Toledo Travels to Atlantic-10 Power Dayton for Friday Matinee Match-Up

Friday, December 9

Dayton, OH

11:00 a.m.

University of Toledo

Dayton

Freshman Mariella Santucci and the Rockets stand at No. 25 in this week’s collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.

Photo by: Toledo Athletics

Toledo Travels to Atlantic-10 Power Dayton for Friday Matinee Match-Up

12/7/2016 9:17:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes vs. UD/SBU

DAYTON, OH - Toledo (6-1) will play its lone away game this month when it travels to Atlantic-10 power Dayton (3-5) on Friday, Dec. 9. Tip-off time is set for 11:00 a.m. for School Day in UD Arena and will be broadcast on TWC SportsChannel.

The Rockets, who stand at No. 25 in this week's collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, are off to their best start since they rattled off 12 wins in their opening 13 games in 2012-13. UT has now started a season 6-1 on eight occasions in school history.

The Midnight Blue & Gold is coming off an impressive 99-47 victory over Madonna on Sunday before 3,487 fans in Savage Arena.

Junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott paced a balanced UT attack with a season-high 20 points, followed by senior Janice Monakana with 13 points and a game-high eight caroms and freshman Mariella Santucci with 12 points and a contest-tying best seven assists.

The Rockets also received nine points and a game-tying high seven helpers from sophomore Mikaela Boyd, a career-best nine points from sophomore Sarah St-Fort, a season-high eight points from freshman Sara Rokkanen and seven points by sophomore Olivia Cunningham to post their highest-scoring output since they tallied 101 against Akron on Jan. 14, 2015.

In total, all 12 Rockets contributed at least three points and all but two logged double-figure minutes in the 52-point triumph, tied for eighth-largest margin of victory in school annals. Toledo was able to empty its bench early, as no player saw more than 26 minutes of court time.

UT shot a season-high 54.7 percent (35-of-64) from the field, including a scorching 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from three-point land, to surpass the 90-point plateau for the second time this year.

Toledo dominated all phases of the non-league match-up and posted a 50-32 edge on the boards, a 36-16 advantage in points in the paint, a 31-7 edge in points off turnovers and a 40-9 advantage in bench points. UT also did a good job sharing the basketball and dished out a season-high 27 assists to remain unbeaten at home.

UT, which is 3-1 away from Savage Arena, is fueled offensively by the quartet of Bravo-Harriott, Boyd, Monakana and freshman Mariella Santucci, who are averaging 13.3, 11.4, 10.3 and 10.0 ppg, respectively.

Dayton enters Friday's matinee having lost four of its last five games, most recently dropping a 54-51 home decision against La Salle on Sunday in its league opener. Jenna Burdette paced the Flyers with 15 points and six assists, while Saicha Grant-Allen had 14 points, a team-high eight caroms and a contest-best three rejections.

UD features an attack with three players averaging at least 9.0 points per game led by Burdette's 10.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg and a squad-best 3.6 apg, followed by Kelley Austria's 10.3 ppg.

Toledo and 2016 Postseason WNIT participant Dayton will meet for the eighth-consecutive season and 23rd time in the overall series. The Flyers lead the all-time series between the intra-state schools, 13-9, and have won five of the last six match-ups. A season ago, UD claimed an 83-57 road triumph on Dec. 2, 2015.

The Rockets' last win in the series occurred on Nov. 13, 2011 when they registered a 61-51 home victory.

Following Friday's game, Toledo will host 2016 NCAA Tournament participant St. Bonaventure on Sunday, Dec. 11. The opening tip against the Bonnies is slated for Noon in Savage Arena and will be streamed live on ESPN3.

Toledo and St. Bonaventure will square off for the fifth-straight year. The Rockets lead the all-time series, 3-1, with the Bonnies most recently claiming a 74-63 home triumph on Nov. 29, 2015.

UT has won both match-ups against SBU at home, securing a 64-58 victory on Nov. 20, 2014 and a 59-45 victory in the championship game of the 2012 Glass City Tournament on Dec. 2.