Toledo wins 81-79 in overtime

The UT women’s basketball team defeated Central Michigan 81-79 on a layup by senior Brenae Harris with 9.2 seconds remaining in overtime on the road on Saturday. Toledo improves to 15-10 and 10-4 in Mid-American Conference play, moving into a tie for second place in the West division.

Down by 3 points with just over three minutes to go, Bravo-Harriot hit a triple to tie the game at 72-72. After trading buckets over the next two minutes, Harris hit a jumper to put UT ahead by three with 1:04 left in the overtime.

The Chippewas tied things up once more at 79 after three free throws in the final minute.

Harris drove the lane and hit the game-winning layup with just 9.2 seconds left on the clock for the win.

Toledo shot 51 percent from the field including 6-of-14 from behind the arc and 73 percent (11-of-15) from the free-throw line. With the victory, the Rockets win the fourth of their last five on the road against the Chippewas while ending CMU’s eight-game winning streak.

Harris paced UT with a game-high 23 points, dishing out four dimes and grabbing six rebounds. Sophomore Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott poured in 19 points, five boards and five assists.

The Rockets out-rebounded Central Michigan 40-37, though the Chippewas still lead the MAC in rebounding. Freshman Kaayla McIntyre led the way with a team-high nine rebounds and 9 points off the bench. Junior Janice Monakana pulled down seven boards to go along with 15 points.

Tinara Moore led five Chippewas in double figures with 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds followed by Cassie Breen’s 15 points. Reyna Frost was cleaning the glass with 10 boards and 12 points.

UT came out of the locker room locked in, connecting on four of their first six shots and resulting in a 9-3 run. The run was capped by a steal from Bravo-Harriott and a layup by Monakana.

The Rockets scored 6 straight points, including a layup by McIntyre to push the lead to nine. Freshman Halee Printz’s jumper beat the buzzer at the end of the quarter to give UT a 21-12 lead.

The Chippewas started the second quarter with 4 straight points to cut the UT lead to 5. Monakana halted their momentum with a trey to put the Rockets back up by 8. The Rockets took a 34-29 lead into the break.

CMU tied the game at 37-37 just two minutes into the second half, after three free throws by Breen. Toledo responded with buckets by Monakana, Bravo-Harriott and junior Sophie Reecher to take a 46-43 lead.

However, Breen hit nine shots from the charity stripe in the final three minutes of the quarter to tie the game once again at 54 all. UT freshman Sara St. Fort scored on a pass from Bravo-Harriott to give UT the advantage going into the final 10 minutes of play.

Harris and the Rockets went on an 8-4 run to build a 6-point margin with 6:47 remaining in regulation but failed to score for the next six minutes.

The Chippewas capitalized on the drought, cutting the lead to just one on a Breen triple. A Printz turnover led to a layup by Da’Jourie Turner to put CMU in the lead 65-64 with 56 seconds remaining.

Toledo called a timeout and McIntyre put in a layup to shift the lead back their way. Harris hit two free throws with the game tied to give UT a 69-67 lead forcing CMU into a timeout with only four seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Hudson Presley sent the game to overtime with a layup at the buzzer.

The Rockets return to Savage Arena tonight, Feb. 24, against Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.