SPOKANE, Wash. – The Toledo women's basketball team faced fellow mid-major standout Gonzaga on Sunday and dropped a 91-70 decision at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Wash.
For the second straight game, the Rockets got off to a slow start shooting the ball, but this time they were unable to make up ground in the second half. The Zags led, 27-12, at the end of the first quarter and shot 71.4% from the floor. UT won the second quarter, 19-17, but the Bulldogs' shooting proved to be too much to handle the rest of the way.
"We didn't help ourselves today because even if we did defend well we didn't rebound as well as we should have," head coach
Tricia Cullop said. "We gave them 13 second-chance points in the first half, and we had nine turnovers too. If we had a better first quarter, maybe this is a different game. But, unfortunately, I thought we shot ourselves in the foot in the beginning of the game."
Four Rockets reached double figures in scoring, with senior
Khera Goss' 15 points serving as the high watermark on the team. Fifth-year seniors
Sophia Wiard (13 points) and
Quinesha Lockett (11 point) joined her in double digits, as did junior
Emmi Rinat (10 points). All 13 players who dressed saw the court, and freshman
Cadence Dykstra scored her first collegiate basket in the fourth quarter.
Gonzaga had two players score over 20 points in Yvonne Ejim (22 points) and Kayleigh Truong (21 points). Eliza Hollingsworth had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Toledo connected on 26-of-65 shots from the floor, good for 40.0%, while Gonzaga made 29-of-54 field goals (53.7%). The Bulldogs also won the battle on the boards, 43-29.
Toledo's next game will be at home vs. Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 19. The Rockets' home opener will tip off at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
Season and individual game tickets for the women's basketball program are on sale now. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Rocket Athletic Ticket Office at the Sullivan Athletic Complex in Savage Arena, contact the Rocket Athletic Ticket Office at 419-530-GOLD (4653), or go online to UTRockets.com/tix.
1st Quarter
- Gonzaga started off the game on an 11-0 run.
- Toledo's first basket of the game was a Khera Goss layup off a Nan Garcia steal, but the Zags responded with six straight points to make it 17-2 with 3:54 to go in the quarter.
- The Rockets kept pace with the Bulldogs in the final minutes of the quarter, but by then GU has opened up a 27-12 lead at the break.
2nd Quarter
- Toledo scored the first five points of the quarter to cut the deficit to 10 points, 27-17.
- Gonzaga continued to score in bunches, and despite shooting better in the second quarter than they did in the first the Rockets couldn't trim the deficit to single digits.
- The first half ended with the Zags up, 44-31.
- Sophia Wiard scored a team-best nine points in the first half.
3rd Quarter
- Gonzaga's lead leaked into the 20's in the third quarter, thanks in part to shooting 6-of-8 from beyond the arc.
- The Rockets used a 9-2 run to trim the lead to 15, 65-50, a spurt that included three-straight baskets from Jessica Cook.
- The third quarter ended with the Bulldogs ahead, 71-52.
4th Quarter
- All 13 Rockets saw the court in the fourth quarter and six of them scored points.
- Goss scored seven of her 15 points in the final period.
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