TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo secured a 74-66 season-opening victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Friday in the opening round of the Preseason WNIT before 3,740 fans in Savage Arena. With the win, the Rockets advance to the second round and will square off against No. 9 Louisville on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7:00 p.m. in the KFC Yum! Center. The nationally ranked Cardinals doubled up Southeast Missouri in their opening-round contest, 80-40.

UT strung together a pivotal 20-2 run over the course of the second and third quarters to turn a nine-point deficit into a nine-point lead against the Red Flash (0-1). Toledo trailed 37-28 at the 2:37 mark in the second period before going on the game-changing rally. When the smoke cleared and the run was over, the home team held a 48-39 advantage with 4:34 left in the third. It proved to be a lead the 2017 Mid-American Conference Champions would not relinquish. 

Junior Kaayla McIntyre paced three Rockets in double figures with 17 points, a career-high 12 boards and a squad-best three rejections to post her first-collegiate double-double. McIntyre shot a sizzling 8-of-10 from the field and 1-of-2 from the free throw line in 29 minutes.

Senior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott added 14 points and junior Mikaela Boyd chipped in 11 points, seven caroms and a collegiate-best seven thefts to help the Midnight Blue & Gold win back-to-back season openers for the first time since 2011-12. A year ago, Toledo claimed a 76-60 season-opening victory at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

The Rockets also benefited from eight points by junior Olivia Cunningham and six points each from senior Jada Woody and redshirt freshman Tanaya Beacham to improve to 3-4 all time in the Preseason WNIT. 

As a team, UT shot a respective 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from the field and dished out an impressive 21 assists. Toledo did a majority of its damage on the interior, based in large part by the strong play from McIntyre, and finished with a commanding 52-14 edge in points in the paint.

Jessica Kovatch led Saint Francis (PA) with a game-high 21 points and Ace Harrison had 16 in a losing effort. Despite allowing SFU's top two scorers to post a combined 37 points, the Rockets' defense was solid all night and forced the duo to commit 14 turnovers. 

Toledo held the Red Flash in-check offensively for a majority of tonight's non-conference matchup, limiting them to 33.3 percent (19-of-57) from the floor. The 2017 MAC Champions also caused the opposition to turn the ball over a whopping 30 times and translated those turnovers into 22 points.  

Saint Francis (PA) looked good early, as the visitors benefited from a pair of triples by Kovatch and one from Harrison to claim a 22-16 lead after the first period. The Red Flash shot an impressive 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in the opening 10 minutes to help them secure an early two-possession advantage.

The Rockets' deficit grew to as many as nine points, 37-28, at the 2:37 mark in the second period before they ended the half on a 9-1 run to make the score 38-37 at the break. Beacham sparked the late rally before the intermission with four of her six points and Woody nailed a triple to trim the margin to a single point.

UT continued to play well to start the third period, reeling off 11 of the first 12 points to claim its first lead since the midway point in the opening quarter. The Rockets received three layups from McIntyre and one each by Bravo-Harriott and Boyd to force SFU into calling a timeout at the 5:05 mark.

Toledo kept its foot on the accelerator following the stoppage in play and pushed its advantage to 55-48 after 30 minutes of competition. The home team outscored Saint Francis (PA) 18-10 in the period to build a three-possession lead heading into the fourth stanza.

Saint Francis (PA) did not go quietly into the night, pulling within three points on two occasions late, the last coming with 4:22 left in regulation to set the score at 64-61. The Rockets would not be denied, though, on a night they unveiled their 2017 MAC Championship Banner. UT responded with a game-sealing 9-0 burst to extend the margin to double figures with a little over two minutes remaining in regulation. McIntyre and Bravo-Harriott shouldered most of the work in the run, tallying four points each to deny SFU any possibility of making a late comeback.



Head Coach Tricia Cullop Post-Game Comments vs. SFU.



Highlights from UT's Season-Opening Victory Against Saint Francis (Pa.).