RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO – Toledo suffered a tough 75-73 setback against No. 9 UCLA on Friday in the second round of the Cancun Challenge in the Convention Center. With the loss, UT falls to 4-1 on the season.

The Rockets had a chance to force overtime at the end of regulation, as they had the ball at midcourt with 2.6 seconds left. Unfortunately for the Midnight Blue & Gold, they could not get a shot off before the final horn sounded and suffered their first loss of the season. Freshman Mariella Santucci tried to take the ball hard to the basket from the wing with time winding down, but the Bruins' size on the interior denied her the chance to get up a potential game-tying shot.

"I'm very proud of my team's effort," Toledo head coach Tricia Cullop said. "They never gave up, and we gave ourselves a chance to extend the game at the end. We have nothing to hold our head down about. We played toe-to-toe with a very talented, nationally ranked team."

Junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott paced Toledo with 18 points, knocking down a season-high six three-point field goals before fouling out. The 2015-16 honorable mention All-MAC honoree shot a blazing 6-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Joining Bravo-Harriott in double figures were senior Janice Monakana and Santucci with 16 points each. The Rockets also received eight points and a team-high eight boards from sophomore Mikaela Boyd.   

As a team, Toledo shot 46.7 percent (28-of-60) from the field, including 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from three-point land, and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from the free throw line in the tough neutral-site setback.

Jordin Canada led four Bruins (5-1) in double digits with a game-high 27 points, followed by Monique Billings with 13, Kari Korver had 11 and Kennedy Burke tallied 10.

Trailing 58-51 heading into the fourth quarter, the Rockets received a trey from sophomore Olivia Cunningham and eight-straight points by Monakana to close the gap to 64-62 at the 6:28 mark. The London, England native drilled a pair of three-point field goals and a connected on a layup to make it a two-point difference.

UT continued to fight back and benefited from a mini 6-2 burst to knot the score at 68-68 with 3:23 left in regulation. Santucci started the rally with a layup, followed by a field goal and one of two free throws from sophomore Kaayla McIntyre, before Monakana closed it out with one of two charity tosses to draw the teams even for only the second time.

The Bruins then called on Canada to give them the lead back, and she delivered by tallying their next six points and make the score 74-70 with 51 seconds remaining.

Toledo kept its hopes alive after Santucci buried a triple on its next possession to close the gap to a single point, 74-73, with 32 seconds left.

UT chose to play defense and not foul and forced UCLA to miss its next field-goal attempt. Unfortunately for the Rockets, they could not secure the rebound and fouled Billings with only 2.6 seconds left.

The UCLA forward split two free throws, and Toledo immediately called a timeout to advance the ball to midcourt with a chance to tie or win the game in regulation.  

Following the stoppage, UT's Santucci received the in-bound pass and drove the ball down the middle of the lane toward the basket. UCLA collapsed three players down into the paint and denied her the opportunity to get off a final shot before the clock hit zeros.

At the outset, UCLA's Korver knocked down a pair of treys to create a 14-7 lead at the 3:36 mark, forcing the Rockets to call an early timeout.

The Rockets relied on a pair of triples of their own from Bravo-Harriott to keep the matchup close. Unfortunately for UT, the 2016-17 team captain picked up her second foul late in the period and the Midnight Blue & Gold found themselves down 20-12 after 10 minutes.

Toledo started the second period strong with a mini 7-4 burst to trim the margin to 24-19 at the 5:10 mark. Monakana started the rally with a three-point field goal from the wing, while McIntyre and Boyd also tallied layups to make it a two-possession difference.

Much to the dismay of UT, UCLA's Canada ripped off the team's final 11 points to give the designated home team a 38-24 advantage at the intermission.

One of the big differences in the first half was UCLA's ability to get offensive rebounds and convert. The Bruins pulled down eight offensive boards and held a sizable 14-0 edge in second-chance points in the opening 20 minutes.

Bravo-Harriott started the heat up in the third period and drilled four triples in a span of six-plus minutes to trim the margin to 51-45, prompting UCLA to signal a timeout at the 2:49 mark. The two-year Rocket was one on-fire shooting the ball from beyond the arc in the period to send the UT bench into a frantic frenzy and set the stage for a action-packed finish.

Toledo will return to the hardwood on Thursday, Dec. 1 when they host Horizon League member UIC. The opening tip against the Flames is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and will be streamed live on ESPN3. A season ago, the Rockets escaped the "Windy City" with a 60-51 road triumph on Dec. 20.