TOLEDO, OH - Junior Jessica Williams' three-pointer with 1:15 to play helped propel Toledo past Northern Illinois, 71-66, on Wednesday in its Mid-American Conference opener at Savage Arena. With the victory, the Rockets improve to 11-3 overall, 1-0 in league action.
"I wasn't hitting (my shots) early in the first half, but my coaches and teammates stayed on me to keep shooting, and I finally got one to go in," said Williams, who finished with two triples and has now made at least a pair of treys on 10 occasions this season. "Basically it was the confidence from them that helped me make that shot."
Senior Tanika Mays paced the Rockets in 19 points and a season-high 11 rebounds, posting her third double-double of the season. Junior Melissa Goodall continued her strong play as of late, finishing with a season-high 16 points with seven caroms to tally double figures for the fourth-consecutive game. Sophomore Naama Shafir rounded out UT's double-digit scorers with 11 points, to go along with a team-high five helpers and four thefts.
"I can't say this was the prettiest win, but it's a win nonetheless, and we'll take it," said Mays, who has now scored double digits in 13 of the 14 games in 2009-10. "Tonight was a good test for us. It was good to see us respond and comeback to beat a good team."
UT never trailed during the opening 33 minutes of the contest. Williams and Mays each buried triples, and Shaafir sank a jumper from the left side to push the home team's advantage to 50-41 with 13:51 to play. But the Huskies (6-7, 0-1 MAC) rallied and took their first lead at 56-55 with 6:49 to go.
"I have an awful lot of respect for the NIU program," said Toledo Head Coach Tricia Cullop, who is 4-0 all-time vs. Northern Illinois. "Even though we got off to a great start, they didn't get rattled and bounced back and it was a nip-and-tuck battle down the stretch."
The lead see-sawed back-and-forth over the next three-plus minutes, with neither team leading by more than a single point. NIU increased its advantage to 62-59, as the Rockets missed five straight shots. Goodall finally ended the scoring drought with a deep jumper with 1:56 left to bring Toledo to within one, and Williams drilled a three-pointer from the left wing to give Toledo the lead for good at 64-62 with 1:09 to go.
Sophomore Courtney Ingersoll then poked away a pass at the top of the key and went coast-to-coast for a layup to give the Rockets a four-point bulge. Following a Huskies' basket with 41 seconds left, Goodall's layup and Ingersoll's free throw in the waning moments clinched the victory for Toledo.
"I'm proud of our players," Cullop said. "We found a way to win. Different people stepped up to make it happen."
The Rockets hit 10 of their first 14 shots in a torrid offensive start to the contest, as the Midnight Blue & Gold began the game on an 8-0 run, bolstered by three-point plays from Shaafir and Mays, as well as a baseline jumper from Goodall. Mays scored 10 points in the opening eight-and-a-half-minutes as the Rockets pushed their lead to 24-12.
Northern Illinois answered with a 13-2 run to cut Toledo's lead to one with 7:08 remaining. After the Huskies tied it at 33, the Rockets close the half on a 7-0 spurt, sparked by a three-pointer from sophomore Clare Aubry, a Mays jumper and an Aubry layup.
NIU was led by Marke Freeman with a game-high 22 points and nine assists, while Mauvolyene Adams had 16 points and a game-high 12 caroms.
"Marke is a great player," Williams said. "She is extremely quick and talented."
Toledo returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 9 when it hosts Central Michigan at noon. The MAC West Division showdown is the first of a doubleheader, as the Rocket men will follow with a contest also against the Chippewas at 2:30 p.m., and both games will be televised on FSN Ohio.
