ROCKETS OUTLAST COLORADO STATE

December 04, 2011 - Toledo used a balanced scoring attack and a stingy defense to upend the visiting Colorado State Rams, 58-51, in a Sunday afternoon contest at Savage Arena. CSU, a member of the Mountain West Conference, motored into Toledo struggling with a 1-5 record, but the Rams had a pair of big scorers on the roster in senior guard Kim Mestdagh (17.1) and 6-2 sophomore center Sam Martin (15.7).

The opening period began much like the Thursday morning game against Iona, with Toledo struggling to find the basket on offense but working mightily on defense to keep Colorado State from scoring.

Haylie Linn got the Rockets on the board first with a steal and a layup, and that 2-0 score held up until Mestdaugh drained a three-pointer at the 16:02 mark. Scoring was at a premium seven minutes into the game with the Rams holding a precarious 5-3 lead until Toledo's Lecretia Smith knotted things up with a layup. And that was a good thing because prior to Smith's basket UT had more turnovers than points.

Both teams struggled for points in an opening period that produced five ties and saw the score see-saw back and forth until Andola Dortch converted a traditional three-point play with 1:02 remaining to give Toledo a 23-22 edge that would hold up until the break.

Dortch paced the Rocket scoring early on with 10 points, closely followed by Yolanda Richardson who totaled nine markers on 4-of-5 shooting in the paint. Mestdagh had 10 points to lead the Rams.

Toledo forced CSU into 16 first-half turnovers but could not convert any of those miscues into points as the Midnight Blue and Gold shot an anemic 9-for-28 (32.1%) in the first 20 minutes.

The first 15 minutes of the second half played out much like the opening period with both teams struggling for an advantage until Dortch hit a jumper for a 49-46 Toledo lead with 5:23 to play. From that point on, Toledo went on a 9-5 mini run to salt away the victory. Linn hit a triple, followed by freshman Inma Zanoquera, who added a layup and a free throw to make it a 55-48 ball game with just 1:20 remaining.

After Martin scored for the visitors to make it a five-point game, Courtney Ingersoll applied the coup de grâce with a rainbow from beyond the arc, and Toledo was just 60 seconds away from their fifth win of the season. Colorado State closed out the scoring with a free throw as time was running out.

For the Rockets, Dortch led four Toledo players in double-digits with 16 points. She was followed by Linn (12), Richardson (11) and Ingersoll (10). Ingersoll scored all of her points in the second half after throwing up three blanks from long distance before intermission.

In addition to her scoring, Dortch dished out eight assists, recorded a pair of steals and grabbed five rebounds in 37 minutes on the floor. Her rebounding total tied her with Zanoguera for team honors

After their abysmal shooting in the first 20 minutes the Rockets shot 50% (15-30) after the break to finish at a respectable 41.4%..

Colorado State committed a total of 27 turnovers in the contest, 11 in the second half, and Toledo was able to convert those second-half miscues into 23 points. UT was guilty of 17 turnovers for the game.

Martin, CSU's very talented center, had a very strong game, totaling a game high 21 points and seven rebounds, with 17 of her points came in the second half. For all of Martin's scoring prowess, however, she was guilty of seven turnovers. Mestdagh, who had 10 points before intermission, scored just four more, finishing with 14. Mestdagh was guilty of six turnovers while on the floor.

The game was a milestone of sorts for Tricia Cullop as she notched her 200^th career victory, her 77^th coaching the Rockets.

Sunday's win was the 22^nd straight home victory for Toledo. The Midnight Blue and Gold haven't been bested in Savage Arena since a 73-69 loss to Missouri State on November 20, 2010.

Following the game, Tricia Cullop had this to say about the win: “Colorado State's record is not indicative of how good of a team they are. Sam Martin is probably one of the best post players we'll see this season; she is tough. Granted she had 21 points, but to double team and force her into seven turnovers really helped our game plan. And there was No. 5 (Kim Mestdagh) She is a fantastic scorer who had 28 points the last game, so our kids did a good job of finding her, and some of her turnovers (6) were because our kids were denying so hard and causing extreme pressure.”

Commenting about her players, the coach said: “ Yolanda Richardson just owned the block in the first half and did a fantastic job of finishing. And in the second half Courtney and Haylie hit big threes. And finally, Andola Dortch showed a lot of poise taking the ball to the basket and distributing it as well as she did. Right now we're winning by committee and continuing to play tough defense.”

Lastly, commentating on getting her 200^th career win: “There are a lot of great players and assistant coaches who helped make it happen and I'm very fortunate to have worked with such a great bunch over my career. Let's hope I live to see 300.

An excellent crowd of 4,244 fans passed through the turnstiles on a very wet afternoon to support the Rockets.

Toledo now begins practicing in preparation for a December 8, game against Wisconsin-Green Bay, a team that beat UT 84-68 in Green Bay on November 16.