UT women drop back-to-back games

Sam Williams, Sports Editor

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This past week, the University of Toledo women’s basketball team was defeated in two games by Ohio University and Kent State University with scores of 64-55 and 70-60, respectively. The losses dropped the Rocket record to 12-6 overall and 3-4 in Mid-American Conference play.

“Tonight is a disappointing loss, just because I feel like there are a lot of areas where we can improve on both ends of the floor,” head coach Tricia Cullop said. “We didn’t shoot it well, and we also didn’t contain well. We knew that Lampkins was going to drive us, and I don’t think we communicated very well on the defensive end.”

Second-year center Kaayla McIntyre led UT with 11 points and three steals, playing 34 minutes, a career high. She shot 5-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-3 from the free throw line to score in double digits for the third straight game and the sixth time in the last eight contests.

Toledo’s next highest scorers were the trio of fourth-year forward Janice Monakana, third-year forward Jada Woody and first-year guard Mariella Santucci, with seven points each.

As a team, UT was held to 31.0 percent (18-of-58) from the field, including 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from three-point range and 70.0 percent (14-of-20) from the free throw line to lose back-to-back games for the first time this year. UT’s final point total and overall field-goal percentage were its second-lowest marks on the season.

The Rockets started out slow and found themselves down early, 9-3, with 5:07 gone in the first quarter. They missed six of their first seven shots from the field and were guilty of four miscues in the opening four-plus minutes of action.

UT responded admirably following the media timeout and went on an 11-2 run to assume a 14-11 advantage with 2:29 left in the first quarter. Second-year guard Mikaela Boyd and McIntyre sparked the early run with four points each to turn a six-point deficit into a three-point lead.

Ohio answered back, scoring 14 of the next 17 points to claim an eight-point lead, 25-17, with 8:54 remaining in the half.

The Rockets capitalized on back-to-back field goals from second-year forward Sarah St-Fort and Woody, but they could not sustain a run and went almost five minutes without another point. As a result, the Rockets trailed 32-26 at the intermission.

UT cut the lead margin to 36-35 at the 5:13 mark in the third quarter. McIntyre converted a pair of layups, while Woody drained her second triple on the evening and split a pair of charity tosses to make it a one-point contest. The Bobcats responded with a 14-5 run to stretch the margin to 50-40 after 30 minutes of competition.

Toledo scored 11 of the first 13 points to pull within a single point, 52-51, with 4:05 left in regulation. Monakana accounted for all but two of the points in the late spurt to make it a one-possession contest and bring the home crowd into the game.

“We scrapped hard to get back in it,” Cullop said, “but unfortunately we couldn’t finish the deal. I love the effort to fight back.”

The Rockets went scoreless for the next 3:26 and mustered only four points the rest of the game, while Ohio registered 12 to make the final score, 64-55.

Against Kent State, Monakana paced UT with 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals. The 2016-17 team captain overcame early foul trouble to score in double figures for the second time in the last three games since returning from injury.

“I really didn’t know what I had today,” Cullop said. “We had to switch the starting lineup a little bit just to see what we had. I think the good thing is, I love the fight that we had. I think we learned a lot. We still have to hit shots, and I think it comes down to that. I think we had great shots. The first half, I don’t know if we could have gotten better looks than we got.”

Santucci added 10 points and a season-high 11 assists to post her first collegiate double-double. Santucci came off the bench for the first time this season and logged a team-high 34 minutes. She has now dished out at least six assists on eight occasions in her first year wearing the Midnight Blue & Gold.

As a team, the Rockets were limited to 33.3 percent (25-of-75) from the floor, including 14.3 percent (3-of-21) from beyond the arc, and 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the free throw line.

For the third straight game, the Rockets fell behind early and trailed 20-8 after the first period. They missed 14 of their first 18 shots from the field and were guilty of five early miscues.

KSU’s Larissa Lurken drained her second triple of the game and added three free throws to stretch KSU’s margin to 32-22 at the intermission.

The Golden Flashes came out strong in the third quarter, utilizing a mini 14-8 burst over the final five minutes to make the score 52-36.

Toledo did not go down easily, adding a quick eight points by Monakana to set the score at 60-49 with 4:46 left in the game. She buried back-to-back three-point field goals and added a layup to prompt KSU to call a timeout.

The Rockets kept attacking and pulled to within seven points on two occasions in the final moments of regulation, but they could get no closer and suffered a 10-point setback.

The Golden Flashes closed down the game, tallying eight of their final 10 points from the free throw line to defeat UT. UT owned a 44-35 edge on the boards and a 33-8 advantage in bench points.

“When you’ve had some losses that are kind of tough to swallow,” Cullop said, “you start doubting yourself, and I don’t want us to. I think we have so many things that we can do well. We have to get back to what our identity is.”

The Rockets return to the court next Saturday, Jan. 28, when they host MAC West Division co-leader Central Michigan. The opening tip versus the Chippewas is slated for 4:30 p.m. in Savage Arena.

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UT women drop back-to-back games