In the first game of this year’s Women’s National Invitation Tournament, Toledo halted Detroit’s upset bid 59-49 in Savage Arena on March 16. The Rockets have now won seven consecutive postseason games, advancing to the second round of the tournament that they won last season.

“We knew this was going to be a battle,” Toledo head coach Tricia Cullop said. “We have a lot of respect for them. They have one of the best post players we’ve seen all season.”

Kyle Baumgartner, photo by Jason Mack

With the victory, Toledo will host Cincinnati (16-15) in the second round of the WNIT at 7 p.m. March 19. Tickets are $13 and $11 and can be bought at the UT Ticket Office or by calling (419) 530-4653 (GOLD). Cullop has purchased tickets to be given to the first 100 fans, while students will still get in free due to money given by the UT President’s Office.

To advance in the WNIT, the Rockets (22-9) received a season-best performance from Kyle Baumgartner over Detroit (20-14). The junior center had 18 points and 13 rebounds off the bench to lead UT to a win, hitting 7 of 13 from the field. In three of the last four games, she has scored nine points or more.

“It was good to see her play well,” Cullop said. “It adds another dimension to our team. She is finally hitting that stride, and I can’t wait to see what’s ahead.

Baumgartner also had to go head-to-head with Detroit’s Shareta Brown, who gave Toledo fits all game. The Titans center scored 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds in a losing effort.

UT sophomore point guard Andola Dortch (4 of 12) recorded 12 points and four assists while senior guard Courtney Ingersoll (4 of 6) had 10 points and four helpers. Junior center Yolanda Richardson (1 of 6) scored just three points but pulled down nine rebounds.

Detroit led for most of the contest, until the Rockets tied the game with 7:16 remaining at 43 after a layup by freshman Inma Zanoguera. That basket was the beginning of a 15-2 run to put away the Titans as UT cruised to a 59-49 win.

Toledo attributed its late success to its depth as seven players played over 10 minutes. Detroit, meanwhile, had just six players receive significant minutes including two playing the entire game.

“We do have the depth to be dangerous,” Cullop said.

Tags: Andola Dortch, Courtney Ingersoll, Inma Zanoguera, Kyle Baumgartner, Rockets basketball, Tricia Cullop, Women’s National Invitation Tournament, Zach Davis

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 17th, 2012 at 11:04 am and is filed under Rocket Basketball, Sports.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.