TOLEDO, Ohio – Senior Kaayla McIntyre led three Rockets in double figures with 16 points, as Toledo rallied to defeat defending Mid-American Conference champion Central Michigan, 62-59, on Wednesday before 3,603 fans in Savage Arena. With the heart-pounding win, the Rockets improve to 12-5 overall, 4-2 in the league. 
 
The Chippewas (13-5, 4-2 MAC) led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but the Rockets outscored the visitors, 21-10, in the third quarter, and then staved off a late rally to win their third straight game. CMU missed three shots in the final 12 seconds, including a desperation heave that would have tied the division showdown.
 
Joining McIntyre in double figures for UT was sophomore Nakiah Black with 15 points and senior Mikaela Boyd had 13 points and a season-high 11 caroms to post her first double-double of the year. In addition, junior Sara Rokkanen drilled a contest-tying best three triples and finished with nine points off the bench to help the Midnight Blue & Gold snap a three-game losing skid in the series.

As a team, the Rockets shot 41.9 percent (26-of-62) from the field, including 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from beyond the arc, and 57.1 percent (4-of-7) from the charity stripe. UT also dished out a MAC-season high 19 assists and committed a season-low 10 turnovers.  

Central Michigan was led by Reyna Frost with a game-high 20 points and 14 boards, followed by Presley Hudson and Kyra Bussell with 14 and 10 points, respectively. 
 
FIRST QUARTER
• The Chippewas opened up an early 6-2 lead, before the Rockets stormed back with an 11-4 run, culminating with a Rokkanen three-point basket to give the home team a 13-10 lead at the 6:02 mark.

• CMU answered with a 13-4 rally to re-take the advantage, 23-17, forcing Toledo to burn a timeout with 2:25 remaining in the quarter.

• Unfortunately for the Rockets, they were outscored 7-2 over the final 2:30 of the period, and trailed 27-19 after the opening 10 minutes.

• Black finished the stanza with a team-high six points on 2-of-3 shooting from long range.

SECOND QUARTER
• CMU grew its lead to 31-21 midway through the period, but Toledo roared back with a 10-0 run, capped off by a McIntyre layup, to tie the contest at 31-31 with 1:58 remaining in the half.

• The Rockets outscored the Chippewas 10-4 over the final 4:32 of the quarter, and tightened the deficit to only four points, 35-31, at the intermission.

• Rokkanen finished the first 20 minutes as UT's leading scorer, with all nine of her huge points off the bench coming on a trifecta of triples.

THIRD QUARTER
• Toledo came out of the locker room red-hot and opened with an 11-4 burst, capped by a Black three to regain the lead, 42-39, at the 7:04 mark.

• The two teams then traded baskets for most of the remainder of the quarter, until the Rockets scored the final two buckets to take a 52-48 lead into the final 10 minutes.

• McIntyre had eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and a pair of free throws in the stanza, while Black added seven on 3-of-4 from the floor.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Toledo extended its lead to five points with three minutes to go in regulation, but a layup by CMU's Micaela Kelly cut the margin to 60-59 with 1:39 showing on the clock.

• CMU had a chance to re-take the lead, but Hudson's three-point attempt at the end of the shot clock missed the target. UT secured the rebound and called a timeout with 34.4 seconds left.

• Junior Mariella Santucci split a pair of free throws to extend UT's advantage to 61-59. CMU's Kelly then missed a game-tying layup with three seconds left and the Rockets were able to extend their margin to 62-59 on one of two charity tosses by Boyd.

• Central Michigan had one final opportunity to send the game into overtime, but Bussell's desperation three-point attempt sailed wide with a mere 0.4 seconds left to send the UT bench and its fans into a frenzy.

UP NEXT
• The Rockets will venture to cross-division foe Akron (11-6, 2-4 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 26. The opening tip against the Zips is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in James A. Rhodes Arena and will be shown on ESPN+. 

• UT and UA will square off for the only time during the regular season and 56th time overall. 

• The Rockets lead the all-time series, 42-13, and they have won the last three match-ups against their cross-division rival. Toledo also maintains a 16-7 advantage vs. Akron in games played in the JAR.

• A year ago, UT registered a hard-fought 60-54 home victory in Savage Arena (Jan. 3).


Highlights from UT's win over Central Michigan.


Head Coach Tricia Cullop post-game.


Senior Kaayla McIntyre post-game.