TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo (11-10, 6-4 MAC) returns home on Wednesday, Feb. 12 for a matchup against Mid-American Conference West Division rival Ball State (15-7, 7-3 MAC). The contest is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and will be televised on ESPN+.

With only four weeks remaining in the regular season, Toledo enters tomorrow's division showdown in fourth place in the overall league standings, one game behind third-place BSU and two below second-place Ohio (15-7, 8-3 MAC). The top four overall finishers, regardless of division, will receive a first-round bye in next month's MAC Tournament.  

The Rockets and Cardinals will meet for the first of two games during the regular season and 83rd time overall. Toledo will travel to Muncie on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 7:00 p.m. in Worthen Arena.

Toledo leads the all-time series against BSU, 57-25, and has won five of the last six meetings versus its division rival. The Midnight Blue & Gold also holds a 30-9 edge in games played in Lucas County.

A year ago, Toledo swept the regular-season series against BSU for the first time since 2012-13, claiming a 65-58 home triumph (Jan. 5) and a 63-62 road victory (Feb. 23). The division rivals then squared off for a third time in the first round of the MAC Tournament, with the Rockets securing a 67-63 home win (March 11).

Wednesday's matchup will pit Toledo's efficient offense against Ball State's stingy defense. In league games, the Rockets are fifth in scoring offense (70.80 ppg), second in overall field-goal percentage (.439, 250-of-570) and first in three-point field-goal percentage (.352, 70-of-199), while BSU is second in both scoring defense (65.50 ppg) and overall field-goal percentage defense (.384, 238-of-619) and sixth in three-point field-goal percentage defense (.310, 72-of-232).

The Rockets enter tomorrow's contest on the heels of an impressive 78-62 victory at Buffalo on Saturday in Alumni Arena. 

Toledo shot a conference-season best 55.8 percent (29-of-52) from the field, including a sizzling 50.0 percent (MAC-high 10-of-20) from three-point range, and 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from the charity stripe to sweep the regular-season series against the 2019 MAC Champion Bulls (13-8, 4-6 MAC). 

Junior Nakiah Black led the Rockets with a game-high 21 points, including 10 straight in the fourth quarter to close out the impressive road triumph. The two-time team captain did a majority of her damage from beyond the arc, draining a contest-best four three-point field goals to surpass the 20-point barrier for the sixth time as a Rocket.

Senior Mariella Santucci added 13 points and a season-best nine helpers to just miss posting her sixth-collegiate double-double. With Saturday's effort, Santucci moved into fifth place in school history with 555 career assists.

The Rockets also received eight points from senior transfer Arianne Whitaker and freshman Sophia Wiard, seven by freshman Mali Morgan-Elliott and six from junior Tanaya Beacham and newcomer Soleil Barnes to successfully bounce back from last Wednesday's loss at Miami.

Toledo finished with a 39-31 edge on the glass against one of the league's top rebounding teams and had five players with at least four caroms, highlighted by a season-tying best seven from Wiard. 

The Rockets, which sport a 6-4 home record, currently have three players averaging at least 11.0 points in MAC play. Black leads the way at 14.0 ppg, followed by Santucci and freshman Quinesha Lockett at 12.4 and 11.0 ppg, respectively.

Toledo will face a BSU team which has won four of its last five games, including a 60-52 triumph vs. Akron on Saturday. The Cardinals outscored the Zips 20-10 in the fourth quarter to secure the eight-point home victory. Blake Smith led BSU with 10 points, followed closely by Jasmin Samz, Anna Clephane and Arbrie Benson with nine, eight and eight, respectively. 

BSU, which is 6-6 away from home, features a balanced attack with four players contributing at least 9.0 points, led by All-MAC performer Oshlynn Brown's 13.0 ppg, 9.1 rpg and 1.5 spg. 

Following tomorrow's home matchup vs. Ball State, Toledo will travel to MAC East Division foe Kent State (12-9, 5-5 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 15. The cross-division showdown is slated for 3:30 p.m. in the M.A.C. Center and will be streamed on ESPN3.

The Rockets and Golden Flashes will meet for the second time in the last two weeks. Toledo secured a 69-60 home triumph against KSU on Feb. 1 before 4,115 fans in Savage Arena.