BOX SCORE
TOLEDO, Ohio- The Western Michigan basketball team (5-12, 2-1 MAC) earned its second-straight Mid-American Conference win, beating Toledo on the road, 70-57.
A strong finish to the first half gave the Brown & Gold a 10-point, 36-26, advantage heading into the halftime. Amanda Parker came up big, personally outscoring the Rockets 10-3, accounting for all the Bronco points in the final 2:44 of the period. She netted 10 of her 12 first-half points in that span. The Bronco senior hit a pair of jumpers in the lane, then followed up with a three-pointer from the wing. Firing another long-ranger with a 1.3 left on the clock, she was fouled and went on to convert all three free throws.
The Broncos picked up where they left off after the break and fought off any Rocket comeback attempts. It was sophomore Sarah Dreher 's turn to step up, as she scored all 13 of her points in the second half, off the bench.
Toledo (8-7, 1-2 MAC) inched within four, 42-38, until Dreher put on one of the most impressive performances of her career, scoring the next 11 Bronco points. Hitting two deafening three's in that stretch, Dreher pulled the Broncos ahead by 10, 53-43. It was a good night for the birthday girl, who turned 20 on Tuesday.
As Toledo attempted one last rally, it was Parker who would drive the dagger home for Western Michigan, driving right baseline and finishing a layup between two Rockets to keep WMU up by nine, 61-52 with 1:33 to go.
The Rockets tried to press in the final minutes, but Tiera DeLaHoussaye answered the call at the free throw line, making 5-of-6. Arianne Wilson entered to hit a pair at the charity stripe and Ebony Cleary added a bucket to finish out the 13-point victory.
Parker ended the game with a team-high 16 points and eight rebounds. DeLaHoussaye chipped in 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, committing just one turnover. Cleary was just shy of double figures with nine points and six boards.
Olivia Terry was the game's leading scorer with 22 points, and Ta'Yani Clark added 17 for Toledo.
WMU outrebounded UT, 42-35, and shot the ball better than the Rockets, making 43.4 percent of it's shots compared to Toledo's 33.9 percent. The Broncos won the battle in the paint, 34-10, and their bench outscored Toledo's 23-5. Taking control from the tip, Western Michigan surrendered the lead just once on the night, 10-9.
Toledo had previously won the last three meetings against the Broncos and was 20-6 all-time at Savage Hall against WMU entering the game.
Western Michigan returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 19, hosting Northern Illinois at 4:30 p.m., at University Arena. The Broncos are asking fans to wear black as part of ?Blackout Saturday'. In doubleheader action, the WMU men will host Toledo at 2 p.m., prior to the women's contest.
