KENT, Ohio – Toledo dropped an 87-68 decision at Kent State on Saturday before a season-high 5,218 fans in the M.A.C. Center. With the loss, the Rockets fall to 11-12 overall, 6-6 in the Mid-American Conference.

The Golden Flashes (14-9, 7-5 MAC) jumped out to an early lead and successfully bounced back from a 69-60 loss vs. Toledo on Feb. 1 in Savage Arena.

Senior Mariella Santucci led the Midnight Blue & Gold with 13 points, scoring in double figures in a season-high fifth-straight game. The team captain also dished out a squad-tying best five assists.

Junior Tanaya Beacham, who appeared in the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 29, contributed 12 points while freshman Quinesha Lockett had 10.

The Rockets also received eight points from junior Nakiah Black and seven each by junior Tatyana Davis and freshman Sophia Wiard.

As a team, Toledo connected on 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the field, including a MAC-season tying best 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from three-point range, and a season-high 92.9 percent (13-of-14) from the charity stripe.

The Rockets also finished with a 38-30 edge on the boards and had four players with at least five caroms, highlighted by six each from Beacham, Black and Lockett.

Katie Shumate paced Kent State with a season-high 24 points, followed closely by Asiah Dingle with 22 off the bench. The home team also benefited from 13 points by Lindsey Thall and 12 from Hannah Young.

KSU shot 49.3 percent (33-of-67) from the floor and held a 44-24 edge in points in the paint. The Golden Flashes also took full advantage of 19 Toledo turnovers, posting a 28-4 cushion in points off miscues.

FIRST QUARTER
• KSU's Shumate hit all five of her shots from the field in the opening 10 minutes, including a pair of triples, to help the home team race out to a 24-11 lead.

• Shumate was a one-person wrecking ball in the period, tallying 14 of her team's 24 points.

SECOND QUARTER
• Toledo settled down to start the second stanza, ripping off nine of the first 11 points to trim the deficit to 26-20 at the 7:00 mark. Santucci sparked the opening burst with a pair of layups to force KSU to call a timeout.

• The Golden Flashes momentarily stalled Toledo's momentum with the stoppage in play, but the Rockets ended the half with an 11-4 run to make the score 39-35 at intermission. Davis triggered the late rally with five points, while freshman Mali Morgan-Elliott chipped in four to make it a two-possession difference at the break.

• The Rockets shot an efficient 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from the floor in the quarter, including a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point range. Toledo also drained all four of its charity tosses to help pull them within four points.

• Davis and Santucci led the Rockets with seven and six points in the first half, while Shumate paced KSU with a game-high 16.  

THIRD QUARTER
• Kent State's Thall rattled off 10 of her team's first 12 points after halftime to extend the lead to 51-42 with 5:22 left in the quarter. She knocked down a pair of treys and had two additional field goals to stretch the home team's margin to nine midway through the period.

• The Rockets immediately closed the gap to six following a three-point field goal from senior Sara Rokkanen, but KSU responded with a pivotal 14-3 run to take a 65-48 advantage into the final stanza. Young fueled the back-breaking run with half of her team's points to make it a 17-point difference.

FOURTH QUARTER
• Toledo did not go down without a fight though, receiving a squad-best six points from Beacham in the quarter. Unfortunately for Beacham and the Rockets, they would get no closer than 15 points for the remainder of regulation.

UP NEXT
• The Rockets will travel to MAC East Division leader Ohio (16-7, 9-3 MAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The cross-division showdown is slated for 7:00 p.m. in the Convo and will be televised on ESPN+.