TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo (8-7, 3-1 MAC) will look to keep pace in the highly-competitive Mid-American Conference West Division standings when it hosts arch-rival Bowling Green (7-9, 0-4 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 18. The MAC cross-division matchup is slated for 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and will be streamed on ESPN3. 

The Rockets are currently in a three-way tie for second place in the MAC West Division standings with Ball State (11-5, 3-1 MAC), Western Michigan (10-5, 3-1 MAC) and Eastern Michigan (8-7, 3-1 MAC), one game behind frontrunner Central Michigan (11-4, 4-0 MAC).

Toledo and Bowling Green will meet for the only time during the regular season and 80th time overall. The Falcons lead the all-time series, 42-37, but the Rockets have won the last seven contests against their arch rival. The Midnight Blue & Gold is outscoring BGSU by 13.8 ppg (73.2-59.4) during the unbeaten stretch. In addition, Toledo holds a 20-14 advantage in games played in the "Glass City."

A year ago, the Rockets swept the regular-season series against Bowling Green, claiming a 79-65 road triumph (Jan. 19) and a 76-56 home victory (Feb. 2). 

BGSU's last victory against Toledo occurred on Feb. 2, 2014 when the Falcons escaped Savage Arena with a 66-59 road triumph, a span of 2,175 days.

Toledo will square off against a Bowling Green team that suffered a 65-59 road setback at MAC East Division co-leader Ohio (11-4, 2-2 MAC) on Wednesday. Angela Perry scored a team-high 20 points against the Bulls, while Madisen Parker had 14 points and Caterrion Thompson had 13.

BGSU, which is 3-7 away from home, features three players averaging at least 13.5 points per game paced by Thompson's 14.8 ppg.

Tomorrow's MAC cross-division matchup will pit Toledo's stingy defense against Bowling Green's high-powered offense. The Rockets are currently second in the league in scoring defense (63.5 ppg), while BGSU is first in scoring (75.8 ppg) and second in overall field-goal percentage (.459, 453-of-988).
    
Toledo and Bowling Green shared one common non-conference opponent in 2019-20: Valparaiso. The Rockets suffered a 61-54 home setback against the Crusaders on Nov. 27, while the Falcons dropped a 95-90 overtime road decision vs. Valpo on Nov. 24.

Toledo enters tomorrow's contest in the midst of a season-high three-game winning streak and has won five of its last six overall. Most recently, the Midnight Blue & Gold came away with a nail-biting 65-61 home triumph against Akron on Wednesday. 

The Rockets led by 19 points late in the third quarter, before the Zips (8-7, 1-3 MAC) went on a 25-4 run to take a 56-54 advantage with 4:09 left in regulation. Toledo did not panic though, utilizing a pivotal 9-0 burst to secure its  fourth-consecutive home victory. 

Freshman Sophia Wiard sparked the Rockets' late rally by scoring six of her 10 points in the final minute. Classmate Quinesha Lockett added three points in the waning moments of regulation and junior Tanaya Beacham accounted for the other two in the crucial run to propel Toledo to its fourth-consecutive home victory.

For the game, Lockett paced the victorious Rockets with 11 points, followed closely by senior Mariella Santucci and Wiard with 10 each. 

Toledo also received eight points from both junior Nakiah Black and Beacham, along with seven from senior Sara Rokkanen. Black flirted with posting only the second triple-double in program history, finishing with a team-best nine rebounds and a game-high six assists. 

As a team, Toledo shot a respectable 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the floor and 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the free throw line. The Rockets also had 16 assists with only 14 miscues, marking the fourth time in the last five games they totaled more helpers than turnovers, and a season-tying best nine thefts.

One of the keys for Toledo winning three-straight games and five of six overall has been the play of its offense. The Rockets are shooting 43.8 percent (149-of-340) from the field, dishing out 15.0 assists and averaging 70.0 points.

Individually, Black is tallying a team-high 13.3 ppg during this recent stretch, followed closely by Lockett, Beacham and Santucci at 10.3, 10.2 and 9.7 ppg, respectively.

Following tomorrow's home matchup, Toledo will travel to three-time reigning MAC West Division champion Central Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 25. The MAC West Division showdown is slated for 1:00 p.m. in McGuirk Arena and will be streamed on ESPN3.