Stories Courtesy of MAC Media Relations Offices

Toledo 61, IPFW 47
TOLEDO, OH - Ten Rockets cracked the scoring column to help the Midnight Blue & Gold hold off IPFW, 61-47, on Saturday afternoon at Savage Arena.

Toledo, winners of a season-high four-straight contests, was led by sophomore Naama Shaafir with 14 points, eight assists, six rebounds and four steals. Senior Tanika Mays also finished in double figures with 11 points and senior Allie Clifton had eight to help the Rockets improve to 7-2 on the season.

The Rockets defense, meanwhile, clamped down on the Mastodons all afternoon, holding the visitors to a miniscule 23.3 percent shooting from the field, including an even better 14.3 percent from beyond the arc. A season ago, IPFW drained a season-high 11 triples and shot 41.0 percent from the field en route to a 72-60 victory over UT in Fort Wayne.

"We have definitely been working on our defense, and I think last week's layoff was great for us," said Toledo Head Coach Tricia Cullop, commenting about your teams best defensive effort of the season. "During that time off, we learned how to rotate. We've spent a lot of time working on our man-to-man defense and it payed off big time for us today."

Toledo started the second half by hitting just three of its first 16 shots and committing seven turnovers, as IPFW trimmed the margin to 38-33 with 10:18 to play. But a pair of free throws by junior Melissa Goodall and a jumper in transition by Mays sparked an 8-0 Rocket run. Sophomore Courtney Ingersoll followed with a pair of steals, and Shafir's fastbreak layup off of Ingersoll's dish gave the home team a 46-33 advantage with 8:34 left.

The Mastodons then cut the lead to single digits on Stephanie Rosado's jumper, but another transition layup by Shaafir and a pair of buckets by Mays, both coming off of Shafir assists, put Toledo in front 56-41 with less than three minutes to go.

"I thought we played hard and received good contributions from a lot of different players," Clifton said. "I'm proud of my teammates for coming together and getting a hard-fought win. This was definitely a team victoryr."

Both squads struggled in the opening few minutes of action, as Toledo started 1-of-7 and IPFW missed 15 of its first 16 shots. But the Rockets hit 4-of-5 free throws, and junior Jessica Williams' three-pointer gave Toledo a 9-2 lead at the 13:59 mark.

The Mastodons scored their first basket 67 seconds into play and didn't score another point until the 10:38 mark.

"We did not shoot the ball as well as we normally do, but we still found a way to pull it out and that is all that counts, Cullop said. "And the reason we won was defense. Defense is something you can always bring consistently, even though you want the ball to fall everytime you shoot it offensively, it won't. Soemtimes you can't figure out why you are in a shooting slump, but you can't be in a slump defensively. Defense is all about effort."

Clifton buried a three-pointer from the left corner, and Ingersoll followed with another from beyond the arc from nearly the same spot as Toledo pushed its advantage to 19-6 with 8:19 to go in the half. Toledo kept hitting from three-point land in the half, as back-to-back triples by sophomore Clare Aubry put the Rockets in front 29-15. But the Mastodons closed the half on a 10-3 run to cut the score to 32-25.

The Rockets shot 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from the field after their cold start, but were hurt by 11 turnovers, which translated into 10 IPFW points.

"I'm happy we got the win," Cullop said. "I would have liked a cleaner game, but a victory is a victory."

UT will now turn its focus to final exams, before returning to action next Sunday, Dec. 20 at SIU Edwardsville. The opening tip from the Vadalabene Center is slated for noon (CT).

St. Bonaventure 70, Bowling Green 54
Dana Mitchell scored 19 points as host Saint Bonaventure University led from wire to wire in a 70-54 victory over the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team Saturday afternoon (Dec. 12). The non-conference game was held at Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center.

With the win, the Bonnies remain undefeated at 10-0 on the year, while dropping the Falcons to 6-3.

Mitchell led four double-digit scorers for the home team, which used timely shooting and solid execution to pick up the victory. BGSU junior Lauren Prochaska led all players with 21 points, but was the only Falcon player to score in double figures on the afternoon.

Both teams shot an identical 54.2 percent from the field, making 13 shots in 24 attempts. But, SBU shot .423 from the floor in the second half, while holding the Falcons to just a 6-for-23 (.261) second-half success rate.

Chelsea Bowker scored 14 points off the bench for the Bonnies, while Megan Van Tatenhove added 12 points and Andrea Doneth 10.

SBU scored the game's first four points, and took a 7-2 lead after Jessica Jenkins banked home a three-point field-goal try. Prochaska scored off a feed from senior Tamika Nurse to cut the Falcons' deficit to a single point, at 7-6. But, the Bonnies reeled off five quick points to take a 12-6 lead into the first media timeout of the day.

Another Prochaska bucket was followed by a jumper from junior Maggie Hennegan, who hit a turnaround shot over Mitchell, and the Bonnies' lead was 12-10. But, the Bonnies proceeded to go on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes.

That run began with a Bowker three-pointer, and culminated with Alaina Walker's jumper at the 10:43 mark. SBU led by a 24-10 count, but the Falcons responded with a double-figure run of their own.

BG scored 11-straight points to cut Bona's lead to just three. The run began when sophomore Jessica Slagle hit a right-elbow triple after senior Tara Breske kicked the ball out to her, and after an SBU miss, Prochaska took a pass from junior Tracy Pontius on the break and hit a trailing three.

SBU coach Jim Crowley quickly called a timeout, but the break did not slow the Falcons. Breske took Slagle's entry pass and hit one of her patented turnaround fadeaway shots. On the next possession, Breske blocked a three-point try by Bowker, and the Falcon senior co-captain grabbed the rebound. That led to Slagle hitting Prochaska for another long-range connection and a 24-21 game.

Mitchell ended SBU's drought by hitting a three-pointer with the shot clock winding down. But, the Falcons continued to rally. Senior Sarah Clapper hit a three-pointer, then spotted Uhl for a layup that made it a one-point game, 29-28.

Junior Chelsea Albert drew a foul on the home team and hit both free throws to cut Bona's lead to 31-30, but Doneth hit a triple, again with the shot clock about to expire. Breske showed good patience underneath the hoop, taking a pass from Slagle and avoiding several defenders to hit a layup.

With just 17.3 seconds left in the half, though, an 'and-one' layup by Bowker gave the home team a five-point lead, 39-34, as the teams headed to their respective lockerrooms.

Prochaska scored five points in the first 1:40 of the second half, including a three-pointer that cut SBU's advantage to only three points, at 43-40, but the Falcons would get no closer.

SBU scored 12-straight points over a seven-minute span, taking a double-digit lead for good. The first two points of that run, a Walker layup, came on the possession after Prochaska's triple, but neither team would score for over four minutes after that.

On the possession following Walker's layup, the Falcons had three attempts from beyond the arc, but shots by Prochaska, Nurse and Pontius would not drop, and the home team finally grabbed a rebound.

Eight more scoreless possessions -- four for each team -- followed, before Armelia Horton knocked down a jumper at the 13:40 mark. Back-to-back baskets by Van Tatenhove were followed by a Bowker triple, and the Bonnies' lead was 55-40.

The Falcons got as close as 12 points on several occasions, the last on a Uhl layup with 4:54 left, but -- again with the shot clock winding down -- Mitchell received a pass from Cara Gustafson and drailed a back-breaking triple from the top of the arc, giving the hosts a 67-52 lead. The teams combined for only five points over the final four-plus minutes of the afternoon.

For the game, the Bonnies shot .480 from the field, while holding the Falcons to a .404 rate. SBU held slight advantages in three-pointers made, free throws made and rebounds, with a 31-25 margin in the latter category. Walker pulled down a game-high eight boards, while both Mitchell and Horton had six.

Breske, Prochaska and Uhl had four rebounds each for the Brown and Orange. Prochaska made 8-of-15 shots from the field, but the rest of the team combined to go just 11-for-32. Breske was second on the team in scoring with six points, and blocked three shots to lead all players.

The Falcons turned the ball over just 12 times, but could force SBU into only 11 turnovers.

BGSU now takes a break for final exams before returning to action with another trip to Western New York next weekend. The Falcons will face Canisius next Saturday (Dec. 19), beginning a stretch of three games in five days prior to Christmas. BG's next home game is Dec. 23 vs. Appalachian State.

Temple 68, Kent State 63
KENT, Ohio - Despite trailing by 21 points in the second half, the Kent State women's basketball team proved that they are never out of a game with a dramatic second-half rally to pull within three twice in the game's final ticks, but the visiting Temple Owls held off KSU as the Golden Flashes dropped a 68-63 decision Saturday afternoon at the M.A.C. Center.

Junior Taisja Jones (Dallas, Texas) scored a career-high 25 points, which was more than half of her season scoring output in KSU's first seven games of the season. Ellie Shields (Warren, Ohio) added 14 points while Jamilah Humes (Saginaw, Mich.) chilled in 12 points to go with team highs of five rebounds, four steals and four assists.

"We got together as a team and said, 'We're not going to go down like this. We're going to show coach Lindsay and each other that we have some courage and some heart,'" said Shields. "I think we really did a good job of showing each other that nobody was going to give up, and I don't think anybody on our team did give up. That was a big stepping stone for our team."

The game started off neck-and-neck, as the teams traded leads seven times in the game's first seven minutes. Temple managed to take a seven-point lead midway through the first half, but a three-pointer by Jena Stutzman (Berlin, Ohio) knotted the game at 17-17 with 6:41 to go in the stanza.
Temple responded on the ensuing possession and ignited a 12-0 run over the next four minutes that would aid the Owls in owning a 35-23 lead at the break. Kent State shot just 35 percent in the first 20 minutes while Temple nearly shot 52 percent from the field and had a 16-2 advantage in points off turnovers.

Not cooled by the intermission, Temple continued to build on its lead, and with a fast-break layup by BJ Williams, the Owls lead 52-31 with just over 14 minutes left in the contest.

That's when Kent State's offense started to click, and it's defense also found it's groove.

Kent State scored the next 12 points of the game as Temple made eight trips down the court and came away empty handed each time, either with missed shots or turnovers. Even when Kristen McCarthy scored on a tip-in for Temple with nine minutes to go, KSU had the momentum and continued to roll.

Kent State's 19-2 run was capped by eight straight points by Jones, including back-to-back three-pointers from the right baseline and an offensive putback to trim the game to four, 54-50, with 7:36 on the clock. They were Jones' first three-pointers of the season after missing her first seven tries.

Temple managed to get another 10-point cushion, but again Kent State was relentless and cut the lead to three, 61-64, on a layup by Humes with 1:41 to go in the game. After a pair of Temple free throws, Jones again had KSU within three, 66-63, with just one minute to play.

On the ensuing possession, Temple's Williams missed a short shot, but Kent State was unable to secure the defensive rebound and was forced to foul. LaKeisha Eaddy made both free throws in the bonus situation, and when KSU's Humes couldn't come up with a basket with 20 seconds to play, Temple ran out the clock for the win.

The Flashes had made 15 of their first 16 free throws in the game, but down the stretch, KSU hiccupped at the line, going 3-for-6 in the game's final three minutes at the stripe. Stutzman also saw her career of perfection at the free throw line come to an end during that time, as she went 1-for-2 in the game. She is now 9-of-10 on the year and 22-of-23 for her career at the stripe.

"There were two aspects to this game," said head coach Bob Lindsay. "The first part was the effort in the second half that helped give us a chance to win, and I was proud of that effort. But the second part was the negative plays that cost us, both in the first half and the second half. Twenty turnovers, and our inability to get defensive rebounds at crucial moments of the game."

Temple was led by Williams' 23 points, while Stone had a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Kristen McCarthy added 15 points.
With the setback, Kent State drops to 5-3 on the year while Temple improves to 9-1 overall.
Kent State concludes its five-game home stand Sunday, Dec. 20 when the Flashes entertain UNC Wilmington at 5 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the KSU men's basketball squad.

No. 20 Dayton 84, Miami 75
OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami RedHawks played one of their best games of the season Saturday afternoon, but a late second half run by 20th-ranked Dayton gave the Flyers an 84-75 victory. Courtney Osborn led four RedHawks in double figures with 19 points. Miami falls to 1-8 on the season, while Dayton improves to 9-2.

Maggie Boyer hit three shots early as the RedHawks raced to a 14-11 lead at the 13:23 mark. Rachael Hencke extended the advantage to 19-13 with a jumper followed by a three-point play. Dayton went on a 19-6 run to take a 34-25 lead with 2:57 remaining, but Michelle Oswalt hit a three-point basket to stop the run. Osborn took over from there scoring Miami's last six points of the half as the RedHawks hit the break trailing, 41-34.

Freshman forward Kirsten Olowinski had the best half of her young career during the second half of Saturday's game. She opened it up with a three-pointer and followed it with a layup to pull Miami within two at 41-39. Dayton scored the next eight points to take a 10-point lead at 49-39, but Olowinski drove to the paint and earned two free throws to make the score 49-41 with 16:08 remaining.

A three-pointer by Boyer and jumpers from Olowinski and Hencke closed the RedHawks to within three at 53-50. The Flyers followed with an 18-8 run over the next eight minutes that gave them a 71-58 advantage at the 3:44 mark. Miami continued to fight hard as Osborn hit another three-pointer, while Olowinski hit two more jumpers, including one off her own miss to give her a career-high 10 rebounds. It was not enough however, as Dayton held on for an 84-75 win.

In addition to her 10 rebounds, Olowinski finished with 13 points for her first career double-double. Boyer and Hencke finished with 15 points each. As a team, Miami shot 42.4 percent (28-for-66), compared to the Flyers at 41.5 percent (27-for-65). Dayton outrebounded the RedHawks 51-31, and was led in scoring by Kendel Ross with 29 points.

The RedHawks are off for one week for final exams and then will take a two-game road trip out to the state of California. Miami is next in action on Sunday, Dec. 20 when it faces Cal State Northridge at 7 p.m. (EST). It will conclude the road trip with a 4 p.m. (EST) game at Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday, Dec. 22.