Toledo Takes to Road to Face MAC East Division Leader Buffalo on Saturday

Saturday, January 20

Amherst, N.Y.

2:00 P.M.

University of Toledo

Buffalo

Senior Michaela Rasmussen and the Rockets will begin a stretch of three of four games away from home when it ventures to MAC East Division leader Buffalo on Saturday.

Photo by: Toledo Athletics

Toledo Takes to Road to Face MAC East Division Leader Buffalo on Saturday

1/19/2018 9:51:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes vs. UB (1)

AMHERST, N.Y. - Toledo (13-5, 4-2 MAC) will begin a stretch of three of four games away from home when it ventures to Mid-American Conference East Division leader Buffalo (14-3, 5-1 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tip-off time is slated for 2:00 p.m. in Alumni Arena and will be televised on ESPN3.

The Rockets are currently tied for second place in the MAC West Division standings, two games behind Central Michigan (14-3, 6-0 MAC), while the Bulls hold a two-game advantage over Ohio (9-8, 3-3 MAC).

UT enters tomorrow's contest in the midst of a three-game winning streak and has won four of its last five contests overall. Most recently, the Midnight Blue & Gold played one of their most complete games of the season and came away with a 72-66 victory over Ball State on Wednesday before 3,259 fans in Savage Arena.

Junior Kaayla McIntyre paced four Rockets in double figures with 15 points against the Cardinals, followed by sophomore Mariella Santucci and sophomore Sara Rokkanen with 12 and junior Mikaela Boyd had 11.

Boyd, the reigning MAC West Division Player of the Week, added a squad-best 10 rebounds, a team-tying high six helpers and a contest-best four steals to post her fifth double-double over the last six games.

Boyd's strong play on the glass helped the 2017 MAC Champions finish with a 40-36 rebounding advantage. All five Rocket starters pulled down at least five caroms, as they extended their homecourt winning streak to 15-consecutive games, the sixth-longest unbeaten stretch in school history.

As a team, Toledo connected on a MAC season-high 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the floor and dished out a conference-best 24 assists, compared to only 12 turnovers. Rokkanen registered a career-best six dimes to share top honors with Boyd.

Toledo, which is 4-5 away from home, continues to be fueled offensively by the trio of McIntyre, Bravo-Harriott and Boyd, who are tallying 15.0, 11.7 and 10.9 ppg, respectively. In MAC games, the aforementioned group is contributing a whopping 66.2 percent (257 of 388) of UT's scoring.

The Rockets will be taking on a streaking UB squad which has won six of its last seven contests, most recently securing a 67-63 triumph at Ohio on Wednesday. Buffalo outscored the Bobcats, 17-11, in the fourth quarter to improve to 5-1 in league play for the first time in program history. Reigning MAC East Division Player of the Week Cierra Dillard and Summer Hemphill paced the Bulls with 20 and 19 points, respectively.

UB, which is a perfect 5-0 at home this season, features four players scoring at least 9.0 ppg and is led by Dillard's and Cassie Oursler's 14.2 and 13.4 ppg, respectively.

Tomorrow's Mid-American Conference cross-division match-up will pit UT's stingy defense against UB's efficient offense.

Buffalo is currently second in the MAC in scoring offense (77.8 ppg), fourth in overall field-goal percentage (.420, 175-of-417) and first in three-point field-goal percentage (.392, 40-of-102) in league games, while Toledo is second in scoring defense (64.2 ppg), fifth in overall field-goal percentage defense (.403, 141-of-350) and third in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.265, 31-of-117).

UT and UB will meet for the first of two match-ups during the regular season and 27th time overall. The Rockets will host the Bulls on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena.

Toledo leads the all-time series, 22-4, and has won the last four meetings against its cross-division foe. UT also holds an 8-4 edge in games played in Alumni Arena.

A year ago, the Rockets swept the regular-season series, claiming a 73-64 road victory (Jan. 11) and an 85-63 home triumph (Feb. 1). The cross-division rivals then met for a third time in the semifinals of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, with the Midnight Blue & Gold registering a 72-65 neutral-court win (March 10).

Following tomorrow's contest, Toledo will host reigning MAC East Division champion Kent State (9-9, 2-4 MAC) on Wednesday, Jan. 24. Game time versus the Golden Flashes is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and will be streamed live on ESPN3.

UT and KSU will meet for the only time during the regular season and 72nd time overall. Toledo leads the all-time series, 42-29, and has won nine of the last 10 match-ups against its cross-division foe. The Rockets are also in the midst of a five-game home winning streak against the Golden Flashes and hold a 20-9 advantage in games played in Lucas County.

A season ago, Toledo dropped a 70-60 decision against Kent State in the M.A.C. Center during the regular season (Jan. 21). The cross-division rivals then met for a second time in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, with the Rockets securing a 67-63 neutral-court triumph (March 8).