TOLEDO, OH — Toledo secured a thrilling 76-72 victory against Mid-American Conference West Division leader Central Michigan on Wednesday before 3,866 fans in Savage Arena. With the win, the Rockets (17-11 overall, 12-5 MAC) have clinched a first-round bye in next week's MAC Tournament in Cleveland.

Freshman Kaayla McIntyre's offensive putback proved to be the difference in the waning moments, breaking a 72-72 tie with only 1.7 seconds remaining in regulation.

With the shot clock off and a mere 20 seconds left in the MAC West Division showdown, UT had the ball for the final shot. Sophomore Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott went hard to basket and put up a shot that was off the mark to the left. The interior of the CMU defense helped out on the play and that left McIntyre all alone on the backside. The Toledo native ripped down Bravo-Harriott's miss and successfully converted the putback to give UT head coach Tricia Cullop her 300th career victory.  

Following a timeout to advance the ball to midcourt, the Chippewas (19-9, 13-4 MAC) had a chance to tie or take the lead. Fortunately for UT, the visitors were guilty on an inbound violation to give the ball back to the Midnight Blue & Gold. 

Central Michigan was then forced to immediately foul senior Ana Capotosto with only 1.0 seconds remaining. The two-time team captain calmly stepped to the free throw line and drained both charity tosses to make the final score 76-72.

McIntyre scored 10 of her season-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead a season-tying best four Rockets in double figures. The first-year Rocket shot a sparkling 9-of-11 from the field to tally double digits for the sixth time this year. 

Senior Brenae Harris added 16 points, a team-tying high seven rebounds and six helpers, while junior Janice Monakana and Capotosto had 13 and 10 points, respectively.
    
As a team, Toledo shot a season-best 55.0 percent (33-of-60) from the field, including 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from three-point range, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe to sweep the regular-season series against CMU for the third time in the last five years.

Tinara Moore led the Chippewas with 26 points and a contest-best 10 caroms, followed closely by Presley Hudson with 23 points. 

UT looked sharp at the start, jumping out to a 12-8 lead at the 4:04 mark. The Rockets hit six of their first 10 shots from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 effort by Harris.

Moments later, Toledo rattled off seven-straight points to assume a 19-14 advantage after the opening period. Bravo-Harriott accounted for the final five points in the burst to make it a two-possession difference. 

Central Michigan started to catch fire at the beginning of the second stanza, scoring eight of the first 10 points to take its first lead, 22-21, at the 6:57 mark. Moore scored all but two points in the run to silence the rowdy UT crowd.

Capotosto countered with a pair of treys and a layup just before intermission to put the lead back in UT's favor, 38-35, at the intermission. The lefty sharp shooter drilled triples from the right wing and right corner, as well as converted a layup from the right side, to give the home team a three-point cushion at the break.
    
UT benefited from three layups by McIntyre during the beginning stages of the third period to make the lead 48-44 at 5:52.
 
The Rockets then fed off of McIntyre's strong play, utilizing a 9-2 run over the course of next three-plus minutes to extend the margin to 57-50 with 2:26 remaining in the period. 

CMU's Moore kept the visitors close in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, tallying seven early points to make it a two-point difference, 64-62, at the 5:23 mark.

With the Rockets struggling to score early on in the period, the Chippewas tied the contest at 64-64 after Cassie Breen converted a pair of free throws with 4:19 left in regulation. UT tallied only seven points in the opening seven minutes in the final quarter.

With the score tied for a ninth time, the Rockets called a timeout to calm their nerves and it worked to perfection. They scored on their next four possessions to take a 72-70 lead with 52.6 seconds left. McIntyre accounted for six of the eight points, while Bravo-Harriott was credited with the other two.

CMU did not go quietly, though, as Hudson made a layup to draw the team's even one more time with 27.0 seconds remaining and set the stage for UT's dramatic finish.

Besides Toledo's outstanding shooting numbers, the home team did a good job taking care of the basketball and finished with 19 assists, compared to 13 turnovers. 

The Rockets will wrap up the regular season against Ball State (20-8, 12-5 MAC) on Saturday, March 5. The opening tip versus the Cardinals is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and can be seen on ESPN3, BCSN and TWCS.

With a victory against the Cardinals and a CMU loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday, UT would claim a share of the MAC West Division title. 

Prior to the start of Saturday's regular-season finale, UT will honor its two seniors – Ana Capotosto and Brenae Harris - who will appear in their final home game.

UT and BSU will meet for the second time this year and 75th time overall. The Rockets dropped a 75-69 decision against the Cardinals in Worthen Arena on Jan. 2. 

Toledo holds a 52-22 (.703) advantage in the all-time series, including a 27-7 (.794) edge in contests played at home. Ball State has controlled the series as of late, though, winning the last four meetings between the division rivals.

A season ago, UT sustained a 69-61 setback versus BSU at home (Feb. 7, 2015).