BOWLING GREEN, OH ? Toledo (13-10, 7-3 MAC) dropped a 70-53 decision at arch-rival Bowling Green on Thursday before an electric 2,404 fans in Anderson Arena. With the loss, the Rockets fall into a tie with Northern Illinois for second place in the MAC West Division, a game back of frontrunner Ball State.
“This contest was played in a tremendous environment,” Toledo Head Coach Tricia Cullop said. “It was a wonderful atmosphere for this game and women's basketball.”
The difference in tonight's showdown was the Falcons ability to get to the free-throw line and convert. The four-time defending MAC regular-season champs went 20-of-25 from the charity stripe, compared to a 4-of-6 showing by UT.
“Bowling Green is a sound offensive team,” Cullop said. “They do so many things well and they get to the foul line a lot. We have to learn how to do that. We have to learn how to draw more fouls and put ourselves into that same situation.”
Junior Tanika Mays paced three Rockets in double figures with 11 points, three blocked shots and three steals in 35 minutes, while junior Allie Clifton and freshman Naama Shafir had 10 points apiece. Mays has now led the team in scoring in seven of the last eight contests, averaging 15.4 points.
Toledo finished the cross-division match-up shooting 43.6 percent (24-of-55), including 16.7 percent (1-of-6) from three-point land, and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line to suffer its 11th-consecutive loss to its arch rival.
The Falcons started the game red hot and jumped out to a 13-4 lead at 16:07, forcing UT into a quick timeout. All five BGSU starters registered field goals in the opening run, including a pair of layups from Tara Breske.
Points were extremely hard to come by for the Rockets in the early going, but a basket by sophomore Melissa Goodall made the score 15-8 at 11:47. The Midnight Blue and Gold missed five shots and committed nine turnovers in the opening eight-plus minutes to fall behind in the blink of an eye.
Following a media timeout, the home team's Jen Uhl ripped off five-consecutive points to make it a double-digit difference, 20-10, at the 9:44 mark.
Toledo did not get rattled by Uhl's strong play and utilized a mini 8-2 run to close the gap to 22-18 with 6:02 remaining. The visitors pounded the ball inside and all four baskets were within three feet.
Unfortunately, the Rockets' momentum did not last long as they had three different starters pick up their second fouls each down the stretch. The trio were forced to become spectators for the remainder of the half and UT mustered only two more points, trailing 32-20 at the intermission. Toledo did not score a basket outside of the paint in the opening period, while BGSU hit four of six shots from beyond the arc to claim the 12-point cushion.
Facing a double-digit deficit, Toledo started the second half with a chip on its shoulders and three quick field goals by Mays made the tally 36-30 at 14:47.
The Rockets just refused to go away and a deep triple from freshman Courntey Ingersoll further narrowed the margin to four points, 42-38, with 10:42 remaining.
Toledo had its chance to cut into the deficit even more over the ensuing couple of minutes, but the visitors were unable to knock down some timely shots.
With the outcome still up in the air, BGSU's Uhl drained a turnaround jumper to extend the lead back to double figures, 53-42, at 7:05.
Toledo demonstrated great courage in the waning moments and did not give up the fight, making use of an offensive put back by Ingersoll to make the score 55-49 at 5:35.
Much to their dismay, though, the Falcons answered right back and four-straight points by Breske upped the margin to 60-49 at the 4:07 mark. The home team then put the game away at the charity stripe, knocking down 5-of-6 in the last minute to make the final 70-53.
“We played a very good team tonight,” Cullop said. “When you make a mistake against a good team like Bowling Green, they make you pay. They are very solid offensively, as well as defensively. They took away a lot of the things we like to do tonight.”
Tracy Pontius paced BGSU with a game-high 17 points and six assists. Uhl contributed 14 points with a contest-best nine boards, while player of the year candidate Lauren Prochaska had 13 and Breske 10.
With the victory, the Falcons improve to 21-2 on the season remains undefeated in MAC play with a 10-0 ledger. BGSU has won 21 consecutive games, tying its school record.
The Rockets return to action on Sunday, Feb. 15 when they wrap up their six-game MAC East Division swing against Kent State. The contest is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena. The Toledo women's basketball squad is teaming up with Reynolds Corners Dental to hold a “Rockets for the Cure” Day on Sunday. The game will help benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Northwest Ohio and the team encourages everyone in attendance to wear pink in support of cancer research.
