AKRON, OH - Toledo ended the cross-division game with a 28-11 run over the final 11 minutes to register a hard-fought 58-49 victory over Akron on Wednesday in James A. Rhodes Arena. With the road triumph, the Rockets improve to 16-6 overall and a league-best 8-1 in the Mid-American Conference. UT's league start is its best since the 2002-03 campaign, when it also won eight of its first nine MAC contests.
Senior Melissa Goodall, junior Naama Shafir and sophomore Lecretia Smith paced the Midnight Blue & Gold with 12 points each, while redshirt freshman Andola Dortch added 10 points to extend its win streak to four straight contests. UT also received quality efforts from senior Jessica Williams (9 pts.) and junior Courtney Ingersoll (career-high 9 rebs., 3 stls.) to maintain its one-game cushion over Eastern Michigan for the best record in the conference.
The difference in tonight's matchup was the Rockets' ability to get to the free-throw line and convert. The Rockets shot 26-of-34 (76.5 percent) from the charity stripe, compared to a 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) showing for the Zips (9-12, 2-7 MAC).
With UT trailing 38-30 at the 11:43 mark of the second half, the Midnight Blue & Gold called what proved to be a well-executed timeout. The Rockets started the game-changing run with a 13-2 burst to regain the lead, 43-40, with 6:20 remaining. Williams started the crucial run with a triple, followed by four points from Smith and two points each from Goodall and Dortch to claim an advantage it would not relinquish.
Moments later, Toledo received a jumper from Shafir and another three-point field goal by Williams to increase its margin to 54-48 with 2:23 left in regulation, forcing UA into a stoppage of play.
The 2009-10 MAC West Division champs then sealed the hard-fought road victory with four of six free throws in the final 40 seconds. UT shot impressive 17-of-23 from the charity stripe in the second half.
UT looked sharp at the outset and drained all six of its free throws in the opening four-plus minutes to jump out to 13-4 lead at 15:01. Goodall was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and also contributed a layup to help the visitors claim the early nine-point bulge.
Akron quickly erased the deficit with a 17-0 run over the ensuing eight-plus minutes to hold a 21-13 lead with 6:20 remaining in the period. Kara Murphy sparked the burst with seven points, while Rachel Tecca and Jasmine Mushington added six points each.
Toledo did not help its own cause during the run and went over 10 minutes without a point to find itself with an eight-point deficit. Dortch finally ended the drought with a layup at 4:41.
UT weathered the storm and outscored the Zips, 10-3, for the remainder of the opening stanza to make it a one-point difference at the intermission, 24-23. The visitors' effort to close the gap was aided down the stretch by a triple from junior Haylie Linn and three points from Dortch.
The Rockets continued to play efficiently to start the second half and scored the first four points to reclaim the advantage, 27-24, at the 18:09 mark. Goodall and Smith were credited with layups in the opening minutes of the final period to give the visitors their first lead since the 12:54 mark of the opening half.
That momentum did not last long, though, as the Zips utilized a 14-3 run over the ensuing five-plus minutes to retake the lead, 38-30, with 11:43 left in regulation and set the stage for a fantastic Toledo finish. Tecca and Murphy did a majority of the damage with six points each to force UT into what proved to be a well-planned timeout.
Murphy led the Zips with a game-high 18 points and Tecca finished with 16 points and a game-high 13 boards.
Akron was held to 33.3 percent (17-of-51) from the field and 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from beyond the arc to suffer its sixth loss in the last seven games. The Zips, who entered tonight's game second in the MAC in field-goal percentage (42.5 percent), were also guilty of 20 turnovers, which UT translated into 18 points.
The Rockets return to action on Saturday, Feb. 5 when they travel to Oxford, OH to take on Miami. Tip-off is slated for noon in Millett Hall and the contest will be televised on SportsTime Ohio.
