Toledo Comes Behind to Take Down Northern Illinois, 79-75

Wednesday, March 1

DeKalb, IL

8:00 p.m. (CT)

University of Toledo

20-8 (11-6MAC)

Northern Illinois

19-9 (12-5MAC)

Toledo

Northern Illinois

Senior Janice Monakana led an improbable three Rockets with double-doubles with 27 points and a career-high 17 boards.

Photo by: Toledo Athletics

Toledo Comes Behind to Take Down Northern Illinois, 79-75

3/2/2017 12:27:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

DeKALB, IL – Toledo overcame a 15-point deficit and posted a thrilling 79-75 victory at Northern Illinois on Wednesday in the Convocation Center. With the come-from-behind win, UT improves to 20-8 overall, 11-6 in the Mid-American Conference.

The Rockets trailed the Huskies 28-13 midway through the second quarter before outscoring their MAC West Division foe 66-47 over the final 25-plus minutes to mount the impressive road triumph. The victory was UT's 20^th win on the year, marking the first time it has won at least 20 games since 2012-13.

Senior Janice Monakana led an improbable three Rockets with double-doubles, finishing with 27 points and a career-high 17 boards. Monakana scored from all over the floor, shooting 10-of-21 from the field, including a collegiate-best 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe to tally at least 20 points for the ninth time in her UT career.

Sophomore Mikaela Boyd added 12 points and a career-best 16 caroms, while junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott tallied 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. It was Monakana's eighth-, Boyd's seventh- and Bravo-Harriott's first-career double-double, respectively.

Sophomore Kaayla McIntyre also chipped in 11 points, seven boards and a game-high three rejections to propel UT to its third-straight victory.

Monakana, Boyd and Bravo-Harriott's monster efforts on the glass helped Toledo finish with a season-high 65 rebounds, including a season-best 25 offensive caroms. The Rockets took full advantage of those offensive boards and translated them into a sizable 22-13 edge in second-chance points. The last time UT pulled down at least 60 caroms occurred against Mississippi Valley State in the consolation round of the Glass City Tournament on Nov. 10, 2013 when it finished with 61.

As a team, UT shot 33.7 percent (29-of-86) from the field, including 32.0 percent (8-of-25) from three-point range, and 52.0 percent (13-of-25) from the free throw line.

Ally Lehman paced the Huskies (19-9, 12-5 MAC) with a game-high 31 points, 16 caroms and a contest-best nine helpers.

The Rockets pounded the ball inside at the outset, as their first five field goals were layups and held a 10-6 lead at the 5:13 mark. Monakana and Boyd were credited with two layups each to give the visitors an early two-possession advantage.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, they mustered only one point for the remainder of the period and as a result found themselves down 24-11. The Huskies ended the stanza on a 17-0 run to build a double-digit lead after 10 minutes. Courtney Woods, who finished with 12 points, sparked the rally with a pair of triples to force Toledo to burn two timeouts.

UT could have hung its head after falling behind 15 points at the 7:36 mark in the second period, but it did the exact opposite and relied on strong play from Monakana to trim the deficit to a mere six points, 36-30, at the intermission. The London, England native buried a pair of triples and added a layup to ignite a late 14-6 run to make it a two-possession game at the break. They also received a pair of field goals from Boyd in the waning moments to stun the "Senior Day" home crowd.

Monakana remained dialed in offensively to start the third period, drilling her third three-point field goal to pull her team within two points, 44-42, at the 4:36 mark. The Rockets also benefited from five points by Bravo-Harriott during this stretch to give them hope of pulling off the comeback.

UT continued to fight the uphill fight and completed the comeback early in the fourth quarter, taking ts first lead since midway through the opening quarter, 56-55, with 7:30 remaining in regulation. Once again, it was Monakana who spearheaded the rally with five straight points to put the Rockets in front for the first time since the score was 11-9.

The teams then traded baskets over the ensuing three-plus minutes before freshman Mariella Santucci triggered a pivotal 14-3 burst to lift Toledo to a 72-63 advantage with only 1:30 left in the final quarter. The first-year Rocket converted a traditional three-point play, followed by a trey from the corner and a layup during this crucial stretch to give the visitors a lead they would not relinquish.

The Rockets will wrap up their regular season at MAC West Division co-leader Ball State (21-8, 14-3 MAC) on Saturday, March 4. The opening tip versus the Cardinals is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Worthen Arena and the MAC West Division showdown will be streamed on ESPN3.

UT and BSU will clash for the second time this year and 77th time overall. The Midnight Blue & Gold suffered a 51-45 setback against the Cardinals in its MAC opener in Savage Arena on Dec. 31.

Toledo leads the all-time series, 52-24, but has dropped the last six meetings against its MAC West Division foe.

UT also holds a 22-14 (.611) edge in contests played in Muncie but has lost six of the nine match-ups in Worthen Arena. A year ago, Toledo dropped a 75-69 decision at Ball State (Jan. 2, 2016).

The Rockets and Cardinals will meet for the sixth-consecutive year and ninth time overall in their final league contest, holding a 3-5 (.375) mark against their division rival.