KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The trio of junior Mariella Santucci, sophomore Nakiah Black and senior Kaayla McIntyre combined for 55 points in Toledo's 80-57 victory at Western Michigan on Wednesday in University Arena. With the impressive road triumph, the Rockets improve to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in the Mid-American Conference. Santucci and Black tallied 19 points each, while McIntyre had 17 to help UT record its 10th-consecutive win against MAC West Division foe WMU (7-8, 1-3 MAC).

The Midnight Blue & Gold also received nine points from sophomore Tanaya Beacham to snap a mini two-game losing skid.

As a team, the Rockets shot a respectable 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the field and 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the charity stripe.

UT also posted a season-low 11 turnovers and finished with a 37-27 rebounding edge, highlighted by McIntyre's game-high 10 caroms to give the Toledo native her second double-double on the year.

"I really challenged our team to step up their play, and they responded well," Toledo head coach Tricia Cullop said. "I thought our offensive execution was excellent and our defensive effort was outstanding. Any time you come on the road in our league & get a win is big." 

Deja Wimby paced WMU with 14 points, followed by Jasmyn Walker and Kamrin Reed with 13 and 10, respectively.

The Broncos were limited to 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the floor, including a season-low 9.5 percent (2-of-21) from three-point land. WMU came into tonight's division showdown averaging 7.6 treys per game.

FIRST QUARTER
• The Rockets ended the quarter on a 14-0 run to take a 20-8 lead after the opening 10 minutes. Beacham sparked the double-digit burst with six points, while Santucci had four to help the visitors establish a lead they would not give up.

SECOND QUARTER
• WMU momentarily stopped UT's run with a jumper, but Rockets rattled off the next seven points to stretch its advantage to 29-10. Black triggered the strong play with five of the seven points to force the Broncos to burn a timeout at the 6:12 mark.

• Toledo did not take its foot off the accelerator following the stoppage in play and carried a 44-23 advantage into intermission.

• Santucci paced the Rockets with 14 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Beacham and Black with 10 and nine, respectively.

• UT built its 21-point lead on the strength of good transition offense, scoring 13 points off 12 WMU miscues.  

THIRD QUARTER
• Black remained red-hot shooting the ball, scoring eight points in the quarter, to make the score 66-35 after 30 minutes of competition. The Concord, N.C. native was credited with three field goals and two charity tosses to push the margin to 31 points heading into the final stanza.

• The Rockets also benefited from nine points in the period by McIntyre to essentially put the division match-up out of reach.

FOURTH QUARTER
• UT emptied its bench in the fourth period, as all 14 players saw extensive action in the impressive 23-point road triumph.

UP NEXT
• The Rockets will travel to arch-rival Bowling Green (7-8, 0-4 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 19. The opening tip against the Falcons is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in the Stroh Center and will be shown on ESPN3. 

• UT and BGSU will square off for the first of two contests during the year and 78th time overall. Toledo will host Bowling Green on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena.

• BGSU leads the all-time series, 42-35, but UT has won five in a row and eight of the last nine against its rival. The Rockets are also in the midst of a five-game road winning streak versus the Falcons in Wood County.   

• A season ago, Toledo secured a 77-67 road triumph against Bowling Green in the Stroh Center (Jan. 27). 

• BGSU holds a 20-13 advantage in games played in Bowling Green.

• The Falcons' last win vs. Toledo happened on Feb. 2, 2014 when they escaped Savage Arena with a 66-59 road triumph.