University of Toledo
BUFFALO
Toledo Prevails in Overtime Against Buffalo, 85-77
1/20/2007 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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TOLEDO, OH - Toledo (7-11, 3-3 MAC) ran its winning streak to three straight with an 85-77 overtime victory against Buffalo (6-12, 1-5 MAC) on Saturday afternoon at Savage Hall. The Rockets were a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line in the extra period and hit 4-of-6 field-goal attempts to improve to 7-11 overall, 3-3 in the Mid-American Conference.
"It sure feels good to win a MAC game in Savage Hall," said Toledo Head Coach Mark Ehlen, whose squad snapped a three-game home losing skid. "Entering today, we we're 0-2 in the MAC at home and 2-1 on the road. It was important for us to come out and win today, but it wasn't easy. Buffalo played a great game, but we made some big shots when it counted down the stretch, especially in overtime."
Senior Danielle Bishop had 22 points, including seven points in overtime, and led three other UT players in double-digit scoring. Sophomore Diana Reindl poured in 19 points, while senior Savannah Werner posted her second double-double in as many games with 16 points and 10 caroms. Junior Kristi Zeller rounded out Toledo's top scorers with 12 points and a career-high six assists off the bench.
"This is a big win for us," Bishop said. "We haven't won at home in a while. We've won two straight road games and those were big win for us. We needed to play today well on our home court and we were able to come through."
The Rockets shot a respectable 45.5 percent (30-of-66) from the field, including 37.5 percent (9-of-24) from three-point land, and 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from the charity stripe. UT also did a good job taking care of the ball and dished out 17 assists, compared to only 11 turnovers.
As high scoring as today's contest ended up, points were hard to come by for both teams early on. Toledo missed its first eight shots from the floor and did not score until Reindl knocked down a pair of free throws with 15:14 left in the half. UB did not fare much better from the field, missing five of its initial eight shots with four turnovers and the score was tied at 6-6 with 13:35 remaining.
The Bulls then jumped ahead, hitting four of their next six field-goal attempts, including a triple by Belinda Gibb, to take a 15-9 cushion with 9:35 left. Toledo still could not get its offense on track and missed 15 of the initial 18 shots.
The Rockets then started to catch fire as the first half continued and a pair of triples from Zeller cut the deficit to a single point, 21-20, at 4:25.
UB's Stephanie Bennett buried a triple on the visitors next trip down the floor to initially stall the rally, but the Rockets quickly responded with an 11-0 run to the end the half and take a 31-24 lead into the intermission. Werner sparked the run tallying seven of the 11 points. The Bulls did not score the last four minutes of the stanza.
After the Rockets started slow from the field, the Midnight Blue and Gold picked up the pace and hit nine of its last 13 shots to build the four-point halftime edge.
UT remained red hot to start the second half and seven-consecutive points by Bishop pushed its advantage to a game-high 10 points, 38-28. The home team hit four of its first shots in the stanza to establish a double-digit cushion and forced UB into a timeout with 17:49 left in regulation.
Just as it looked like the Rockets had the game in hand, the Bulls stormed back with a 12-2 run over the next four minutes to knot the score at 40-40. UB continued to attack with strong play on the perimeter and a pair of triples by Bennett gave the lead back to the visitors, 47-44, with 12:08 left.
The Rockets had to do something to try and stop UB's momentum. They relied on solid outside shooting and hit four consecutive treys, including a pair by Zeller, to reclaim the advantage, 60-54, with 8:51 remaining. Olivia Terry and Werner also dialed long distance for UT.
"Kristi nailed some clutch three-pointers down the stretch," Ehlen said. "Olivia also came off the bench and hit a couple big shots."
Buffalo did not fold following UT's three-point outburst, but slowly cut into the lead behind lethal shooting of its own from Rachelle Matthys and Bennett to tie the score for the sixth time, 62-62, with 4:44 left.
The contest remained tight for the remainder of regulation as neither team held more than a three-point cushion. With the score tied 70-70 and 0:55 seconds left, the Rockets had a chance to retake the lead, but junior Ta'Yani Clark missed both free-throw attempts. Following Clark's second miss, UB misfired on a shot and the ball was knocked out of bounds by the Rockets. Buffalo retained possession with 0:31 seconds remaining and called a timeout. Fortunately for UT, Buffalo turned the ball over after an offensive foul was called with 0:18 seconds left. UT then signaled for a timeout of its own to set up a final play, but Reindl's shot attempt fell short and sent the game into overtime.
In the extra session, the teams exchanged baskets for their first possessions. UB established a three-point lead following Bennett's sixth triple of the contest, 77-74, with 3:20 left.
The Rockets needed a field goal to stay close and received a huge one on an offensive putback by freshman Allie Clifton, who finished with four points and seven rebounds. UT then utilized a three-point play by Bishop to retake the lead for good, 79-77, with 1:33 remaining. The Laingsburg, MI native sealed the victory following a steal with a driving layup with 0:38 seconds left. Reindl and Bishop finished off the home win with two free throws apiece to make it an eight-point contest.
"Over the last few games, this team has shown the ability to come back," Ehlen said. "We go through spurts where we're not playing too well but we're able to come right back. One of the other reasons why we've won our last three is we're playing tougher, both mentally and physically."
Bennett had 19 points and Heather Turner added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls. Gibb also tallied double figures with 11 points, while Kourtney Brown chipped in 10.
Buffalo shot 47.1 percent (32-of-68) from the field, but only 27.3 percent (3-of-11) in overtime.
The Rockets return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 24 when they travel to Oxford, OH to battle Miami. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Millett Hall.
