BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Senior
Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott tied a school record with eight three-point field goals and finished with a season-high 27 points to lead Toledo to a 77-67 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday in the Stroh Center. With the win, the Rockets improve to 14-7 overall, 5-4 in the Mid-American Conference.
Bravo-Harriott knocked down a sensational 8-of-14 shots from beyond the arc to become only the fourth player in program history with eight triples in a game and the first since 2002.
The 2017 MAC Champions also benefited from 17 points by junior
Olivia Cunningham, 16 from junior
Mikaela Boyd and 10 by junior
Kaayla McIntyre to claim their fifth-straight triumph over the arch-rival Falcons (10-10, 2-7 MAC).
Cunningham returned to the lineup after missing the previous two games with a knee injury and was a huge spark off the bench to help UT end to a mini two-game losing skid.
Boyd filled up the stat sheet yet again in a team-high 33 minutes, tallying a game-10 rebounds, a contest-best six helpers and one rejection to post her seventh double-double over the last nine games.
As a team, Toledo shot an impressive 50.0 percent (27-of-54) from the field, including 45.8 percent (11-of-24) from three-point land, and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the charity stripe to record its first conference road win.
Sydney Lambert paced BGSU with 24 points, followed by Carly Santoro and Jane Uecker with 12 and 10, respectively.
The Rockets trailed 46-41 at the 1:59 mark in the third quarter when Bravo-Harriott buried the sixth of her eight triples to ignite a game-changing 15-0 run. The London, England native, who had not scored since the first period, added another trey during this pivotal stretch to turn a five-point deficit into a 10-point advantage, 56-46, with 7:33 left in regulation. It proved to be a lead UT would not relinquish.
Moments later, Bravo-Harriott put the final nail into the Falcons' coffin with two more triples to close out the impressive road victory.
Bravo-Harriott came out firing from long range at the outset, draining four three-point field goals and totaling 15 points to help the Rockets sprint out to a 29-15 lead. The two-time team captain shot 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in the first quarter to give the Midnight Blue & Gold an early double-digit cushion.
BGSU responded by ripping off nine of the next 11 points to cut the margin to 31-24, forcing UT to call a timeout at the 7:38 mark. Four different Falcons tallied points to prompt the Rockets to stop the action.
UT settled down following the stoppage in play and benefited from six late points by Cunningham to take a 37-33 lead into the intermission. The Horn Lakes, Miss. native was credited with three field goals in the period to give the visitors a two-possession advantage at the break.
Bowling Green stayed aggressive in the third stanza, utilizing an 13-4 burst to assume a 46-41 advantage with 1:59 left in the quarter. Uecker sparked the rally with back-to-back baskets to give the home team its first lead of the contest.
The Rockets did not panic, though, but rather relied on Bravo-Harriott's lethal outside shooting to ignite the game-changing run and help them secure their fifth-straight victory in Wood County.
Toledo returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 31 when it travels to MAC West Division foe Western Michigan (12-9, 5-4 MAC). Game time versus the Broncos is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in University Arena and will be streamed live on ESPN3.
UT and WMU will meet for the first of two match-ups during the regular season and 77th time overall. The Rockets will host the Broncos on Saturday, Feb. 17 at 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena.
Toledo leads the all-time series, 55-21, and has won the last seven contests against its division rival. UT also holds a 23-12 advantage in games played in Kalamazoo.
A season ago, the Rockets swept the regular-season series, claiming a 72-66 road victory (Feb. 8) and a 75-67 home triumph (Feb. 25).
Highlights from UT's road victory against Bowling Green.
Head Coach Tricia Cullop post-game.
Senior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott post-game.
