Toledo to Battle Creighton in First Round of NCAA Championships on Friday

Friday, March 17

Corvallis, OR

4:30 p.m. (PT)

University of Toledo

Creighton

MAC Tournament MVP Mikaela Boyd and the Rockets are in the midst of a season-high eight-game winning streak.

Photo by: Toledo Athletics

Toledo to Battle Creighton in First Round of NCAA Championships on Friday

3/15/2017 10:09:00 AM | Women's Basketball

NCAA Championships GameNotes (PDF)NCAA Championships Game Notes (PDF)

CORVALLIS, OR - Toledo is heading back to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2001. The No. 10 seed Rockets will face No. 7 seed Creighton in first-round action on Friday, March 17. Tipoff for the game will be approximately 4:30 p.m. (PT) (7:30 p.m. ET) on ESPN2.

Gill Coliseum will serve as the venue for Friday's two games in the Stockton regional. The first contest will pit No. 15 seed Long Beach State (23-10) against No. 2 seed and host Oregon State (29-4) at 2:00 p.m. (PT). The UT-CU game is scheduled to begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of the LBSU-OSU contest.

UT, 25-8 overall, is appearing in the NCAA Championships for the eighth time in program history and first time since 2001. The Rockets have an all-time record of 3-7 in NCAA tourney contests.

Toledo, which is in the midst of a season-high eight-game winning streak, earned the Mid-American Conference's automatic bid to the "Big Dance" after winning the MAC Tournament last weekend in Cleveland. The Midnight Blue & Gold defeated Akron, 65-37, in the first round, MAC East Division champion Kent State, 67-63, in the quarterfinals, defending MAC Tournament champion Buffalo, 72-65, in the semifinals and Northern Illinois, 82-71, in the finals.

Sophomore Mikaela Boyd was named the MAC Tournament MVP after averaging 12.3 points, a team-high 11.0 rebounds, a squad-tying best 4.8 assists and a team-best 2.5 steals in a squad-high 33.5 minutes per contest. Joining Boyd on the all-tourney team was freshman Mariella Santucci, who contributed a squad-best 13.8 points, 4.0 boards, a team-tying high 4.8 helpers and 1.0 thefts in 30.8 minutes per game.

The Rockets are a No. 10 seed for the fourth time in their eight appearances in the "Big Dance." They were also a 10th seed in the 1992 Mideast, 1996 East and most recently 1997 East Region. They were a school-record best No. 6 seed in the 1999 Mideast Region, as well as being a No. 12 seed in the 2001 West and a No. 13 seed on two occasions in the 1991 East and 1995 Mideast Regions, respectively.

Toledo, which is 13-4 away from home, continues to be fueled offensively by the quintet of senior Janice Monakana (12.4 ppg), Boyd (12.2 ppg), junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott (11.7 ppg), sophomore Kaayla McIntyre (10.0 ppg) and Santucci (7.6 ppg).

Santucci has been superb offensively over the last five games, averaging a squad-high 14.0 ppg.

Toledo will take on a Creighton team that had its season-high nine-game winning streak snapped in a 72-65 setback at Marquette in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Conference Tournament on March 6 in Milwaukee. Sydney Lamberty led CU with a career-high 26 points in the loss.

The Bluejays, who posted a 16-2 conference mark, earned an at-large bid and will make the sixth NCAA Championships appearance in program history.

Creighton, which is 11-6 away from home, features an offense with two players tallying at least 11.5 points per game, led by first-team All-BIG EAST honoree Audrey Faber's 13.2 ppg.

UT and CU will meet for the second time on the hardwood. The Rockets suffered 72-56 neutral-court setback against the Bluejays in the championship game of the 1996 St. John's Tournament in Jamaica, NY on Nov. 30.

Toledo is also 16-9 (.640) all-time against teams from the BIG EAST Conference (4-0 vs. Butler, 0-1 vs. Creighton, 2-3 vs. DePaul, 1-4 vs. Marquette, 1-0 vs. Providence, 1-0 vs. St. John's, 7-1 vs. Xavier).

The last BIG EAST school the Rockets played was Butler, whom they defeated 63-49 in the first round of the 2013 Postseason WNIT on March 21 at home.

The Rockets and Bluejays also shared one common non-conference opponent in 2016-17: Dayton. UT claimed a 76-72 road victory over the 2017 NCAA Championship participant Flyers on Dec. 9, while CU secured a 56-53 neutral-court triumph in the consolation round of the Junkanoo Jam in North Bimini Island, Bahamas.