Toledo Defeats 2016 NCAA Tournament Foe St. Bonaventure at Home, 74-50

Sunday, December 11

Toledo, OH

Noon

University of Toledo

8-1

St. Bonaventure

4-6

St. Bonaventure

Toledo

Sophomore Sarah St-Fort had five points, two rebounds and two steals vs. St. Bonaventure on Sunday.

Toledo Defeats 2016 NCAA Tournament Foe St. Bonaventure at Home, 74-50

12/11/2016 3:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score St. Bonaventure at Toledo Box Score (PDF)

TOLEDO, OH – The temperature outside Savage Arena was cold and snowy on Sunday, but inside Toledo's defense was red-hot, as the Midnight Blue & Gold defeated St. Bonaventure, 74-50, at home. With the double-digit win, UT improves to 8-1 on the season.

The Rockets forced the Bonnies (4-6) into committing 29 turnovers, which they translated into a whopping 33 points, to secure their fourth win in as many games against Atlantic-10 opponents this year. Toledo also has wins against A-10 foes Rhode Island, Davidson and most recently Dayton in 2016-17.

UT's in-your-face, pressure defense also produced 15 steals, its second-highest total of the season, and wreaked havoc on SBU all afternoon. Nine different Rockets tallied a theft in today's non-conference match-up, including a contest-best four by sophomore Michaela Boyd.

Offensively, freshman Mariella Santucci led a balanced UT attack with a game-high 13 points and a contest-best four helpers, followed closely by junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott with 12 and senior Sophie Reecher with a season-high 10 off the bench.

The Rockets also received nine points from Boyd and eight by sophomore Kaayla McIntyre to run their record to 4-0 at the friendly confines of Savage Arena this season. They have won their four home games by an average of 29.8 points (79.2-49.5).

In total, 11 of the 12 Rockets scored in the 24-point triumph and every player logged double-digit minutes of playing time.

As a team, Toledo shot 40.9 percent (27-of-66) from the field, including 22.2 percent (4-of-18) from three-point land, and 69.6 percent (16-of-23) from the charity stripe.

The home team dominated most categories in today's final stat sheet against a team that advanced to the second round the 2016 NCAA Tournament, posting a 42-26 edge in points in the paint, 33-4 advantage in points off turnovers, 17-7 edge in second-chance points, 8-0 advantage in fast-break points and 33-14 edge in bench points. The Rockets also totaled 14 assists and only 10 turnovers, signifying the fourth-straight contest and sixth overall time this year they have posted more helpers than miscues.

Jalisha Terry paced the Bonnies with 12 points. Terry was the only visitor in double figures.

Playing its second contest in the last three days, Toledo struggled at the outset before going on a game-changing 9-0 run to open up a 16-11 lead at the 8:12 mark in the second period. Five different Rockets scored points in the burst to give the home team an advantage they would not surrender.

St. Bonaventure momentarily stopped the momentum on a jumper by Matea Britvar, but UT rattled off nine of the next 11 points to stretch the lead to 25-15 with 5:49 left in the opening half. Bravo-Harriott sparked the second rally with a deep triple and an offensive putback to make it a double-digit difference.

The Rockets continued to pour it on in the waning moments of the second period, benefiting from layups by junior Michaela Rasmussen, sophomore Olivia Cunningham and senior Sophie Reecher to assume a 34-20 at halftime.

UT shot a sizzling 50.0 percent (8-of-16) from the floor, 5-of-6 from the free throw line, and outscored SBU 23-9 in the second period to take total control of the match-up.

Toledo did not skip a beat following the intermission and utilized a game-sealing 11-3 burst to extend the margin to 20 points, 47-27, at the 4:42 mark. Bravo-Harriott was once again the catalyst in the run, contributing three baskets to bring the home crowd of 3,143 to its feet.

Despite the sizable cushion, the Rockets did not take their foot off the accelerator and received back-to-back layups from both sophomore Sarah St-Fort and Reecher to make the score 59-36 after 30 minutes of action.

UT's lead then did not slip below 23 points in the final period, as it settled for the impressive 74-50 home victory.

The Rockets will now take the week off to focus on final exams before hosting nationally ranked Notre Dame on Sunday, Dec. 18. The opening tip against the Fighting Irish is slated for 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and will be streamed live on ESPN3.