Rockets fall 69-61 to Ball State

The University of Toledo women’s basketball team dropped its second consecutive Mid-American Conference game Saturday afternoon, falling 69-61 to Ball State in front of a season-high attendance of 5,056 fans at Savage Arena.

The Rockets (12-9, 5-5 MAC) now find themselves sitting in fifth place in a congested MAC West Division, where only three games separate the first and last place teams.

Senior guard Inma Zanoguera led the Rockets with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. Two other players scored in double digits, with junior guard Ana Capotosto putting up 10 points and 12 rebounds and freshman guard Jay Bravo-Harriot contributing 10 points and 5 rebounds.

Sophomore Janice Monokana played just one minute in the first half after picking up two quick fouls.

“It really hurt us that [she] picked up two fouls and had to sit,” said head coach Tricia Cullop. “She gave us a spark in the second half, but its unfortunate she got in would trouble because we needed her.”

Toledo out-rebounded the Cardinals 51-37, including 17 offensive rebounds that only produced 16 second-chance points.

“We let their defense get to us,” Zanoguera said. “We practiced it all week and as soon as we got into the game it really slowed us down, which is disappointing because we know better than that.”

UT was not able to get anything working in the half court offense. Ball State’s 2-3 “buzz zone” defense forced 17 turnovers and held the Rockets to just 31.8 percent shooting.

Toledo struggled to get offensive production off the bench, managing a mere nine points from non-starters all afternoon.

The Cards (11-10, 7-3 MAC) were lead by junior guard Nathalie Fontaine, who posted a game-high 20 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds. She was one of four Ball State players to score in double figures.

After a slow start, the visitors jumped out to a 22-14 advantage with an 8-0 run in a span of just two minutes that forced Cullop to burn a timeout with 7:15 left in the half.

Freshman forward Michaela Rasmussen left the game for the locker room, limping off the court with an apparent leg injury with 11:37 left in the first half. She would return later to play 22 minutes.

The Rockets were kept off the scoreboard for four minutes, until Zanoguera’s lay up with 5:33 left in the half.

Toledo shot an icy 26.7 percent from the field, including 25 percent from three-point land in the first half.

The Cardinals took a 32-23 halftime lead, forcing the Rockets to play half court basketball.

“In the second half we played how we wanted to play,” Capotosto said. “But we let them dominate the tempo of the game in the first half.”

The Rockets started the second half out hot, with junior guard Brenae Harris hitting a trey to cut their opponent’s lead to 32-28. The Cardinals would answer the three with a 7-0 run, and after a floater in the lane by Zanoguera, the Cardinals went on a 8-0 run to jump out to a game-high 17 point lead, on top 47-30 with 11:14 remaining in regulation.

UT went to a full court press on defense. On offense, Toledo went on a 9-0 run over three and a half minutes, cutting the lead to 52-46 with 5:17 left in regulation. Capotosto hit back-to-back treys from the corner to keep the Rockets in contention.

“In the second half we were able to get into a little more of a rhythm,” Zanoguera said. “But we still didn’t hit shots when we needed too.”

UT got no closer to Ball State’s advantage all game.

The Rockets will have a chance for revenge when they travel to face Ball State on March 7 in the regular season finale.