CLEVELAND, OH - No. 2 seed Toledo outscored No. 7 seed Ball State 37-26 in the second half en route to a 67-56 victory in Wednesday's quarterfinal game of the 2010 MAC Tournament in Quicken Loans Arena. With the win, the Rockets improve to 23-7 on the season. UT will now play of the winner of No. 3 seed Kent State and No. 6 seed Central Michigan in the semifinals on Friday, March 12 at noon.
UT shot a sizzling 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from the field in the final 20 minutes, including 50.0 percent (3-of-6) from beyond the arc, and 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from the charity stripe to advance to the "Final Four" for the third-consecutive season and the 20th time overall.
Sophomore Naama Shafir led UT with a game-high 18 points and seven assists, while senior Tanika Mays and junior Melissa Goodall contributed 14 points each in the winning effort. The Rockets' terrific trio accounted for 46 of the team's points.
With the score tied 30-30 at the intermission, Toledo junior Jessica Williams hit a pair of triples to jumpstart the offense on a game-changing 15-6 run, leading to a 47-36 cushion with 14:45 remaining. Williams finished the game with nine points, all coming in the final 20 minutes.
"At the beginning of the second half, we played together and played with energy," said Shafir, who has now dished out at least six assists in a game 20 times this season.
The Rockets' offense really started to hit its stride in the opening stages of the second period, while their defense also picked up the intensity. UT held the highly-efficient BSU attack scoreless for a period of more than three minutes during the run to build the double-digit cushion.
Toledo continued to shoot at a torrid pace as the period continued and a nice layup from Goodall made the score 49-40 at 13:52. The Midnight Blue & Gold knocked down six of its first 10 field-goal attempts and shot five-of-six from the he charity stripe to make it three-possession difference.
The MAC West Division champs kept their foot on the accelerator from there and a mini 12-5 run pushed the advantage back to double figures, 62-49, with 6:01 left. UT's lead did not slop below 10 points the remainder of the contest.
"Defensively, our players bought into what we were trying to do," Toledo Head Coach Tricia Cullop said. "The defensive stops were the difference in the game. Especially down the stretch, Naama's two charges almost back to back. It was a battle. It could have gone either way if we didn't play with emotion. The second half, I felt our players were much more inspired than we were in the first half."
In the first half, Toledo was plagued by early turnovers, but the strength of four points from Shafir helped them claim an 8-7 lead at 11:39. The Rockets were guilty of seven miscues in the beginning stages of today's game, allowing the Cardinals to score five points off those turnovers to keep the score close.
The teams traded baskets for almost the next six-plus minutes with neither squad holding more than a three-point advantage, before a layup from Shafir and a triple by sophomore Courtney Ingersoll gave the Rockets a 20-16 edge with 5:38 left in the half.
Toledo would not trail for the remainder of the period, but nine-consecutive points from BSU's Ty'Ronda Benning knotted the score at the break. Benning led the Cardinals with 16 points, all coming in the first half.
Audrey McDonald and Emily Maggert also tallied double figures for BSU with 13 points and 12 points, respectively. As a team, the Cardinals shot 36.7 percent (22-of-60) from the floor and 22.7 percent (5-of-22) from three-point land. They end their season with a 14-17 mark.
The Rockets won the battle of the boards, 34-33, and finished with 17 assists, compared to 16 turnovers to record its fifth-straight victory over Ball State in MAC postseason play.
