Toledo women fall to Valparaiso Crusaders 63-61 in final game of Toledo Invite

The University of Toledo women’s basketball team fought to the bitter end of Saturday night’s 63-61 loss to the Valparaiso Crusaders.

But all that will be remembered of the final game of the second-annual Toledo Invite is the score.

“Unfortunately we just couldn’t buy a basket,” said Toledo head coach Tricia Cullop after the game. “We just came up short.”

 Toledo’s shooting struggles were truly the defining factor in this game. The Rockets shot 36% from the field and 21% from beyond the arch.

Toledo’s freshmen scored 8 of the first 13 points for the Rockets. Freshmen guards Lindsay Baker and Elena de Alfredo came off the bench early in the game giving the UT instant production.

Baker was able to drain two of her first three treys to help give Toledo a 20-17 lead with only nine minutes left in the first half.

With the offensive struggles and the Crusaders’ superior shooting percentage (50%), Valparaiso was able to take a 35-27 lead with only a minute and twenty seconds left in the first half.  

 “They executed well and you’ve got to give them credit for that.” Cullop said.

Zanoguera hit a deep three - her first points of the night - to cut her team’s deficit by 5 and, with just seconds left, Dortch stole the ball just on the other side of half court which led to a fast break layup right before the buzzer.

The Crusaders went into the locker room with a 35-32 lead. Toledo’s bench accounted for 19 of their first half points.

The Rockets didn’t see a lead until, at the 13:20 mark, Dortch made a layup to put her team up 45-43.

That lead wouldn’t last.

Valparaiso junior forward Sharon Karungi gave UT headaches all game, shooting 7 for 12 from the field, scoring 15 points, and grabbing 14 rebounds for the Crusaders.

With her team down by one with 4:20 left in the half she converted a three-point play to put Valparaiso up 61-59. After a steal by Dortch, senior guard Janelle Reed-Lewis hit a jumper to tie things up with 3:43 left on the clock.

That was the last basket scored for 3 minutes and 40 seconds. Karungi would end the drought, hitting a 12-foot jumper off an offensive rebound to give her team a 63-61 lead with only three ticks left.

Dortch threw up a last second half court heave that hit off the side of the backboard.

“I never take losses well, but I committed myself to being more positive and more of a teaching mood.” Cullop said “You can’t get upset with kids who don’t know any better yet.”

Valparaiso improves to 2-7 on the season and UT is now 4-4.

“We’re a young team, we have a lot to work on,” said senior center Brianna Jones. “I feel that our future is really bright.”

The Rockets now look ahead to traveling to St. Bonaventure on Sunday, December 15th. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.