In its first home playoff game in four seasons, women's basketball succumbed to foul trouble and was eliminated by the Toledo Rockets in the first round of the conference tournament on Saturday, 70-58.
The game was close throughout, but in the end, the Bulls were unable to survive early foul trouble, as sophomore forward Heather Turner sat out most of the first half.
For the Rockets (10-17, 5-12 Mid-American Conference), Turner's absence provided an opportunity for junior forward Savannah Werner to abuse the Bulls under the basket.
When Turner collected her second foul, over 13 minutes remained in the first half, but it seemed like much more to Bulls head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald.
"Heather was sitting on the bench for I don't know how many minutes. It seemed like she was on the bench forever," she said.
Werner outscored the Bulls in the first half with 25 individual points compared to Buffalo's 24 points.
"I looked at the box score, and I said, 'Holy cow,' " said Toledo head coach Mark Ehlen.
Werner attacked the paint, helping her team to an unbelievable 42 points down low.
"Obviously, whatever she had for breakfast, we need to keep feeding to the team," Ehlen said about Werner's performance. "It helps, not taking anything away from what she did, but we were able to get Turner into foul trouble and she's an awfully good player."
This was Ehlen's first road playoff game with the Rockets, and the seventh straight time he has coached his team to at least the second round of the MAC tournament in Cleveland.
Led by Werner's nearly flawless first half, the Rockets went into the half leading by 13 points. The second half, however, was a different story altogether. The Bulls were able to pull back into it, tying the game once and taking a one-point lead with just under nine minutes remaining.
In the second half, the Bulls were finally able to slow Werner down. She went 2-of-7 from the field, and scored only six points.
"We did in the second half what we were supposed to do in the first half," Hill-MacDonald said. "We took away her left shoulder and brought some defensive help down on her. Every other basket she scored, she was going over her left shoulder."
Werner's 31 points were a career high and the most points scored by a Toledo player this season. She was joined in double figures by Danielle Bishop, who ended the game with 16 points.
Turner and sophomore forward Flynn Pyykkonen ended the game with double-doubles. Pyykkonen had 15 points, and a game-high 12 rebounds. Turner had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Senior guard Brooke Meunier scored a team-high 16 points in her farewell game for the Bulls, which moved her into 10th place all-time in scoring for the Bulls, as she passed Trish Ryan and ends her career with 1,101 points. Though disappointed in how the season ended, Hill-MacDonald was impressed with Meunier's character as much as her play for the one year that they spent together.
"Brooke has done an unbelievable job for this team all year long," Hill-MacDonald said. "It's not just putting points up on the board for us, or her play defensively, but her leadership has been really critical to the success of this team. She stepped up in a big way. She tried to lead her team in a positive direction and I think she's accomplished that."
"I know that we're very upset to have Brooke go out in a loss, especially on our own home court," Turner said. "We really were looking forward to going to Cleveland, and sending out Brooke the right way her senior year. But I have all the respect in the world for Brooke. As the team, we all love her and we wish her the best of luck with whatever she goes on to."
Though the sting of a first-round loss will stay with the Bulls for a while, eventually the team will be able to look back on this season as a success, according to Hill-MacDonald.
"I think it's a huge statement for the program and for these kids here, who have struggled to be competitive for these past couple of years," she said. "From wallowing in the bottom of the conference to finishing third in the eastern division, to host a home playoff game. Those are huge positive steps."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
