MAC West Division Co-Leader Toledo Travels to Akron on Wednesday

Wednesday, January 20

Akron, OH

7:00 PM

University of Toledo

Akron

Freshman Halee Printz and the Rockets will look to snap a four-game losing vs. Akron on Wednesday.

MAC West Division Co-Leader Toledo Travels to Akron on Wednesday

1/19/2016 11:08:00 AM | Women's Basketball

AKRON, OH - Toledo (9-7, 4-1 MAC) will look to hold onto a share of the best record in the Mid-American Conference's West Division when it squares off against Akron (9-7, 3-2 MAC) on Wednesday, Jan. 20. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. in James A. Rhodes Arena and can be heard on 1230 AM (WCWA).

The Rockets are currently deadlocked with Ball State (12-4, 4-1 MAC) for the top spot in the MAC West Division standings.

The Midnight Blue & Gold enter tomorrow's action riding a four-game winning streak following Saturday's 66-59 home victory vs. Northern Illinois.

Senior Brenae Harris led the Rockets in scoring for the third time in the last four contests with 17 points against the Huskies, to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.

Senior Ana Capotosto followed Harris with 13 points, while also tallying eight boards and five helpers. Junior Sophie Reecher recorded all of her 10 points in the second half to help solidify UT's eighth-straight home victory against NIU.

Toledo also received a season-high eight points from Kaayla McIntyre and a career-best nine assists from sophomore Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott to notch its ninth win in the last 10 contests.

The Midnight Blue & Gold did not trail in the division match-up and dished out a season-best 21 assists and had only 15 turnovers, marking the eight time in the last 10 games they had more helpers than miscues.

With balanced scoring offensively, UT turned up the intensity on defense, limited NIU to 32.4 percent (23-of-71) from the field, including 25.0 percent (6-of-24) from beyond the arc.

Toledo, which sports a 4-5 record away from home this season, is fueled offensively by the trio of Harris, Capotosto and Monakana, who are averaging 14.2, 11.8 and 10.1 ppg, respectively.

UT will take on a talented Akron team which has won five of its last seven contests. Most recently, the Zips claimed a 69-61 road victory at Buffalo on Saturday. All-MAC performers Anita Brown and Hannah Plybon paced UA with 26 and 23 points, respectively.

Akron, which is 4-3 at home this season, features four players scoring at least 8.5 points and is led by Brown and Plybon at 21.4 and 16.2 ppg, respectively.

UT and UA will do battle for the only time this year and 51st time overall. Toledo holds a commanding 39-11 advantage in the all-time series, 39-11, but has lost the last four meetings against its cross-division foe.

A season ago, the Zips swept the regular-season series, claiming a 102-101 road victory (Jan. 14) and an 82-56 home triumph (Feb. 14).

The Midnight Blue & Gold also holds a 15-6 (.714) edge in contests played in the JAR, but has split the last six games in the Rubber City.

Following tomorrow's contest, the Rockets will travel to MAC West Division rival Eastern Michigan (12-4, 3-2 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 23. The opening tip versus the Eagles is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center and can be seen on BCSN.

UT and EMU will square off for the first of two times this year and 77th time overall. Toledo holds a 46-30 advantage in the all-time series, but has split the last 10 meetings against its division rival.

A year ago, the teams split two regular-season meetings with the away squad winning on the opponents' home court. EMU secured a 75-61 victory in Savage Arena (Jan. 24), before UT responded with an 81-72 triumph in the Convocation Center (Feb. 21). The division rivals then met for a third time in the second round of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, with the Eagles registering a 74-57 neutral-court win (March 11).