33-14) and we were up in the first half (23-21). They totally dominated us."
The Rockets were limited to 21.9 percent (7-of-32) in the final 20 minutes, while the Owls connected on 53.8 percent (14-of-26) of their shots from the floor to record the 10-point victory.
Hairston led Temple with 15 points, including 11 in the second half, while Landry earned her first career double-double with career-highs of 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Toledo returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 29 to battle Wright State in non-conference action. Tipoff from the Ervin J. Nutter Center is slated for 7:00 p.m.
