YPSILANTI, MI – Toledo dropped a 59-41 decision at Eastern Michigan in Saturday's Mid-American Conference match-up in the Convocation Center. With the loss, the Rockets fall to 9-9 overall, 4-3 in the league.

UT was held to 31.6 percent (18-of-57) from the field, including 13.0 percent (3-of-23) from three-point range, and 40.0 percent (2-of-5) from the charity stripe to suffer its third loss in the last four meetings against the Eagles (13-5, 4-3 MAC). The Midnight Blue & Gold came into today's conference showdown ranked third in overall field goal percentage (41.7 percent, 149-of-357) in league games.

The Rockets were also victimized by a season-tying worst 23 turnovers. EMU took full advantage of those miscues and translated them into 25 points.    

Junior Janice Monakana paced UT with 15 points off the bench. Monakana was the only Rocket in double figures, as they were held under 50 points for the second time this season.

Senior Brenae Harris was Toledo's next high scorer with eight points, followed by freshman Kaayla McIntyre with six points and a season-best three rejections.

Janay Morton led EMU with a game-high five triples and a contest-best 23 points. Morton shot a sizzling 5-of-7 from three-point land.

Toledo native Cha Sweeney added 14 points and a team-high four assists.

The Eagles, which never trailed in today's contest, jumped out to an 11-4 lead at the 6:25 mark. The home team hit four of their first five shots from the field, including a pair of treys from Morton, to assume the early seven-point advantage.

The Rockets were just not able to get into any type of flow offensively in the opening quarter and found themselves down 18-6 at the conclusion of the period. They missed nine of their 12 shots from the floor in the quarter.

The situation worsened for Toledo in the opening moments of the second stanza, as Morton dialed up another trey from the corner to stretch the score to 23-8 at the 8:06 mark, forcing the Midnight Blue & Gold into calling a timeout.

Unfortunately for UT, the stoppage did not halt EMU's momentum. The Eagles remained dialed in offensively and benefited from Morton's fourth three-point field goal in the half to make the difference 31-12 at the 4:10 mark.

The Rockets then settled down and closed the half with an 8-2 burst over the final three minutes to set the score at 33-20 at the break. Harris sparked the rally with five points to make it a 13-point difference at the intermission.

Toledo continued to fight back at the start the second half, rattling off the first seven points to close the gap to 33-27, prompting EMU into calling a timeout at the 8:20 mark. McIntyre and Monakana contributed layups in the run, while Harris drilled a three-point field goal to make it a two-possession game.

The stoppage in action was just what the doctor ordered for the Eagles, as they scored nine of the next 11 points to re-establish a double-digit lead, 42-29, with 3:46 left in the period. EMU received points from four different players to half UT's momentum and take the wind out of UT's sails.

Toledo would not pull any closer than nine points for the remainder of the contest and has now dropped back-to-back games for the first time since the beginning of December.

Another telling factor in today's divisional showdown was Eastern Michigan's dominance on the boards. EMU finished with a 50-34 edge on the glass, including a whopping 19 offensive rebounds. Chanise Baldwin and Morton led the Eagles with a game-high nine caroms each.

The Rockets will host arch-rival Bowling Green (7-9, 3-4 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 30. The opening tip versus the Falcons is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and can be seen on ESPN3.

BGSU holds a 42-31 advantage in the all-time series, but UT has won four of the last five meetings against its arch-rival. A year ago, Toledo claimed a 64-48 road triumph in the Stroh Center (Jan. 31).