University of Toledo
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WESTERN MICHIGAN
Toledo Holds Off Western Michigan in MAC Action, 76-72
1/17/2007 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Final Stats
KALAMAZOO, MI - Toledo withstood a ferocious second-half charge by Western Michigan and claimed a 76-72 victory in University Arena. The Mid-American Conference victory improves the Rockets to 6-11 overall, 2-3 in the league.
UT led by 15 points at the intermission, but had its advantage cut to two points on four occasions in the second half. The Midnight Blue and Gold made just enough stops defensively and hit 9-of-12 free throws in the waning moments to preserve the win.
"Every game seems to come down to the wire with Western Michigan," said Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen, whose squad lost two contests to WMU last season by a combined three points. "Tonight I didn't want it to be that way since we got off to the good start, but sure enough down the stretch they made their run. Fortunately our returnees stepped up and we pulled it out."
Senior Danielle Bishop led three Rockets in double figures with a game-high 24 points, including 18 points in the second half. Classmate Savannah Werner added 17 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore Diana Reindl chipped in 14 points and eight caroms. UT also received a quality effort from freshman Allie Clifton, who tallied five points, team-high five assists and three rebounds.
"This was the second game in a row where Werner, Bishop and Reindl have done well for us," Ehlen said. "It is no secret that we've won two games in a row and those three have played well."
Toledo shot an impressive 45.6 percent (26-of-57) from the field, including 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from three-point land, and 69.2 percent (18-of-26) from the charity stripe.
The Rockets exploded out of the gates, hitting four triples in the first four minutes and staked claim to a 16-4 lead. Four different players dialed long distance for UT, including a pair from Bishop.
Toledo built the early cushion knocking down six of its first eight shot attempts, while Western Michigan misfired on nine of its 11 attempts.
UT continued to push the action and back-to-back layups by Werner and another by Reindl pushed its advantage to 24-7 with 12:33 remaining in the half.
Western Michigan then utilized a 10-0 run to the next two minutes to cut its deficit to single digits, 24-17, and forced UT into a timeout with 10:22 left. The Rockets suddenly cooled-off from the field and missed seven of their next eight field-goal attempts to allow the Broncos back into the contest.
UT regained its composure following the timeout and received solid play off the bench from juniors Nacole Stocks and Kristi Zeller to reestablish a double-digit lead, 40-25, at the intermission. The Rockets shot 47.2 percent (17-of-36) from the field in the opening half, including 50.0 percent (6-of-12) from three-point land.
To open the second half, WMU relied on the quickness of Tiera DeLaHoussaye to cut UT's lead to 44-32 with 16:07 remaining in regulation and again forced UT into a timeout. The sophomore point guard created two steals and scored four points to cause Coach Ehlen to stop the action.
The Rockets retaliated following the stoppage in play and two free throws by Werner made the score 48-37 with 11:58 left. Unfortunately, UT could not find the range from the floor and connected on only four field goals in the first 12-plus minutes of the half, while WMU connected on 10-of-16 shots.
Western Michigan took full advantage of the situation and strong play inside by Lindsey Brown made the score 55-49 with 7:24 left. Brown tallied eight points in the run to make it a six-point contest.
Just as it looked like they the Broncos had all the momentum, UT went to its veterans, Werner, Bishop and Reindl to score the next eight points and push the margin back to nine points, 67-58, with 3:36 remaining. The key play in the sequence was a traditional-point play by Bishop with 4:48 remaining.
Western Michigan, who is now 5-2 at home, did not go quietly and three-consecutive triples by Amanda Parker to close the gap to 67-65 with 1:23 left.
Toledo turned the ball over on its next possession and WMU's DeLaHoussaye got a good look at the basket off a steal, but the Broncos' guard misfired.
The teams then went back-and-forth for the last minute and UT's Bishop knocked down 9-of-10 free throw attempts to help the visitors escape town with the hard-fought victory.
DeLaHoussaye led the Broncos (7-12, 0-5 MAC) with 19 points, seven assists and six steals, while Brown had 18 points and eight caroms. Carrie Moore, the nation's leading scorer at nearly 26 points per game, also tallied 17 points before fouling out.
"To win two away games in the MAC after losing two league-home games is a positive and something we're going to build on," Ehlen said.
The Rockets return to action at home on Saturday, Jan. 20 and host Buffalo. Tipoff is slated for 2:00 p.m. in Savage Hall.
