Freshman guard Mariella Santucci scored a career-high 21 points to lead Toledo to a 72-65 victory over No. 7 seed Buffalo in semifinal Mid-American Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament action at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland Friday.
The No. 6 seed Rockets (24-8) advance to the MAC Championship Game vs. No. 4 seed Northern Illinois (21-10) at 11 a.m. Saturday (CBS Sports Network). The Huskies demolished No. 8 seed Western Michigan, 83-55, in the day’s first game.
Mariella Santucci drives for two of her career-high 21 points in Toledo’s 72-65 win over Buffalo Friday.
Santucci, who was shooting 29 percent from the field entering the contest, connecting on 9 of 14 shots, including 2 of 3 from three-point range. Junior guard Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott added 12 points, and sophomore guard Mikaela Boyd had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Toledo held a 51-39 lead going into the fourth quarter, then held off a late Buffalo rally in the final 10 minutes. Boyd made 4 of 6 free throws in the last minute to squash any hopes for the Bulls (22-10).
The Rockets celebrated the big win that puts them in the MAC Tournament Championship Game.
Toledo pushed the lead to 21-15 early in the second quarter when Santucci hit a mid-range jumper. Buffalo countered with a 6-0 run to tie the game moments later, but Santucci struck again, hitting a 17-footer and a three-pointer in consecutive possessions to give UT a 30-24 margin, forcing a Buffalo timeout with 1:32 left in the half. Santucci made it 15 points in the opening half on a driving layup at the horn that sent Toledo into the locker room with a 34-27 edge.
The Rockets extended the lead to nine, 38-29, on a Santucci jumper early in the third quarter. Buffalo went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 38-35, but the Rockets countered with a 9-2 run capped by six straight points by sophomore guard Olivia Cunningham to give them a 47-35 margin with 4:06 to play in the period. Moments later, Cunningham made a pair of free throws to put Toledo up, 51-37. UT’s lead was trimmed to 51-39 at the end of three quarters.
Buffalo cut the lead to eight early in the fourth quarter, but once again Santucci answered the call, hitting a layup at the 7:53 mark to make the score 55-45. But Buffalo would not quit, as a three-pointer by Courtney Wilkins pulled the Bulls to within five, 57-52, with 4:58 left.
Senior forward Janice Monakana answered with a three-pointer from the corner, but Buffalo answered with layups by JoAnna Smith and Gabi Bade to make it 60-56 with 3:34 remaining, forcing a Toledo timeout. Bravo-Harriott came up big with an offensive rebound and a spinning layup as the shot clock wound down to make the score 62-56. Santucci added another bucket on a drive to push the lead to 64-56 with 2:39 left.
The Bulls trimmed the lead back to within six points, 66-60, on a drive by Cassie Oursler at the 1:26 mark. Boyd punched UT’s ticket to the MAC Championship Game by making 4-6 free throws in the final minute.
