MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Toledo wrapped up its regular season with a 78-45 setback at Central Michigan on Saturday in McGuirk Arena. With the loss, the Rockets fall to 19-10 overall, 11-7 in the Mid-American Conference.

UT will now be the No. 6 seed in next week's MAC Tournament and host No. 11 seed Ball State (8-22, 3-15 MAC) in the first round on Monday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena. The opening-round contest between UT and BSU will be shown on ESPN+.

Senior Kaayla McIntyre paced Toledo with eight points, followed closely by junior Mariella Santucci with seven. The trifecta of senior Sarah St-Fort, sophomore Tanaya Beacham and sophomore Nakiah Black added six points each. McIntyre was held under 10 points for the first time in the last 42 games.

As a team, the Rockets shot 32.2 percent (19-of-59) from the field, including 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from three-point land, and 60.0 percent (3-of-5) from the free throw line.

CMU's three-headed monster of Reyna Frost, Presley Hudson and Mikaela Kelly accounted for 74 of its team's 78 points.

The Rockets trailed by only six points, 33-27, at the intermission, before the Chippewas outscored the visitors 45-18 in the second half to secure the outright MAC regular-season title.

"I was really proud of our effort in the second period," Toledo Head Coach Tricia Cullop said. "I thought we were going to make a game of it. Unfortunately for us, that was not the case. We just didn't have an answer for them in the second half."

FIRST QUARTER
• The Chippewas exploded for 25 points in the opening stanza and held an early 16-point advantage, 25-9. Frost, Hudson and Kelly tallied every point for the home team in the period, including a game-high 10 from Frost.

• CMU shot a blistering 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the floor in the quarter, while UT was limited to 26.7 percent (4-of-15).

• McIntyre knocked down three of her four shots from the field and finished with a team-high six points.

SECOND QUARTER
• Toledo began the quarter with a 15-4 run to trim the deficit to 29-24 at the 4:22 mark. The Rockets spread the wealth as five players registered points, including a team-high six by St-Fort, to pull the Midnight Blue & Gold within two possessions.

• CMU momentarily stopped Toledo's momentum with four straight points, but a trey from sophomore Tatyana Davis in the waning seconds made the score 33-27 at the intermission.  

• UT tightened up its defense in the quarter, holding Central Michigan to just one field goal and eight points. The Rockets limited the 2018-19 MAC West Division champions to a frigid 9.1 percent (1-of-11) from the field to put themselves right back in the contest.

• McIntyre led with eight points in the half, followed closely by St-Fort with six.

THIRD QUARTER
• CMU opened the second half by scoring 12 of the first 14 points to extend its lead to 45-29 at the 4:38 mark. Frost accounted for all but two points in the game-changing rally to make it a 16-point difference.

• The Rockets responded with a basket by Beacham and one free throw from Black, but the Chippewas responded with a 12-0 burst to give them a 57-32 lead heading into the final period. The big shots in the run were back-to-back traditional three-point plays from Kelly and Hudson.

FOURTH QUARTER
• The Chippewas put the finishing touches on the regular-season finale triumph on the strength of three triples in a span of less than two minutes, including a pair by Hudson, to push the margin to 34 points, 70-36, at the 7:06 mark.

UP NEXT
• UT and BSU will meet for the third time this year and 82nd time overall. The Rockets swept the regular-season series against their MAC West Division rival Cardinals, claiming a 65-58 home victory (Jan. 5) and a 63-62 road triumph (Feb. 23). 
  
• Toledo leads the all-time series, 56-25, and has won four of the last five meetings against its division foe. The Rockets also hold a 29-9 advantage in games played in Savage Arena.
  
• The division rivals have also squared off on five occasions in the post-season tourney, with Toledo holding a perfect 5-0 record. Most recently, UT registered a 67-56 neutral-court triumph in the quarterfinals of the 2010 MAC Tournament in Quicken Loans Arena (March 10).

MAC TOURNAMENT BRACKET
Monday, March 11 -- First Round (High Seed Campus Sites)
Game 1: No. 9 Eastern Michigan at No. 8 Akron, 5 pm ET (ESPN+)
Game 2: No. 12 Bowling Green at No. 5 Kent State, 7 pm ET (ESPN+)
Game 3: No. 10 Western Michigan at No. 7 Northern Illinois, 6:30 pm ET / 5:30 pm CT (ESPN+)
Game 4: No. 11 Ball State at No. 6 TOLEDO, 7 pm ET (ESPN+)

Wednesday, March 13 -- Quarterfinals
Game 5:  Game 1 Winner vs. No. 1 Central Michigan, 12:00 pm ET (ESPN+)
Game 6: Game 2 Winner vs.  No. 4 Buffalo, TBA* (ESPN+)
Game 7: Game 3 Winner vs.  No. 2 Ohio* (ESPN+)
Game 8: Game 4 Winner vs. No. 3 Miami* (ESPN+)

Friday, March 15 -- Semifinals
Game 9: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 11:00 am ET (ESPN+)
Game 10: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner * (ESPN+)

Saturday, March 16 -- MAC Championship
Game 11: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 10 Winner, 11:00 a.m. EST (CBS Sports Network)

*30 minutes following the completion of the first game of the session