TOLEDO, OH – Toledo secured a 72-66 victory over Detroit Mercy in Wednesday's non-conference finale before 3,548 fans in Savage Arena. With the win, UT improves to 9-2 on the season. The nine non-league victories are tied for third most in school history before Mid-American Conference play begins.

Freshman Mariella Santucci paced three Rockets in double figures with 15 points, to go along with a game-tying best six helpers and three thefts in 35 minutes. The Bologna, Italy native shot 5-of-9 from the field and 5-of-8 from the charity stripe to score at least 10 points for the sixth time this year, tied for the second-highest total on the squad.

Joining Santucci in double figures with senior Janice Monakana and sophomore Kaayla McIntyre with 13 points each. Monakana and McIntyre did a majority of their damage on the interior, helping Toledo post a commanding 46-28 edge in points in the paint.  

UT also received eight points apiece from sophomore Olivia Cunningham and freshman Sara Rokkanen, as well as seven points and a career-tying best 10 boards from sophomore Mikaela Boyd to successfully bounce back from Sunday's loss against No. 2 Notre Dame.

As a team, Toledo shot an efficient 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the field, with Monakana and McIntyre converting at a high rate from close range. Unfortunately for the home team, they were limited to a season-low 11.1 percent (2-of-18) from three-point land and 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from the free throw line.

Defensively, the Rockets forced the Titans (4-7) into committing 24 turnovers and finished with a decisive 26-6 edge in points off turnovers, as well as a 12-2 advantage in fast break points.

Brianne Cohen led Detroit Mercy with a game-high 17 points, followed by Anja Marinkovic and Rosanna Reynolds with 12 and 11, respectively.  
 
The Titans capitalized on three early triples to run out to a 14-9 lead at the 3:30 mark of the first period. Marinkovic drained two of the treys and Haleigh Ristovski accounted for the other to give the visitors the early five-point advantage.

Toledo tightened up its defense and utilized a mini 10-3 burst to take a 21-19 lead with 7:45 left in the second quarter. Four different Rockets tallied points in this stretch to give the home team their first advantage since the opening minutes.

The teams traded baskets over the next couple of possessions, before UT's Rokkanen buried a pair of three-point field goals and added a layup to make the score 36-30 at the intermission. The first-year Rocket did all of her scoring in a span of less than two minutes to put the home team ahead for good at the break.

To start the second half, UT benefitted from strong play inside to extend its margin to 44-36 at 5:19. Santucci was credited with two of the four close-range field goals, while Boyd and Cunningham tallied the other pair to bring the crowd to their feet.

The Titans temporarily stopped momentum with five straight points, before UT reeled off eight of the next 10 points to take a 54-49 lead heading into the final period. Monakana tallied half of the points late in the quarter to make it a two-possession difference.
        
UT's McIntyre then dominated the final period and scored half of her team's 18 points to put the finishing touches on the hard-fought home triumph. The Toledo native converted four layups and successfully completed a traditional three-point play to put her in double figures for a second-straight game.
 
The Rockets will now take a short holiday break before opening Mid-American Conference play against West Division rival Ball State on Saturday, Dec. 31. The opening tip versus the Cardinals is slated for Noon in Savage Arena and will be streamed live on ESPN3.

UT and BSU have been pegged to finish tied for second in the MAC West Division, according to a preseason vote of the league's 12 head coaches.

The Rockets have dropped the last five match-ups against their division rival but still holds a 52-23 advantage in the all-time series, including a 27-8 edge in home games.