TOLEDO, Ohio –Toledo suffered a tough 60-58 setback against Ball State on Wednesday before 3,179 fans in Savage Arena. With the loss, the Rockets fall to 11-11 overall, 6-5 in the Mid-American Conference. 

It was a tightly-contested matchup between the MAC West Division rivals that featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes. 

The Rockets had a couple opportunities in the waning seconds of regulation to force overtime, but shots from junior Tatyana Davis and classmate Tanaya Beacham were off the mark. The defeat snapped Toledo's three-game winning streak against BSU. 

Senior Mariella Santucci paced Toledo with a game-high 16 points and in the process became the 30th player in school history to score 1,000-career points. Santucci knocked down a pair of throws at the 3:44 mark in the fourth quarter to join the Rockets' exclusive club. 

Davis added 12 points off the bench and junior Nakiah Black had 10.

As a team, Toledo connected on 31.1 percent (19-of-61) from the field, including 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from three-point range, and a season-high 88.2 percent (15-of-17) from the charity stripe. 

The Rockets also finished with a 43-38 edge on the glass and had three players with at least six boards, highlighted by a contest-best nine by Santucci.

Jasmin Samz led BSU (16-7, 8-3 MAC) with 15 points, including 11 in the second half, to help the visitors claim their fourth win in the last five games.

Oshlynn Brown chipped in with nine points as a reserve and Thelma Dis Agustsdottir and Arbrie Benson had eight each.

FIRST QUARTER
• The Rockets trailed the Cardinals 14-12 after the opening 10 minutes. 

• Davis provided Toledo with a huge spark off the bench in the stanza, tallying four points and one steal to keep the home team within two.

SECOND QUARTER
• Toledo utilized a 5-0 run midway through the period to assume a 19-17 lead at the 5:29 mark. Freshman Sophia Wiard and Santucci registered layups during this stretch, while senior transfer Arianne Whitaker split a pair of free throws to give the Rockets their first lead since the opening points. 

• Unfortunately for Toledo, the Cardinals would get the last laugh, scoring six of the final nine points to take a 23-22 advantage into halftime.

• Davis paced Toledo with a game-high seven points in the opening 20 minutes, while Sydney Freeman and Benson led Ball State with five each.

• Neither team held more than a four-point cushion in the first two quarters. 

THIRD QUARTER
• The Rockets scored the opening points in the third period, before BSU reeled off 10 of the next 12 to take a 33-26 lead at the 3:17 mark. Four different Cardinals manufactured points to lift the visitors to their biggest lead of the game.

• Toledo quickly countered though, ending the quarter on a 9-4 rally to trim the deficit to two, 37-35, heading into the final 10 minutes. The Rockets did a majority of their damage at the charity stripe, tallying five of their nine points at the line.     

FOURTH QUARTER
• Just like in the third period, Toledo opened the scoring with the first of two three-point field goals by Black to take its final lead, 38-37, at the 9:20 mark.

• Ball State responded by doubling up the Rockets, 12-6, to create a 49-44 lead with 4:55 left in regulation.

• Following a layup by Toledo's Beacham, BSU's Samz' registered four-straight points to extend the margin to seven, 53-46, with a little over four minutes left.

• Toledo fought back with Black's second triple, followed by a traditional three-point play by Beacham, to pull itself within three, 59-56, with 1:26 remaining on the clock. 

• Neither team would score for the next minute-plus until Santucci converted a layup to make it a one-point difference, 59-58, with 22 seconds left in regulation.

• Toledo was forced to foul BSU's Agustsdottir, who split a pair of free throws to keep it a one-possession game with 18 seconds left. 

• Unfortunately for the Rockets, Davis' three-point shot was off the mark. Toledo maintained possession with 0.5 seconds left but Beacham was not able to get clean shot off under the basket just before the final buzzer sounded.    

UP NEXT
• Toledo will travel to MAC East Division foe Kent State (13-9, 6-5 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.


Highlights from Toledo's game against Ball State.


Head Coach Tricia Cullop post-game.


Senior Mariella Santucci post-game.