Toledo Extends Winning Streak with 66-53 Victory Over Cleveland State

Saturday, December 12

Toledo, OH

2:00 PM

University of Toledo

3-6

Cleveland State

2-5

CSU

Toledo

Toledo Extends Winning Streak with 66-53 Victory Over Cleveland State

12/12/2015 4:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TOLEDO, OH – Toledo ran its winning streak to three-straight games with a 66-53 victory over Cleveland State on Saturday before 3,618 fans in Savage Arena. With the win, UT improves to 3-6 on the season.

The Rockets overcame a slow start and outscored the Vikings 38-17 over the second and third quarters to help them earn their 10th-consecutive home triumph in the series. Only one of the wins during this stretch has been by less than double figures.

UT senior Ana Capotosto paced three players in double digits with a career-high six triples and a collegiate-best 22 points. Capotosto shot an efficient 8-of-12 from the field, including a sizzling 6-of-9 from three-point land, to finish with at least 20 points for the fifth time in her collegiate career. The two-time team captain also pulled down a season-best 10 boards to post her second-career double-double.

Capotosto has now scored in double figures in three-straight contests and six of the last seven games overall, averaging a squad-best 14.6 points during this period of time.

Joining Capotosto in double figures were sophomore Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott with a season-high 19 points and junior Janice Monakana had 11. Senior Brenae Harris also chipped in a season-best nine assists.

As a team, the Rockets shot only 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field, but a sparkling 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from beyond the arc, and an impressive 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free throw line. UT entered today's contest leading the Mid-American Conference in three-point field percentage (36.2 percent) and definitely helped those numbers with a season-high 10 triples.

The duo of Capostosto and Bravo-Harriott did a bulk of the damage from three-point land, shooting a combined 9-of-14.

Ashanti Abshaw led CSU with 18 points, eight caroms and three steals, followed by Khayla Livingston with 12 points and a team-high five assists.

The Vikings (2-5) jumped out a 19-9 lead after the first quarter on the strength of 10 points from Abshaw. UT could not buy a basket in the opening 10 minutes and shot only 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from the floor to dig itself a sizable hole.

UT then caught fire and outscored its intra-state foe 19-8 in the second quarter and 19-9 in the third to assume a lead it would not relinquish, fueled by a 16-3 run to open the second. Capotosto and Bravo-Harriott scored 30 of the 38 points during this stretch to give the home team a 47-36 advantage heading into the final quarter. The Saugatuck, MI native did most of her damage from three-point range, shooting 5-of-6 during the middle two periods, while Bravo-Harriott knocked down her only three-point field goal attempt to make it an 11-point difference after 30 minutes of competition.

Toledo then put the game away with a 10-0 burst to start the fourth quarter, stretching the margin to a game-high 21 points, 57-36, with 7:18 left in regulation. Monakana sparked the game-sealing rally with seven points to deny CSU any hope of making a late comeback.

The Rockets finished with a sizable 42-33 edge on the glass and had four players with at least five rebounds. The Midnight Blue & Gold also dished out a season-high 18 helpers, compared to 16 turnovers, signifying its third-straight game with more dimes than miscues.

In addition, Toledo's defense stepped up after the tough first quarter and held Cleveland State's long-range shooters in check. UT limited CSU to 22.7 percent (5-of-22) from beyond the arc. The Green and White came into today's showdown shooting 36.2 percent from three-point land and averaging 9.2 triples per game.

UT will now turn its focus to final semester exams before traveling to the "Windy City" to take on Horizon League member UIC on Sunday, Dec. 20. The opening tip against the Flames is slated for 3:00 p.m. (CT) in the UIC Pavilion. Toledo and UIC will meet for the sixth time overall but the first since the 1997-98 campaign. The Rockets have won all five match-ups in the series, most recently claiming a 97-49 home triumph on Dec. 20, 1997.