AMHERST, N.Y. – Toledo suffered an 87-69 setback at Buffalo on Saturday before 1,899 fans in Alumni Arena. With the loss, UT falls to 13-6 overall, 4-3 in the Mid-American Conference.

Junior Kaayla McIntyre paced the 2017 MAC Champions with 19 points, followed by junior Mikaela Boyd and sophomore Sara Rokkanen with 13 each. The Midnight Blue & Gold also received a season-high eight points from redshirt freshman Tanaya Beacham.

As a team, the Rockets shot a respectable 45.6 percent (26-of-57) from the field, including 33.3 percent (5-of-15) from three-point range, and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the charity stripe.

Despite its strong effort shooting the ball, UT was its own worst enemy with 25 turnovers. The Bulls (15-3, 6-1 MAC) took full advantage of those miscues, converting them into 22 points to end Toledo's three-game winning streak.   

Cierra Dillard led MAC East Division-leading Buffalo with a career-high 30 points and seven steals. Katherine Ups added 14 points, while Stephanie Reid dished out a game-high 10 assists to stop UB's four-game losing skid against Toledo.

The Bulls did not trail in today's contest, jumping out to an early 14-6 lead at the 4:56 mark. Dillard sparked the quick start for the home team with seven points.

UT settled down following a timeout and tallied eight of the final 12 points in the opening period to make the score 18-14. Four different Rockets registered points after the stoppage to make it a two-possession difference.

Buffalo pushed the margin to double figures, 31-20, midway through the second period on the strength of back-to-back triples from Dillard.

Toledo was quick to respond, though, rattling off the next seven points to trim the deficit to four points, 31-27, with 3:58 left in the opening half. Rokkanen accounted for the first five points in the rally on a deep triple and a layup, while McIntyre finished it off with a layup of her own to silence the home crowd.

Unfortunately for the Rockets, McIntyre's points would be their last of the half, as Buffalo ended the opening 20 minutes on a 9-0 run to set the margin at 40-27 at the intermission. Ups accounted for all but two UB points in the late burst to make UT's deficit 13 points at the break.

In the third period, Toledo once again closed the gap to four points, 51-47, at the 3:29 mark on the back of six points from Beacham. The Youngstown native was strong in the paint, contributing three layups in a span of just over three minutes to make it a two-possession difference.

The Rockets were unable to get any closer, though, as Buffalo put together a game-sealing 12-3 burst over the course of the third and fourth quarters to reestablish a double-digit cushion. Mariah Suchan spearheaded the final dagger with five points to help the Bulls remain unbeaten at home, 6-0.    

UT will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 24 when it hosts reigning MAC East Division champion Kent State. Game time versus the Golden Flashes is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and will be streamed live on ESPN3.

Toledo and KSU will meet for the only time during the regular season and 72nd time overall. UT 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).