ROCKETS DO IT WITH DEFENSE

November 13, 2011 - The Toledo Rockets opened the 2011-12 season in impressive fashion with a 61-51 win over the Dayton Flyers in front of 3,467 appreciative fans at Savage Arena.

Harken back to December 10, 2010 when this same Dayton team shot 60% on it's home court in overwhelming UT to the tune of 102-69. What a difference a year makes! In handing UD (1-1) it's first loss of this very young season, Toledo pitched a defensive gem, limiting the visitors to just 15 field goals on the afternoon and holding them to 26.8 shooting percentage. In fairness, the Flyers also play some pretty good defense and allowed the Rockets just 18 field goals for the game, but a 31-13 Toledo half-time lead proved too much of a mountain to climb for Coach Jim Jabir's squad.

The 2011 WNIT Championship banner was unfurled from the rafters before the game, much to the delight of those in attendance and the Rocket starters seemed to take their cue from that energy, especially the Toledo guard tandem of senior Naama Shafir and sophomore Andola Dortch who spearheaded Toledo's early offensive success.

Dortch put UT on the board first with a three-pointer from the corner and ignited a 10-0 run that was capped off by a triple from Shafir. The run was spiced up a little when Dayton center Casey Nance was whistled for a technical foul due to some excessive celebrating after stepping in front of Dortch and causing a turnover.

The Flyers misfired on their first six shots, all from behind the three-point line, until their big gun Justine Raterman scored on a layup at the 13:43 mark to make the score 10-2.

Toledo then countered with a 12-3 barrage of points, topped off by Dortch, who connected on two more three-pointers from the corner. At this juncture it was 22-5 with 8:02 remaining to be played in the half and Dayton needed a timeout to try to regroup.

UT extended its lead to 31-11 before Flyer Guard Elle Queen converted a pair of free throws with one minute to play before intermission, allowing the Midnight Blue and Gold to head for the locker room with an eighteen-point 31-13 advantage.

Dortch had 11 points to lead the Rocket attack in the opening period, closely followed by Shafir with nine markers. Toledo might have had a much greater lead but the women missed a  number of easy scoring opportunities near the basket.

Dayton was a train-wreck in the first 20 minutes making just five-of-27 shots, a figure that included 0-for-12 from long distance.

Both teams improved their shooting somewhat early in the second half with Shafir and senior Courtney Ingersoll bagging triples for Toledo, and Raterman nailing one for Dayton. But the visitors couldn't cut into the lead until UD senior point guard Patrice Lalor, a Toledo native, hit a jumper to make the score 40-27. Nance cut the margin to 42-30 with a free throw, but Toledo then answered with a 7-0 spurt that made a comeback by UD a most difficult task.

Fouls, turnovers, and some errant free-throw shooting by the Rockets allowed Dayton to cut the lead to single digits four times within the final five minutes but the issue never really seemed to be in doubt. A pair of free throws by Shafir in the final 24 seconds provided the 61-51 margin.

Dortch led all scorers with a final tally of 17 points. The wiry sophomore also recorded seven rebounds and four steals. Shafir, the senior co-captain added 16 points, five assists, and four steals. Also making significant contributions to Toledo's cause were Junior Yolanda Richardson who added eight points and seven rebounds, and Ingersoll .who clocked out with seven points and six rebounds

Dayton was paced by Raterman who had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Lalor with 10 points.

UT had a 22-16 advantage scoring points in the paint and finished with a 19-13 edge in second-chance points.

Neither coach will find comfort in looking at the assist/turnover ratio for the contest. Dayton had nine assists against 24 turnovers while Toledo fared slightly better with 10 assists and 22 turnovers.

Rocket Notes:

Transfer Kyle Baumgaertner saw her first action as a Rocket since coming over from Akron. The junior center had two points and six rebounds in 10 minutes of playing time.

A pair of freshmen saw their first action in the game. Inma Zanoguera logged 13 minutes and Stephanie Recker was inserted into the lineup at the end of the first half.

Andola Dortch gave notice that she was going to be a three-point threat with her 3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. Dortch confessed to putting in a lot of time this summer working on her long-distance shooting.

Toledo coach Tricia Cullop used a total of 12 players in Sunday's contest. In the post-game media conference, Cullop made special mention of Toledo defense and depth as being keys to UT's first win of the season.

The Rockets have their work cut out for them in their next game, a road contest at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, a team that posted a 34-2 record and a Sweet-16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. The game is set for Wednesday, November 16 at 8:00 pm Central Time.

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