BLOOMINGTON, IN - Toledo saw its season-high five-game win streak come to an end with a 73-63 setback at Indiana on Tuesday at Assembly Hall. With the loss, the Rockets fall to 8-3 on the season.

The Hoosiers (8-4) won today's non-conference matchup with strong play inside, finishing with a 36-24 advantage in points in the paint. Hope Elam led the inside attack with 24 points and seven boards, Sasha Chaplin had 22 points with 12 rebounds and Jori Davis tallied 18 points with six caroms. The home team shot 48.4 percent (30-of-62) from the field and held a 43-32 edge on the glass, including 20-12 on the offensive boards.

"It's unfortunate that we didn't play today like we are capable of," Toledo Head Tricia Cullop said. "To IU's credit, they had some players that were hard to contain.  

"I told the team (after the game) that we have to learn from this experience and keep working hard and trying to improve. We can't have three key starters sitting on the bench at the same time in the first half because of foul trouble. To our players' credit, they didn't lie down and die. They fought to the bitter and were able to cut the final margin to 10 points."   

Sophomore Naama Shafir paced UT with 18 points and five assists, junior Melissa Goodall had 12 points and senior Tanika Mays scored 10 points, all in the second half. UT shot 41.5 shot (22-of-53) from the field, including an impressive 50.0 percent (15-of-30) in the second period to make it a 10-point difference at the end.

The Rockets started quickly and received three-point field goals from Shafir and junior Jessica Williams to claim an early 12-4 lead at 15:10. UT hit five of its first eight field-goal attempts, while IU misfired on nine its initial 10 attempts.

The Hoosiers then went on a game-changing 12-0 run over the ensuing four-plus minutes to take a lead they would not relinquish, 16-12, with 10:35 remaining. IU's Chaplin did a majority of its damage in the run with eight points. The 6-foot-3 post player continued to be a force inside and another layup from her made the score 20-14 with 8:48.

After the Rockets started off the contest red-hot shooting the ball, they cooled off considerably and missed seven of their next eight field-goal attempts to fall behind by two possessions.

The Hoosiers kept pounding the ball inside to Chaplin as the first half wore on and three more easy layups in succession pushed the difference to 29-18 at the 3:31 mark. Moments later, IU's Davis and Elam knocked down triples to make the score 37-20 at the intermission.

To start the second half, IU's Elam was on fire, as she scored 10 of her team's first 16 points to increase the margin to 54-31 at 13:32.

The Rockets would not go down quietly and a mini 12-4 burst trimmed the margin to 56-42 with 9:51 remaining. Shafir sparked the mini rally with back-to-back baskets and senior Allie Clifton drained a triple from the corner.

Unfortunately for UT, the home team countered with an 11-4 run over the next five minutes to put the game out of reach and secure the home victory.

"I was much more proud of our team's effort in the second half," Cullop said. "I thought we played much better on the defensive end of the court over the final 20 minutes. In the first half, some of our better players got into foul trouble and we fell behind. I thought we played like a bunch of individuals and unfortunately that doesn't work against a talented team like Indiana on the road."

The Rockets return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 29 when they travel to Morehead State. Tipoff from Johnson Arena is slated for 7:00 p.m. UT defeated MSU, 78-69, on Dec. 19, 2008 at home.