Toledo Sends Seniors Out in Style with 75-67 Win Over Western Michigan

Saturday, February 25

Toledo, OH

2:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

19-8 (10-6MAC)

Western Michigan

16-11 (7-9MAC)

Western Michigan

Toledo

Seniors Janice Monakana and Sophie Reecher and the Rockets closed out their home slate with a 75-67 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday in Savage Arena.

Toledo Sends Seniors Out in Style with 75-67 Win Over Western Michigan

2/25/2017 5:38:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Western Michigan at Toledo Box Score (PDF)

TOLEDO, OH – Toledo closed out its 2016-17 home slate with a 75-67 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday before 4,091 fans in Savage Arena. With the win, the Rockets improve to 19-8 overall, 10-6 in the Mid-American Conference.

Sophomore Mikaela Boyd paced UT with a career-high 23 points, to go along with a squad-best nine boards and a team-high three thefts. Boyd shot an efficient 8-of-13 from the field and a near perfect 7-of-8 from the charity stripe to top her previous-best effort of 20 points at WMU on Feb. 8.

Senior Janice Monakana and sophomore Kaayla McIntyre were also in double figures for the Midnight Blue & Gold with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

As a team, the Rockets shot a season-high 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the floor, including an impressive 50.0 percent (5-of-10) from three-point range, and 69.6 percent (16-of-23) from the free throw line to secure their seventh-straight victory over the Broncos (16-11, 7-9 MAC).

Toledo also did a good job sharing the basketball over the course of today's MAC West Division showdown, finishing with 20 assists on 27 field goals and 16 turnovers. UT has now posted more helpers than miscues in each of its last three games and on 14 occasions overall this year.

Deja Wimby led WMU with a game-high 25 points, followed by Breanna Mobley and Meredith Shipman with 15 and 11, respectively.

The Rockets were also active defensively and forced Western Michigan in committing 20 turnovers, as well finishing with 12 thefts, their second-highest total in a conference game this season. Four different players registered at least two steals, including a squad-best three by Boyd.

McIntyre helped get Toledo get out to a good start, knocking down her first four shots from the field to give the home team a 19-16 lead at the end of the first period. The second-year Rocket converted all of the field-goal attempts within five feet to make it a three-point difference at the conclusion of the opening 10 minutes.

The teams exchanged the lead on a couple occasions in the second quarter, before Western Michigan utilized a late 9-2 burst to take a 37-35 advantage into the intermission. The visitors tallied all of their points in the paint during the late rally, sparked by five from Aneisha Carlisle to create a two-point margin at the break.

Broncos extended their margin to a game-high five points, 40-35, at the outset of the third period on Shipman's third triple of the afternoon at the 9:47 mark. The Rockets quickly retaliated though, scoring the next six points to momentarily reclaim the advantage, 41-40, with 7:11 remaining in the stanza. Boyd accounted for four of the six points, while McIntyre tallied the other two.

As was the case in the second stanza, the squads battle back and forth over the next three-plus minutes, before Toledo ended the period on a 12-3 run to build a 54-48 lead heading into the final 10 minutes. Sophomore Halee Printz triggered the pivotal rally with five points, while junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott buried a trey and Boyd converted a layup to give the home team an advantage they would not surrender.

Printz buried a three-point field goal from the wing and drained a pull-up jumper just outside the lane to bring the UT crowd to its feet.

In the fourth period, Toledo benefited from a pair of three-point baskets by Monakana to make its advantage 66-58 with 4:52 remaining in regulation. The London, England native made a pair of long-range shots from the wing to extend it a three-possession lead just over the midway point in the final quarter.

UT then put the game away at the line, making seven charity tosses over the remainder of regulation to complete the regular-season sweep against its division rival for the third-consecutive year.

The Rockets return to action on Wednesday, March 1 when they travel to MAC West Division rival Northern Illinois (19-8, 12-4 MAC). The opening tip versus the Huskies is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. (CT) in the Convocation Center and will be televised on the American Sports Network (ASN) and streamed on ESPN3.

UT and NIU will square off for the second time this year and 51st time overall. The Midnight Blue & Gold dropped a 77-73 decision against the Huskies in Savage Arena on Jan. 14.

Toledo leads the all-time series, 31-19, and has won nine of the last 12 meetings against its MAC West Division foe.

Northern Illinois maintains a 13-10 (.565) edge in contests played in DeKalb, emerging victorious in six of the last 10 match-ups in the Convocation Center. A year ago, UT secured an 89-83 overtime road triumph at NIU (Feb. 27).