Stories Courtesy of MAC Media Relations Offices

Toledo 78, Yale 61
ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Toledo shot a sizzling 61.2 percent from the field and registered a 78-61 victory over Yale in Friday's opening game of the Holiday Inn & Suites Express Albuquerque Midtown Thanksgiving Tournament in the Pit. With the win, the Rockets improve to 4-2 on the season.

UT knocked down an impressive 30-of-49 from the field, including an equally as impressive 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from beyond the arc, to advance to tomorrow's championship game against the winner of tonight's other contest between host New Mexico and North Carolina A&T at 7:00 p.m. (MT)

"It wasn't prettiest, but it's a win and we'll take it," said Toledo Head Coach Tricia Cullop, commenting about her team overall performance which included 30 turnovers. "I was proud of the team's psyche. We didn't get down when things weren't going our way, like we did at UTEP on Tuesday."

Sophomore Courtney Ingersoll paced four Rockets in double figures with a career-high 14 points. Senior Tanika Mays bounced back from a rare off game against the Miners with 12 points, sophomore Clare Aubry added a collegiate-best 11 points and junior Jessica Williams had 11 points as well.

"We received good contributions from a lot of players," Cullop said. "We had quite a few players step up and give us good minutes."
Yale (2-2) was led by Yoyo Greenfield and Melissa Colborne with 13 points each and Michelle Cashen had 11 points. The Bulldogs were limited to 34.5 percent (19-of-55) from the field, including 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from three-point land, and 31 turnovers. The Rockets were able to take of those miscues and translate them into 22 points.

Toledo started out slow and had nine miscues in the first four-and-a-minutes, trailing 6-2 at 15:21.

The Rockets then received a boost from Ingersoll off the bench, tallying back-to-back baskets to give the home team on the scoreboard their first lead, 10-8, with 13:23 remaining.

Ingersoll's play helped the Rockets settle their nerves and ignited a 13-3 run to make the score 23-12 at 7:27.

UT continued to push the action and three baskets by Mays in a span of two minutes made it a 25-12 difference with 6:30 remaining.
As quickly as the Rockets had built their lead, the Bulldogs responded with a 17-3 run to reclaim the advantage, 29-28, with 2:27 remaining. Yale hit a couple three-point field goals to do the majority of the damage and retake the lead.

Fortunately for UT, they were able to end the half with a mini 7-2 burst to take a 35-31 lead into the intermission. Mays scored four of the seven points in the run to establish a four-point cushion at the break.

The Rockets started the second half the same way they ended the first, utilizing an 8-3 run to increase the lead to 43-34 at 15:05.

UT's advantage went back to double digits, 57-47, as the period wore one on a deep triple by Aubry with 8:57 left.

"Clare has such a nice shot and she is only going to get better as the season goes along," Cullop said.

Toledo would maintain a comfortable lead for the remainder of regulation, taking advantage of a pair of triples from Williams as well as another from Ingersoll to post the 17-point victory.

"I thought in the second half we were able to take advantage of our depth and we got a lot of good looks at the basket," said Cullop, commenting about how her team shot 66.7 percent (16-of-24) from the field in the second half.

Akron 79, Rider 43
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Akron women's basketball team used a dominating front court performance from Kyle Baumgartner, Kara Murphy, and Jolene Tamboue to knock-off Rider 79-43 Friday on the opening day of the Florida Gulf Coast Thanksgiving Classic in Fort Myers, Florida.

After Rider scored the first basket of the game to take a 2-0 advantage, the Zips would go on a 10-0 run to take a lead they would not relinquish. Akron's early 10 point burst was highlighted by eight points from Baumgartner, including a pair of three-point bombs in the first four minutes of the contest.

The Zips' starting front court of Baumgartner, Murphy, and Tamboue combined to outscore Rider's front court starters 41-8, with Murphy joining Baumgartner in double figures, ending the night with 14. Akron freshman Rachel Tecca provided an additional front court offensive punch, coming off the bench to score a career high 16 points in 24 minutes of action.

While Akron's 79 point offensive output was their highest since an 82-75 win over Robert Morris last December, Zips' head coach Jodi Kest thought defense keyed the win.

"Defensively, I thought our kids played hard," Kest said. "I think the effort was there, forcing 26 (Rider) turnovers."

The Zips' defense limited the Broncs to only 27 percent shooting from the field (15 of 56), while making a season-high 13 steals with Baumgartner and Tamboue collecting three each.

In addition to her 20 points and three steals, Baumgartner grabbed five rebounds and shot 4-of-5 from three-point range.

"Kyle came ready to play today," Kest said. "If we can get Kyle to play that way every game, it's going to be a great year for us."

Freshmen Taylor Ruper and Ti'eshia Stubbs scored their first collegiate points for Akron, with Ruper burying 2-of-5 triples for six points and Stubbs hitting a first half free throw for one. Ruper also added three rebounds, an assist, and a blocked shot while Stubbs grabbed two boards and dished an assist.

Senior guard Amanda Sepulveda led the Broncs in scoring with 17.

Akron (2-3) faces Tulsa Saturday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. on Day two of the Classic, with Rider (1-4) meeting Florida Gulf Coast in the second half of the doubleheader.

Catch the Zips and Tulsa on Fox Sports 1350 and gozips.com Saturday, beginning at 4:45 p.m. with the pre-game show and tip-off at 5:00 p.m.

Marshall 83, Miami 76
PITTSBURGH - After falling behind by 24 points in the second half, Miami pulled to within four late against Marshall Friday afternoon before falling, 83-76. The game was the opening round match in the Pitt Thanksgiving Tournament. The RedHawks drop to 1-3 on the year, while the Thundering Herd improve to 2-3.

Marshall struck quickly with an 11-2 run to open the game. A three-pointer by Courtney Osborn along with a basket by Maggie Boyer, pulled the RedHawks within four at 11-7. The quick pace continued early as Osborn hit another three, while Lillian Pitts and Courtney Reed each hit shots to make the score 17-14 in favor of the Thunder Herd only seven minutes into the game.

A 17-6 run by Marshall gave it a 34-20 advantage with 5:27 remaining in the half. The teams traded free throws for the rest of the period, until Ashleigh Brown and Osborn each hit layups to cut the Miami deficit to 43-31 going into the break.

Miami struggled with its shooting to begin the second half, as the Thundering Herd began the period on a 14-2 run to obtain their biggest lead at 24 points at 57-33 with 15:36 to go. The RedHawks began to chip into the lead by forcing the ball inside and getting to the free throw line. A 9-0 run by Miami keyed by seven free throws cut the deficit to 15. Another three-pointer by Osborn got the RedHawks to within 11 at 60-49 with 11:02 remaining.

With the score 62-49, layup by Brown and a three-pointer by Boyer helped sparked another run that cut the lead to six at 66-60.

Marshall pushed the advantage back to 10 at 72-62, but a three-point play by Brown and a three-pointer by Reed pulled Miami to within four at 72-68 with 2:23 to go. The RedHawks went cold from there and the Thundering Herd hit their free throws down the stretch to pull away for an 83-76 win.

Osborn led Miami with 20 points and seven assists. It is the second time in her first four career games that she has crossed the 20-point mark. Brown scored 17 for the RedHawks, while Boyer chipped in 14. Chantelle Handy led Marshall with 22 points. The Thundering Herd shot 54.5 percent (30-for-55) for the game.

Miami will play in the consolation game of the Pitt Thanksgiving Tournament against Appalachian State Saturday at 4 p.m. The Mountaineers fell in their opening game to 20th-ranked Pittsburgh, 63-56. The game can be heard on MSNi at www.Miamisportsnetwork.com. Tim Bray has the call beginning at 3:40 p.m.

Penn State 86, Buffalo 65
ORONO, ME - A 50-point second half outburst by Penn State led the Lady Lions to an 86-65 victory over the University at Buffalo women's basketball team, Friday evening in the first round of the Dead River Company Classic at Maine's Alfond Arena.

Penn State surged to an early 20-8 lead in the first half, but the Bulls fought back and would go into the half down just five. Part of that run could be attributed to junior Bridgette Kendricks, who twice in the opening half benefited from being at the top of the zone and stealing two passes and converting them into easy layups.

However, the second half belonged to the Lady Lions as they outscored the Bulls 50-34, hitting 56.4 percent of their shots, including an even 50 percent from behind the arc. Penn State began the half on a 26-14 run to pull away from UB. The Bulls tried to make it close, but the Lady Lions converted on their free throw opportunities in the end.

"I thought we brought forth great energy today, but we were unable to execute," said head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald. "You have to be able to execute when you play a great team like Penn State and I give them credit because they were able to execute and we weren't."

The Bulls had 12 different players find the scoring column, led by 14 points and 10 rebounds from preseason All-MAC selection Kourtney Brown. Brown also had a game-high five steals. Jessica Fortman added 11 points, while Brittany Hedderson also finished in double figures with 10. Freshman Abby Dowd started for the second straight game and had eight points, three rebounds and a team-high four assists. Kendricks finished with seven points, three rebounds and three steals.

Penn State, who shot 52.5 percent for the game, was led by 19 points from Zhaque Gray and 18 points from Tyra Grant. Julia Troggle had 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bulls will be back in action tomorrow in the consolation game of the Dead River Classic against the loser of the Maine/Holy Cross game. Action gets underway at 12:00 pm.

North Dakota State 65, Ball State 57
FARGO, ND - The Ball State University women's basketball team lost on the road to North Dakota State by a score of 65-57 Friday evening in the Bison Sports Arena. The Cardinals fall to 2-3 on the season while the Bison improve to 2-3 on the season.

Sophomore guard Patrice King led the Cardinals with 15 points. In her 100th career start senior Audrey McDonald and teammate Danielle Gratton both had 13 points apiece. Gratton also earned her first double-double of the season after pulling down 11 rebounds.
Both teams got off to a slow start in the second period. After over two minutes of play, North Dakota State hit a layup to tie the game 28-28. Ball State was held scoreless for over four minutes until King made a basket.

Much like the first half both teams traded baskets. Ball State tried to pull away from the Bison after McDonald knocked down a three pointer making it a 41-38 ball game at the around the 10 minute mark.

NDSU would then go on a 9-0 run to take its biggest advantage of the game 48-41 with 6:44 on the clock.

The Cardinals made a run of their own after McDonald hit another three her third of the game, soon after BSU would make a defensive stop at the other end of the court which allowed Gratton to hit a reverse layup. BSU would only trail by two (48-46) with five minutes remaining.

In the opening minutes of the first half both teams traded baskets. Ball State got on the board first after junior forward Emily Maggert hit a jumper in the paint.

North Dakota State went on a seven point run to take a 13-9 edge over the Cardinals with 11:56 left on the clock. Ball State climbed its way back into the game and took back the lead at the 8:51 mark to go up 16-15 after Gratton hit a three pointer.

The game was tied 21-21 for the fourth time at 4:26 before Ball State went on a 5-0 run to take a 26-21 advantage. BSU led by as many as five with just over a minute to play. The Bison would hit a three pointer late but Ball State would end the half with a 28-26 edge over North Dakota State.

Bowling Green 80, UNC-Greensboro 51
Junior Lauren Prochaska scored a game-high 20 points to help the Bowling Green State University women's basketball team to an 80-51 victory over the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Friday night (Nov. 27). The non-conference game was held at venerable Anderson Arena on the BGSU campus.

With the win, the Falcons improve to 3-2 on the season, while the Spartans drop to 1-4.

Senior Tamika Nurse scored 16 points in the Falcons' win. Fifteen different BGSU players saw action in the game, with none playing over 28 minutes.

The Falcons shot over 50 percent in each half en route to a 53.8% rate for the evening. For the fourth time in this season's five games, BGSU hit double digits in three-point field goals made. The Brown and Orange went 11-of-23 from beyond the arc.

Nurse went 4-of-5 from three-point range, while Prochaska was 4-of-7 from long distance.

Prochaska and Nurse were the only two players to score in double digits for the Falcons, but a total of six of their teammates scored between five and eight points. Freshman Allison Papenfuss had the first eight points of her young career, while senior Laura Bugher and juniors Maggie Hennegan and Jen Uhl had six apiece.

Kendra Smith led the Spartans with 12 points, while Amanda Leigh added nine points and Lakiah Hyson eight.

The Falcons made five of the first six shots of the night, enabling BG to lead from wire to wire. Prochaska hit a three-pointer on the home team's first offensive possession of the night, and canned a jumper at the 18:20 mark. Nurse hit a three-pointer of her own a minute later, and a Prochaska layup gave the junior seven points within the game's first three-plus minutes. The Spartans were converting at the other end, however, and kept the BG lead in single digits for much of the first half.

The visitors were within six points after an Agne Girstautaite layup at the 13:29 mark when BG went on a quick 5-0 run. First, a steal by Uhl resulted in a layup for sophomore Jessica Slagle. Then, after a UNCG miss, Prochaska took a pass from Nurse and hit a three-pointer for a 21-10 Falcon lead.

The Falcon defense forced a shot-clock violation midway through the half, and a Nurse triple gave the home team a 24-11 lead. But, the Spartans proceeded to score the game's next seven points. Brey Dorsett scored the first five, banking in a three-point shot and hitting a layup, and Girstautaite's layup cut BG's advantage to six points, 24-18.

Hennegan, however, responded with a three-pointer, and a Nurse jumper put the lead back into double digits. The lead got as high as 14 points after Prochaska made a pair of free throws with 5:08 on the clock. The Falcons led by that same margin before Leigh's triple try beat the buzzer, bringing the Spartans within 37-26 at the half.

The Falcons got off to a fast start in the second half, scoring on the first three possessions. Hennegan hit a jumper just 16 seconds into the period, then worked the inside-out game with Uhl, taking a kick-out pass and returning the ball to her teammate down low. Uhl's layup gave BG a 41-28 lead.

After a defensive stop by the Brown and Orange, Prochaska's three-point shot barely rippled the net as it went through, giving the hosts a 16-point advantage and prompting a UNCG timeout.

Again, though, the visitors rallied, scoring eight of the next 10 points to get within 10. Hyson's two free throws capped that run and made it a 46-36 game.

But, Nurse knocked down a three-pointer, and Prochaska then hit a triple of her own, with junior Tracy Pontius assisting on both shots. When Papenfuss made a turnaround jumper just seconds after checking into the game for the first time, the Falcons had a 54-36 advantage.

Smith snapped that run with a line-drive three-pointer, but Nurse made a three of her own. Then, after a missed shot by the Spartans, Slagle made a diving save of the ball near midcourt, directly in front of the scorer's table. She saved the ball to Nurse, who fired a long cross-court pass to a wide-open Sarah Clapper in the right corner. The senior co-captain's three-point try found nothing but net, giving the Falcons a 60-39 lead and prompting a timeout by the visitors.

Clapper's shot was part of an 11-0 run that gave the Falcons a 65-39 advantage midway through the half. After a pair of Papenfuss free throws, Slagle capped the run with a three-pointer.

Bugher scored four-straight points to give the Falcons a game-high 29-point lead with just over five minutes left, and the home team wound up winning by that same margin.

As mentioned, all 15 healthy Falcons got into the game, with 11 finding the scoresheet. Pontius and Slagle each had five points and three assists, while junior Kelly Zuercher scored four points in the win.

In addition to her 16 points, Nurse had a game-high six assists. No Falcon had more than five rebounds, but BGSU held a 38-32 advantage on the boards.

The Falcons held UNCG to a 31.7% field-goal percentage, including an 8-for-27 (29.6%) output in the second half.

BGSU will conclude a brief two-game homestand with a Tuesday (Dec. 1) game vs. Saint Francis (Pa.). That will mark the last chance for fans to see the Brown and Orange at Anderson Arena for over three weeks, as BG then embarks upon a five-game road swing. Tuesday's Saint Francis game will begin at 7:00 p.m. at "The House That Roars."