University of Toledo
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WESTERN MICHIGAN
Toledo Falls at Western Michigan in Double Overtimes, 87-86
3/2/2006 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats
KALAMAZOO, MI - Toledo (9-17, 4-12 MAC) suffered an 87-86 double-overtime loss at Western Michigan (14-13, 11-5 MAC) in its regular-season finale on Wednesday evening at University Arena.
Juniors Danielle Bishop and Savannah Werner paced four Rockets in double figures with 21 points apiece. Redshirt freshman Diana Reindl had 16 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Olivia Terry chipped in 13.
UT shot 39.5 percent (30-of-76) from the field, including 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from three-point land, and 86.4 percent (19-of-22) from the free-throw line.
"I can't be prouder of my team's performance tonight," Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen said. "We have practically nothing to play for and Western Michigan is pretty good. They got one of the four byes for the conference tournament, and we took them to double overtime on their home court. We showed a lot of heart and determination tonight"
Casey Rost led the Broncos with a game-high 31 points and seven caroms, while Maria Jilian had 22 points and a game-best 10 assists. Carrie Moore helped the WMU cause with 15 points and eight rebounds.
Toledo tallied the game's first six points, while the Broncos did not get on the scoreboard until Nicole Watkins sank two throws with 14:50 remaining. Despite WMU missing its first nine shots from the field, the Rockets could not take advantage and pull away.
UT upped its lead to a game-high 10 points, 12-2, following back-to-back layup by freshman Lacey McNulty with 10:39 left. WMU finally connected on its first field goal when Rost hit a triple with 9:40 showing on the clock. That field goal ignited a 26-10 WMU run and put the lead in the home team's favor at the intermission, 28-22. Rost and Jilian fueled the run and scored 18 of the 26 points.
The Rockets used eight-straight points from Bishop to start the second half, including a pair of triples, to tie the score at 37-37 with 13:56 left in regulation.
The Broncos then looked like they had the game in hand with a 16-6 run over the next six minutes to secure a 53-43 margin and only 7:53 showing on the clock. But the Rockets had other thoughts. UT retaliated with 13-3 run to close the gap to a single point, 57-56, with 4:54 left. They had an opportunity to tie the game, but senior Crystal Young could not convert a three-point opportunity.
The two teams then traded baskets as the half dwindled down, but a pair of deep triples by Terry gave UT a 66-64 lead and just 2:12 left. Not to be outdone, WMU's Rost hit three-out-of-four free throws to give the lead back to the home team. Following a UT turnover and another Rost basket, the Rockets trailed by three and had only 15.2 seconds left. The 15.4 proved to be enough time for Young, who buried a three-pointer to force the first overtime. WMU had one final chance in regulation, as Rost took a three with at the top of the circle that bounced off the rim twice and rolled out.
In the first extra period, UT scored first on a pair of charity tosses by Werner. After the Broncos tied the score at 71-71, UT countered with a layup by Reindl and another triple from Young to make the score 78-76 with 47.2 seconds left. WMU trimmed the deficit to one following two charity tosses by Rost. The Broncos immediately fouled Bishop, who hit both free throws, to make it a three-point game, 80-77, with 28.9 left.
Western Michigan had one chance to force another OT and the Broncos did just that, as Jilian nailed a triple with only 6.1 seconds left. WMU's Shayla Jackson set up the play with a big offensive rebound and found an open Jilian, who made the Rockets pay dearly.
In the second extra session after both teams exchanged baskets, WMU reeled off back-to-back layups by Moore and Jilian to make the score, 86-82, and forced UT into a timeout with 1:59 left. A turnover gave the ball back to WMU on UT's ensuing possession. Both teams then missed opportunities, before UT's Reindl converted a layup with 26.3 left to pull the visitors within a pair, 86-84.
AftToledo applied pressure to Jilian and a steal by Young gave UT hope. She missed the layup off the steal, but an offensive putback by Reindl tied the score with 12.7 left. On WMU's ensuing possession, Jilian fouled with made one of two with 5.4 seconds. UT had one final chance as Young went the length of the floor and tried to make a pass to sophomore Aaron Richmond, but the co-captain stepped out of bounds with only 0.7 left to give the ball back to WMU and secure the victory.
We didn't catch a break tonight, but we didn't make our breaks either," Ehlen said. "At the same time we did not give up.
The Rockets return to action on Saturday, Mar. 4 when they travel to Buffalo of the opening round of the MAC Tournament. Tipoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. at Alumni Arena.
