University of Toledo
Dayton
Toledo Comes Up Short at Dayton, 79-76
11/15/2012 2:16:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DAYTON, OH - Dayton outscored Toledo 9-5 over the final two minutes of regulation to register a 79-76 victory on Wednesday inside UD Arena. With the loss, the Rockets fall to 1-1 on the season.
Senior Yolanda Richardson paced UT with 19 points and 11 rebounds to record her ninth career double-double. Junior Andola Dortch also finished in double figures with 13 points, a game-high six assists and a contest-best five thefts. UT also received quality efforts from junior Brianna Jones (9 pts., 4 reb.), sophomore Inma Zanoguera (9 pts., 4 ast.) and senior Lecretia Smith (8 pts., 6 reb.) in a losing effort.
The three-time reigning Mid-American Conference West Division champion Rockets shot 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the field, including 37.5 percent (6-of-16) from three-point range, and 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the charity stripe.
Andrea Hoover led the unbeaten Flyers (3-0) with a game-high 22 points, including four crucial points in the final two minutes. Ally Mallot added 16 points off the bench and Cassie Sant had 12 points to help the defending Atlantic 10 tourney champions avenge last year's 61-51 setback to UT in Savage Arena.
Dayton shot 42.1 percent (24-of-57) from the floor, including 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from beyond the arc, and a perfect 100.0 percent (19-of-19) from the free throw line to emerge victorious in its home opener.
Toledo's Richardson knocked down a pair of free throws to give the visitors a 71-70 lead with 2:20 left in regulation.
The Flyers quickly retaliated when Malott buried her game-high four triple to shift the advantage back in their favor, 73-71.
Toledo was able to respond, though, as Dortch drained two charity tosses to knot the score for a fourth time on the evening, 73-73, at the 1:37 mark.
Following a Dayton timeout, the home team received two free throws each by Hoover and Kelley Austria, sandwiched in between a turnover by UT senior Naama Shafir, to make it a four-point difference, 77-73, with 58 seconds left.
The Rockets desperately needed points to stay within striking distance, and Richardson split two charity tosses to cut the margin to 77-74 with 45 seconds remaining.
Dayton misfired on its next offensive trip to keep Toledo's hopes alive. Shafir took an outlet pass from Richardson and went coast-to-coast with a layup to pull within a single point, 77-76, with 11 seconds left.
Toledo had no choice but to quickly foul to get the ball back. UD's Hoover calmly stepped to the line and drained both free throws to push the lead to 79-76 with only four seconds showing on the clock.
The Rockets had one final chance to possibly force overtime, but Shafir desperation three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
UT started out tonight's interstate battle strong and scored the first seven points, prompting UD into calling a timeout at the 18:11 mark. Three different Rockets tallied points in the opening burst to force the Flyers into the early stoppage. Dayton did not score until Hoover converted a four-point play with 16:57 remaining in the opening stanza.
Moments later, senior Kyle Baumgartner registered five straight points to increase Toledo's margin to 16-9 at 15:03.
UD then started to heat up from the outside and drained four straight triples to knot the score at 18-18 with 11:16 left in half. Malott sparked the long-range barrage with two treys to draw the teams even.
Toledo called a timeout to stop UD's momentum and responded with a mini 11-4 run to reclaim the advantage, 29-22, at the 7:05 mark. Jones and Richardson ignited the run with four points each.
The Flyers continued to fight an upward climb as the first half wore on and took advantage of a 14-6 burst to emerge with their first lead, 36-35, with 1:41 left before intermission. Sant knocked down a pair of jumpers and Samantha MacKay dialed one up another trey to help the home team assume a one-point lead.
UD maintained the advantage for the remainder of the opening stanza and took a slim 41-40 margin into the locker room.
Richardson scored the first six points to start the second half and sparked an 11-2 run to help Toledo retake the lead, 51-43, with 16:38 left in regulation.
The Rockets' offense would then go cold, though, but the defense stepped up and allowed Dayton to hit only two field goals in the first eight-plus minutes. As a result of Toledo's strong defensive effort, the Midnight Blue & Gold held a 55-51 advantage at the 11:50 mark.
UT's needed a spark offensively, and Zanoguera delivered with back-to-back triples to ignite a 10-3 run. Shafir also contributed a jumper to extend Toledo's margin to 67-58 with 6:08 remaining in regulation.
With the home team facing a three-possession deficit, they turned to Sant and Malott who combined to score the next 12 points to set the stage for the final two minutes.
The Rockets will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 20 when they travel to Fort Collins, CO to take on Colorado State. The opening tip is slated for 7:00 p.m. (MT) inside Moby Arena. A season ago, UT utilized a 9-3 run over the final four minutes to claim a 58-51 home victory over the Rams.
