CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Toledo women’s basketball team came back from an 11-point second half deficit to knock off Troy, 70-62 in the semifinal round of the Cherokee Invitational at the Cherokee Events Center on Wednesday.
The Rockets (6-2) trailed 50-39 late in the third quarter, before out-scoring the Trojans (5-6) by a 31-12 margin over the final 11:41 of play to claim the victory and advance to the tournament championship. Toledo is now winners of five of its last six games dating back to Nov. 17.
Graduate student Sammi Mikonowicz led the Rockets with 13 points, making 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. Classmates Khera Goss and Nan Garcia each scored 11 on the evening, with Garcia knocking down two three-pointers in the second half. Sophomore Cadence Dykstra topped the assist board with six, while freshman Kendall Carruthers added four helpers to go with nine points.
On the glass, Mikonowicz added nine rebounds while Goss added eight and graduate student Hannah Noveroske grabbed six. Toledo out-rebounded Troy 50-38 on the evening, with 10 players grabbing at least one board.
“Players make plays and we’ve said it all year,” said Head Coach Ginny Boggess. “We put ourselves in a position to make those big plays down the stretch. Our early success helped us, especially when Troy threw a couple different zones at us. Once we got organized on offense, it became contagious and led to defensive stops during our comeback.”
First Quarter – Toledo 21, Troy 12
- Toledo took an early 5-0 lead, beginning with a three from Sammi Mikonowicz. Troy got its next two buckets to push within 5-4.
- Makes from distance by Evalyse Cole and another from Mikonowicz put the Rockets up 16-7 later in the quarter.
- Kendall Carruthers’ driving layup pushed a double-digit lead with 32.7 seconds left in the period.
- Mikonowicz scored nine points in the quarter.
- The 21 points tied Toledo’s most scored in the first quarter this season.
Second Quarter – Troy 32, Toledo 29
- Troy went on an 11-3 run to close the deficit to one at the media timeout.
- An Ella Weaver three pushed the Rockets back ahead, 27-23 at the 4:34 mark.
- The Trojans took the lead at two separate points to end the quarter – first at 29-27 at the 2:42 mark and later at 32-29 with 1:03 left to play.
Third Quarter – Troy 50, Toledo 45
- Down 34-29, the Rockets responded with a 7-0 run over 1:48 to reclaim the lead 36-34 at the 7:23 mark.
- Troy re-took the lead with a 9-2 run, going ahead 43-39 with 5:05 left in the period.
- The Trojans extended the run to grab a 50-39 advantage with 3:23 remaining.
- Toledo punched back with a 6-0 spurt to cut the deficit to 50-45.
Fourth Quarter – Toledo 70, Troy 62
- The Rockets began to the quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 54-52 lead with 6:16 to play, punctuated by a Nan Garcia three.
- Toledo then responded to a pair of tying buckets by the Trojans, re-claiming the lead, 59-57 with 3:34 left on two Khera Goss free throws.
- Goss then made a clutch three as the shot clock expired to put Toledo up 62-57 with 2:17 remaining. Two free throws from Kendall Carruthers and a layup by Hannah Noveroske completed the 9-0 run and put the game away.
- Toledo out-scored Troy 25-12 in the final period.
Game Notes
- Toledo came back to win from down double-digits for the third time this season and for the fourth time when trailing in the fourth quarter.
- Toledo won its fourth-straight game against Sun Belt Conference opponents. Three of the four wins during the streak have come from double-digit comebacks.
UP NEXT
The Rockets will conclude the tournament in the championship game against the winner of Arkansas and Liberty on Thursday, Dec. 19. Tip off will be at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Stadium Network.
This article was published by UT Rockets on 2024-12-19 03:12:00
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