RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO – Toledo extended its season-opening winning streak to four straight games with an convincing 76-41 victory over Davidson on Thursday at the Cancun Challenge in the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya Convention Center.

The story of today's non-conference match-up was UT's stout defense, which limited the Wildcats to a mere 29.6 percent (16-of-54) from the floor, including 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from beyond the arc. The Rockets were relentless with their pressure and held the Atlantic-10 foe to a mere five points in both the first and third quarters. They also forced 24 turnovers and translated those miscues into 26 points.

Offensively, sophomore Kaayla McIntyre led a balanced attack with a season-high 12 points, followed closely by junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott and sophomore Mikaela Boyd with 11 points each. Sophomore Olivia Cunningham added eight points off the bench, while senior Sophie Reecher and freshman Mariella Santucci chipped in with seven points apiece. In total, 10 of the Rockets' 12 players found the scoring column against the Wildcats (0-5) to help improve to 4-0 for the first time since 1996-97.

Toledo shot an efficient 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the field, including 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from three-point land, and 58.6 percent (17-of-29) from the charity stripe to keep Davidson winless on the year. The Rockets also did a great job taking care of the basketball and finished with 16 assists, compared to only 10 turnovers.

Mackenzie Latt paced the Wildcats with a game-high 15 points. Latt was their only player in double figures. Melanie Ransom and Justine Lyon were Davidson's next highest scorers with six points each.

After spotting Davidson an early 2-0 lead, the Rockets rattled off seven straight points to assume a 7-2 advantage at the 7:47 mark. Santucci sparked the early spurt with a triple and a pair of charity tosses to give the designated home team a lead they would not relinquish.

UT continued to play at a fast pace at the outset, receiving points from seven different players to take a 21-5 lead after the first period. Three Rockets tallied at least four points in the quarter, including a game high five from Santucci.

With Toledo's offense clicking, the Midnight Blue & Gold dug in defensively and held the Wildcats without a field goal in the first quarter. UT forced Davidson to miss all nine of its shots from the floor in the period to build a 16-point margin.

The Rockets extended the lead to 18 points, 29-11, midway through the second period on the strength of back-to-back three-point field goals from sophomore Halee Printz and Cunningham.

UT mustered only three points over the final 3:46 in the period but did enough defensively to take a comfortable 32-15 advantage into the intermission. The Rockets held DC to only 20.8 percent (5-of-24) from the field in the first half, including 0-of-5 from beyond the arc, to establish a 17-point edge at the break.

McIntyre paced the Rockets with six points in the opening 20 minutes, followed by senior Janice Monakana and Santucci with five each.

To start the third period, UT blew the game wide open on the strength of back-to-back triples by Bravo-Harriott to make the difference 40-17, forcing Davidson to call a timeout at the 8:25 mark.

Bravo-Harriott's second trey opened up a game-sealing 21-0 run over the next ensuing seven minutes to extend the margin to 56-17 with 1:48 remaining in the quarter.

For the fourth straight game, UT would not be challenged in the final quarter and cruised to the impressive 35-point victory.  

The Rockets will return to the hardwood tomorrow to take on nationally ranked UCLA in the second round of the two-game challenge. The opening tip against the Bruins is slated for 6:00 p.m. Due to the UT football and men's basketball teams also being in action at the same time tomorrow as the women's squad, UT's match-up against UCLA will be streamed live on utrockets.com.