TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo secured its 11th-consecutive home triumph with a 65-56 victory over Cleveland State on Saturday before 3,631 fans in Savage Arena. With the win, the Rockets improve to 7-2 on the season.

UT blew open a close game by rattling off the first 13 points in the third quarter to assume a lead it would not relinquish.  

Junior Kaayla McIntyre triggered the game-changing burst with six of her career-high 21 points to turn a 29-27 halftime deficit into a 40-29 third-period lead. 

McIntyre, who also ripped down a contest-best eight caroms, converted an efficient 9-of-12 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to surpass the 20-point barrier for the second time as a Rocket. The Toledo native's previous-best effort was 20 points at Akron on Feb. 15, 2017.

Toledo also received a collegiate-best 10 points from sophomore Sara Rokkanen and eight each by junior Mikaela Boyd and senior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott to bounce back from Wednesday's setback at Duquesne.

Rokkanen took full advantage of making her second-career start, nailing a pair of three-point field goals to top her previous-best effort of nine points at Buffalo on Jan. 1, 2017.

As a team, the Rockets shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field, including 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from beyond the arc, and a season-high 80.0 percent (16-of-20) from the free throw line to stop CSU's four-game winning streak.

Olivia Voskuhl and Shadae Bosley led the Horizon League member Vikings (6-3) with 15 and 13 points, respectively. CSU's leading scorer, Ashanti Abshaw, at 22.5 ppg was held to only three points before fouling out in 12 minutes.  

UT benefited from seven early points by McIntyre to hold a 15-13 lead at the end of the first period. The third-year Rocket knocked down a trio of layups and split a pair of charity tosses to give the home team a two-point edge after 10 minutes of action.

Toledo found itself in bad foul trouble in the second quarter, as three starters and a total of four players had two each and were forced to the bench. Cleveland State took advantage of the situation and outscored the Midnight Blue & Gold, 16-12, in the stanza to take a 29-27 lead into halftime. CSU's Bosely sparked the visitors play in the period, tallying six points to make it a two-point difference at the break.

Toledo came out of the locker room fired up and went on the game-changing 13-0 run to create a 40-29 lead at the 5:38 mark. McIntyre was responsible for three layups in the rally, while Rokkanen contributed three points and junior Olivia Cunningham and Boyd tallied two points each to prompt the Vikings to call a timeout.

The stoppage helped Cleveland State, as the visitors registered 11 of the next 13 points to shrink the margin to 42-40 with 3:42 remaining in the quarter. Bosley accounted for six of her team's 11 points to once again make it a one-possession affair.

Toledo quickly responded, though, with big triples from Bravo-Harriott and Rokkanen to establish a 52-44 advantage at the end of the third. The Rockets also received from a pair of layups by McIntyre to build a nine-point cushion heading into the final 10 minutes.

UT outscored CSU, 25-15, in the decisive third quarter, shooting a blistering 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the stripe.
    
Toledo did not allow the lead to slip below nine at any point in the fourth quarter, as the home team closed out its 11th-consecutive home victory against its instra-state opponent.     

The Rockets will now turn their focus on final exams for the Fall Semester before returning to the hardwood on Sunday-Monday, Dec. 17-18 when they will take part in the West Palm Invitational on the campus of Keiser University. The Rockets will battle Conference USA member Western Kentucky in the first round at 11:00 a.m., followed by a contest against Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) participant Southern at 2:30 p.m. in the Countess de Hoernle Student Life Center. 


Highlights from UT's win over Cleveland State.


Head Coach Tricia Cullop post-game.


Junior Kaayla McIntyre post-game.