CLEVELAND, Ohio – Toledo clawed and scratched its way to a 65-60 triumph at Cleveland State on Wednesday in the Wolstein Center. The victory is the Rockets' fourth straight and improves their record to 6-2.

"Our upperclassmen stepped up, especially in the second half," Toledo Head Coach Tricia Cullop said. "Kaayla (McIntyre), Mariella (Santucci), Mikaela (Boyd) and Sarah (St-Fort) really provided a spark for us after halftime. I thought we played much better over the course of the final 20 minutes. Any road win is a good win." 

Senior Kaayla McIntyre paced the Midnight Blue & Gold with a game-high 23 points, to go along with a squad-tying best seven boards and two rejections. McIntyre shot 10-of-17 from the field and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe to surpass the 20-point plateau for the second time this year.

The Rockets also received 11 points from junior Mariella Santucci, eight by senior Mikaela Boyd and six each from sophomore Tyra Carlsten-Handberg and sophomore Tanaya Beacham to extend their winning streak to 10-consecutive games versus Horizon League opponents.

As a team, UT shot 43.5 percent (27-of-62) from the floor and a season-high 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the free throw line.

UT did a vast majority of its scoring close to the basket against the Vikings, as the 2018 Postseason WNIT participants finished with a commanding 50-22 edge in points in the paint.

Savanna Crockett led CSU (3-6) with 18 points, followed by Isabelle Gradwell and Mariah White with 15 and 14, respectively.

FIRST QUARTER
• The score was knotted at 14-14 following the opening 10 minutes. Santucci and McIntyre paced the Rockets with four points each, while White led CSU with a game-high six.

• UT shot an efficient 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from the field in the quarter, but the Midnight Blue & Gold was hurt by six miscues. CSU took full advantage of those miscues and held a decisive 7-0 edge in points off turnovers.

SECOND QUARTER
• CSU's Gradwell drilled a pair of treys and finished with eight points in the period to give the home team a 33-29 lead at the intermission.

• McIntyre remained dialed in offensively in the opening 20 minutes, tallying a game-high 12 points to keep Toledo within two possessions at the break.

THIRD QUARTER
• The Rockets tallied all eight of their field goals in the paint in the stanza to take a 50-47 lead heading into the final 10 minutes. UT shot an impressive 50.0 percent (8-of-16) from the field, highlighted by two layups each from Carlsten-Handberg and McIntyre.

FOURTH QUARTER
• CSU's Gradwell momentarily tied the score at 50-50 with her game-high fourth triple, but Santucci responded with a trey on her own on the ensuing possession to give UT a lead it would not give up.

• Santucci's three-point field goal started a pivotal 11-4 burst to create a game-high seven-point lead, 61-54, with 3:41 remaining in regulation.
*The Vikings closed the margin to three points late, 63-60, but Toledo's Boyd knocked down a pair of free throws in the waning seconds to finish off the road victory.

UP NEXT
• UT will host defending National Champion Notre Dame (7-1) on Saturday, Dec. 8. The opening tip against the No. 2 ranked Fighting Irish is slated for 1:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and will be shown on ESPN+.

• Toledo and ND will square off for the third time in the last four years and ninth time overall. The Fighting Irish have won the last four match-ups against the Rockets and lead the all-time series, 5-3.

• Two years ago, the Midnight Blue & Gold dropped an 85-68 decision to Notre Dame on Dec. 18, 2016 before 5,697 fans in Savage Arena, the sixth-largest crowd in program history.