TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo (1-4) will wrap up its longest home stretch of the season on Tuesday, Dec. 3 when it hosts Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) member Belmont (3-4). The matchup against the Bruins is slated for 11:00 a.m. in Savage Arena and will be shown on ESPN3.

Toledo will also host Rocket Women's Basketball Education Day in conjunction with tomorrow's non-league contest. A crowd of at least 2,500 students, teachers and fans are expected to be in attendance.

The Rockets enter tomorrow's matinee on the heels of a 61-54 setback vs. Valparaiso last Wednesday before 3,319 fans in Savage Arena. 

The Crusaders (3-3) connected on 10 three-point field goals and shot 46.7 percent (21-of-45) from the floor to avenge last year's 65-59 loss against Toledo at home.

Carie Weinman led Valpo's long-range shooting effort with a game-high six triples, finishing with a career-best 20 points. Weinman converted an impressive 6-of-8 shots from beyond the arc.   

Junior Tanaya Beacham paced the Rockets with 13 points, while classmate Tatyana Davis had 10.

Toledo also received eight points from senior Mariella Santucci and seven by freshman Mali Morgan-Elliott.    

As a team, the Rockets shot 32.8 percent (20-of-61) from the floor, including 14.8 percent (4-of-27) from three-point land, and 55.6 percent (10-of-18) from the free throw line.

Toledo, which is 0-3 at home, is fueled offensively by the quartet of Davis, junior Nakiah Black, Beacham and Santucci, who are averaging 11.2, 8.8, 7.8 and 7.2 ppg, respectively.

The Rockets will face a Belmont team that has dropped three-consecutive games against Power 5 Conference teams, No. 20 Arkansas, 91-60, Virginia Tech, 60-58, and No. 9 Maryland, 90-26. 

The Bruins, who will play their fourth of five-straight games away from home vs. Toledo, feature an offense with three players scoring at least 7.9 ppg, paced by Ellie Harmeyer's 16.3 ppg and 9.4 rpg. They are 0-4 away from Nashville this season.

Toledo and Belmont will meet for a second-straight year. A season ago, the Rockets claimed a 78-69 road win against the Bruins before a school-record 2,461 fans in the Curb Event Center. 

The Rockets outscored the Bruins 33-24 in the pivotal fourth quarter to post their second-straight road triumph.

Santucci sparked Toledo's strong final period pouring in 16 of her career-high 22 points. The 2019-20 team captain was responsible for four field goals and seven charity tosses during the final stretch to snap Belmont's four-game winning streak.

Senior Sara Rokkanen, Mikaela Boyd and Black added 12 points each in a winning effort, while Kaayla McIntyre had 10.

As a team, the Rockets shot 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the floor, including an impressive 40.0 percent (8-of-20) from three-point land, and 78.6 percent (22-of-28) from the free throw line.
    
Harmeyer led BU with a game-high 26 points, followed by Darby Maggard and Maddie Cook with 16 and 10, respectively. The Bruins entered the game ranked No. 8 in the collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.

Toledo is a perfect 9-0 (1.000) all-time against OVC schools (1-0 vs. Belmont; 1-0 vs. Eastern Illinois; 2-0 vs. Morehead State; 1-0 vs. Murray State; 3-0 vs. SIU Edwardsville; 1-0 vs. Tennessee Tech), including 6-0 under Head Coach Tricia Cullop. 

The last OVC team the Rockets faced other than Belmont was SIU Edwardsville in the opening round of the 2012 Glass City Tournament, whom they defeated, 59-43, in Savage Arena (Dec. 1).
    
Following tomorrow's home matchup vs. Belmont, Toledo will travel to Atlantic 10 member Duquesne (5-2) on Saturday, Dec. 7. The opening tip against the Dukes is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Kerr Sport & Fitness Center on the campus of La Roche University in Pittsburgh and will be televised on ESPN+.