MOUNT PLEASANT, MI - Toledo will wrap up a stretch of four of five games away from home when it ventures to Mid-American Conference West Division co-leader Central Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 18. Tip-off time is slated for Noon in McGuirk Arena and the MAC West Division showdown will be televised on the American Sports Network (ASN) and streamed on ESPN3.

The Rockets are currently in fourth place in the ultra-competitive MAC West Division standings, three games behind the Chippewas (19-6, 11-2 MAC) and Northern Illinois (18-6, 11-2) with only five regular-season contests remaining.

If the regular season ended before tomorrow's match-up, the Rockets would be the No. 6 seed in the MAC Tournament. The top four seeds will receive an automatic bye to the quarterfinals of the postseason event.  

UT enters Saturday's contest in the midst of a three-game winning streak and has won five of its last six contests overall. Most recently, the Midnight Blue & Gold registered a hard-fought 61-57 road victory over Akron on Wednesday. 

The Rockets outscored the Zips 22-15 in the pivotal fourth quarter to stop a six-game losing skid against UA (9-15, 2-11 MAC).

Sophomore Kaayla McIntyre paced Toledo with a career-high 20 points, followed closely by junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott with 19.

UT also received nine points from freshman Mariella Santucci, seven by sophomore Mikaela Boyd and six from senior Janice Monakana to secure its first win in the "Rubber City" since 2013. In total, Toledo's starting five accounted for all 61 points.

The Rockets trailed 40-31 with 3:47 left in the third quarter before going on an 18-7 run to assume their first lead since late in the first period, 49-47, with 6:41 left in regulation. Toledo did a majority of its damage in the paint, receiving three layups from McIntyre, two by Boyd and one from Santucci to prompt UA to call a timeout.

The teams then traded baskets over the ensuing three-plus minutes, before UT's Monakana drained a pair of free throws and Bravo-Harriott was credited with a traditional three-point play to increase its advantage to 58-54 with 2:16 left in the fourth quarter.

The Zips tallied points on their next couple of possessions to draw within one point late, but Monakana successfully converted an offensive putback to make the score 60-57 with only 13 seconds remaining.

Following an Akron timeout, the home team was guilty of a turnover and forced to immediately foul Santucci with a mere 11.1 seconds showing on the clock.

The Bologna, Italy native split a pair of charity tosses to make the final score 61-57.

Toledo, which is 8-3 away from home, continues to be fueled offensively by the quartet of Monakana, Bravo-Harriott, Boyd and McIntyre, who are tallying 12.4, 12.4, 11.2 and 10.3 ppg, respectively.

Bravo-Harriott has been superb offensively over the last four games, averaging a squad-high 16.8 ppg.

The Rockets will be take on a red-hot CMU squad which has not lost since the Midnight Blue & Gold defeated the Chippewas, 74-72, on Jan. 28 in Savage Arena. 

Central Michigan ran its winning streak to five-straight games with an impressive 70-64 road victory against MAC East Division leader Ohio on Wednesday. Cassie Breen led three Chippewas in double figures with 26 points, followed by Presley Hudson and Tinara Moore with 16 and 14, respectively.

CMU, which is 12-1 at home, features an explosive offense with four players tallying at least 11.0 points per game, led by Hudson's  17.8 ppg.

The Chippewas are currently leading the MAC in scoring offense (84.2 ppg), scoring margin (+12.4), overall field-goal percentage (.472, 379-of-803), three-point field-goal percentage (.380, 95-of-250) and free throw percentage (.811, 241-of-297) in league games, while Toledo is first in scoring defense (61.8 ppg), overall field-goal percentage defense (.367, 277-of-754) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (.245, 66-of-269).

Toledo leads the all-time series, 48-30, and has won the last five meetings against its division foe.

A season ago, UT secured an 81-79 overtime road victory in McGuirk Arena (Feb. 20). 

Toledo also maintains a 19-16 advantage in games played in Mount Pleasant and has won four of the last five meetings away from home.        

Following tomorrow's contest, the Rockets will host MAC West Division foe Eastern Michigan (6-19, 1-12 MAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 22. The opening tip versus the Eagles is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and will be streamed on ESPN3.

UT and EMU will compete for the second time this year and the 80th time overall. The Rockets secured a 66-49 road victory over the Eagles on Jan. 4 in the Convocation Center. Toledo leads the all-time series, 47-32, but has lost four of its last six meetings against its division foe.

A year ago, UT dropped a 58-46 home decision against EMU in Savage Arena (Feb. 24). 

Toledo also holds a 25-12 advantage in games played in Lucas County, but has split the last six match-ups at home.