TOLEDO, Ohio –The Western Michigan women's basketball team earned its fourth-straight conference victory on the road on Saturday, defeating Toledo 70-58 for a season sweep of the Rockets.
The four-game win streak is a first for the Brown & Gold in conference play since January of 2015, and the team's first win inside Toledo's Savage Arena in six years. Now sitting at 15-10 overall and 8-6 in the MAC, Western Michigan shot 40.4 percent from the field, converting 23-of-57 field goals. WMU went 8-for-20 from long range, with a trio of Broncos sinking at least two three-pointers. Western Michigan earned 15 points off Toledo turnovers and out-rebounded the Rockets 38 to 32.
Today's effort was led by redshirt sophomore
Jordan Walker with 21 points, five steals and four rebounds. The Bronco bench poured in a season-high 33 points, helped along by
Reilly Jacobson and
Sydney Shafer. Shafer notched a career-high 17 points and added three rebounds and two assists. She shot 3-of-4 from the arc with 6-of-7 made at the charity stripe. Jacobson added 14 points, making a pair of three-pointers of her own and scoring eight points in the paint.
Breanna Mobley led the defensive charge with 11 rebounds and seven points.
Toledo put points on the board early to take the lead, broken up by Walker's first three-pointer of the game. The momentum went Western's way from that point as the Broncos went on a 9-0 run to land back on top helped along by more points from Walker and a three from Shafer. The quarter ended on back-to-back threes from Toledo to tie the game at 14-14 before Walker sunk another three to give WMU the advantage out of the gate.
The Rockets came back in the second frame to re-tie the game with four straight points. Saturday's contest saw three lead changes and seven ties total. Jacobson came off the bench to score her first points of the game, followed by back-to-back jumpers from Walker. Toledo again attempted to send things into a tie to end the quarter, but graduate transfer
Chelayne Bailey sprinted down the court to sink a buzzer-beating layup to make the score 35-33 at halftime.
The Broncos opened the second half with another three from Walker, on her way to three-of-five shooting from long range. Both teams traded points before WMU went ahead off threes from Jacobson and Shafer, as the Broncos totaled four threes in the third quarter. Jacobson broke into the double-digits with a jumper halfway through the frame, followed up by yet another three to put Western Michigan up 53-46. The visiting Broncos outscored their opponents 18-13 in the third stanza.
Walker again started up scoring for the Broncos in the final frame with a layup to draw a foul and give the Brown & Gold their largest lead of the game. The fourth quarter was the lowest-scoring frame for either team and was mostly won at the free-throw line. Despite the Rockets putting up a handful of late scoring runs, Western Michigan was able to seal the win with 10-of-13 shooting from the charity stripe, including six straight final points from Shafer, Mobley and Walker.
Western Michigan is back on the road Wednesday for a matchup against undefeated MAC West rival Central Michigan. Tipoff in Mount Pleasant on Feb. 26 is set for 7 p.m.
