TEMPE, AZ – Toledo posted its first victory of the season, defeating Columbia, 88-75, on Saturday in the first round of the ASU Classic in Wells Fargo Arena. With the win, the Rockets improve to 1-6 on the season.
UT will now play VCU tomorrow in the championship game of the two-day tourney at Noon (MT). The Rams defeated host Arizona State, 57-48, in today's other first-round match-up.
Senior
Brenae Harris was a one-person wrecking crew against the Lions (5-2), scoring a career-high 39 points to pace the Midnight Blue & Gold. The 2015-16 team captain shot an efficient 12-of-16 from the field, including 2-of-2 from three-point land, and 13-of-15 from the free throw line to equal the third-most points in school history in a single game. Harris, who scored 28 points in the second half, added six boards and four helpers in 38 minutes to help UT register its highest scoring output of the season.
Harris became the first Rocket to score at least 35 points in a game since Naama Shafir poured in 40 against USC in the championship game of the 2011 Postseason WNIT.
Joining Harris in double figures against Ivy League member Columbia were senior
Ana Capotosto, junior
Sophie Reecher and sophomore
Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott with 15, 14 and 12 points, respectively.
As a team, the Rockets shot a season-high 54.4 percent (31-of-57) from the field and posted a 38-34 edge on the boards. Junior
Janice Monakana led the Rockets on a glass with a season-best 10 caroms, while Harris and Capotosto had six each. UT also dished out a season-high 14 assists, compared to committing a season-low 13 turnovers.
Camille Zimmerman paced Columbia with 25 points, followed by Emily Surloff with 17.
Toledo looked strong at the start and held an 11-7 lead with 5:24 remaining in the first quarter. The Rockets received points from five different players at the outset to claim the early three-point advantage.
The Rockets continued to play well in beginning stages of the second period, receiving triples from Monakana and Harris to make the margin 24-17 at the 7:52 mark.
Columbia surged back and knotted the score at 29-29 on the strength of back-to-back three-point field goals from Surloff with 3:12 left before the intermission. The sharp-shooting guard buried a trey from the corner and one from the top of the arc to draw the teams even for the first time.
The squads then traded baskets in the waning moments before halftime, with UT's Harris tallying the final points on a 15-foot jumper from the wing to give the Midnight Blue & Gold a 36-35 lead at the intermission. It proved to be a lead Toledo would not relinquish.
Harris and Reecher were outstanding for the designated home team in the first 20 minutes and combined to score 20 of UT's points, while Zimmerman paced CU with a game-high 15 points.
Toledo opened the second half on-fire and converted its first five shots from the field to create a 46-37 lead at the 7:08 mark, forcing Columbia to call a timeout. Harris sparked the opening 10-2 burst with a pair of layups to build a nine-point cushion.
The Lions responded well out of the stoppage in play and tallied the next seven points to make it a two-point difference, 46-44, prompting Toledo to call a timeout with 5:38 left in the period. CU's Surloff started the rally with her fourth three-point field goal in the game.
Like a heavyweight championship fight, UT retaliated with a layup from Reecher, a traditional three-point by Capotosto and six-consecutive points from Harris to set the difference at 52-44 at the 4:32 mark. Harris dominated the third quarter and posted 12 points in the period to stretch the margin to 64-58 after 30 minutes of competition.
In the fourth quarter, Columbia momentarily closed the margin to two points, but UT quickly responded with a huge three-point field goal by Capotosto and Harris scored 12 of the team's final 13 points to close out the impressive neutral-court victory.
