MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Red-hot Toledo (9-7, 4-1 MAC) will look to build off a season-high four-straight wins when it travels to Mid-American Conference West Division leader Central Michigan (13-4, 6-0 MAC) 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. 

The Rockets are currently in second place in the MAC West Division standings, one-and-half games behind the Chippewas. 

Saturday's contest will pit Toledo's stingy defense against Central Michigan's high-powered offense. The Rockets currently lead the league in scoring defense (65.40 ppg) in MAC games, while CMU is first in overall field-goal percentage (.455, 166-of-365) and second in scoring offense (76.83 ppg).

Toledo and Central Michigan will meet for the first time this year and 84th time overall. The Rockets will host the Chippewas on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena. 

A year ago, the teams split their two meetings with the home squad emerging victorious each time. The Rockets secured a 62-59 home triumph against the Chippewas in Savage Arena (Jan. 23) and suffered a 78-45 road setback in McGuirk Arena (March 9).

The Rockets lead the all-time series, 49-34, including a 19-19 mark in games played in Mount Pleasant. Toledo's last victory at CMU occurred on Feb. 20, 2016 when it escaped McGuirk Arena with an 81-79 overtime triumph.

Toledo and Central Michigan shared one common non-conference opponent in 2019-20: Dayton. The Rockets suffered a 60-42 home setback against the Flyers on Nov. 9, while the Chippewas secured an 81-80 home victory vs. UD on Nov. 21.

Toledo will tangle with a streaking CMU squad, which extended its winning streak to a season-high six-straight games with an 89-82 come-from-behind road victory vs. Eastern Michigan on Wednesday. Micaela Kelly led CMU with 29 points, while Gabrielle Bird had 17 points and tied for a game-high 11 rebounds to post a double-double.

The Chippewas were down 66-61 entering the fourth quarter before going on a 21-7 run during which they hit four of five three-point attempts.

CMU, which is 6-1 at home, has four players averaging at least 12.0 points per game paced by Kelly's MAC-best 24.2 ppg.

Toledo comes into Saturday's contest having won four-in-a-row and six of its last seven overall. Most recently, the Rockets secured a thrilling 79-72 home-overtime triumph against arch-rival Bowling Green last Saturday before 4,385 fans in Savage Arena. 

Freshman Quinesha Lockett led the way against the Falcons with a season-high 20 points, followed by senior Sara Rokkanen, who chipped in a career-high 15. The victorious Rockets also received nine points from junior Tanaya Beacham and eight from senior transfer Arianne Whitaker to help them secure their eighth-consecutive victory over BGSU.

Toledo, which is 4-4 away from home, features a balanced attack with junior Nakiah Black, Beacham, Santucci, Lockett and junior Tatyana Davis leading the way at 11.5, 9.5, 9.2, 8.7 and 7.6 ppg, respectively.

Following Saturday's road matchup, Toledo will host MAC West Division rival Eastern Michigan (8-9, 3-3 MAC) on Wednesday, Jan. 29. The MAC West Division contest will tipoff at 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and will be televised on ESPN+.

In conjunction with next Wednesday's home game, Toledo will host Rockets' Wine Night. The event will take place in the Fetterman Gym from 5:30-7:00 p.m. and is for fans 21 years old and over only. Cost for this event is $30.00 and includes a game ticket, wine samples and appetizers. Tickets are also $20.00 for fans who have already purchased their game tickets. The cost for designated drivers is $20.00 and includes a game ticket and appetizers with soft drinks.