TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo (11-13, 6-7 MAC) will hold its 14th-annual 'Rockets for the Cure' on Saturday, Feb. 22, as the Midnight Blue & Gold entertains Western Michigan (14-10, 7-6 MAC). The Mid-American Conference West Division matchup is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and will be streamed on ESPN3. 

Tomorrow's showdown will help benefit the Susan G Komen® Northwest Ohio and the Eleanor N. Dana Cancer Center. The Rockets encourage everyone in attendance to wear pink in support of cancer research. 

The goal of 'Rockets for the Cure' is to provide cancer education to the community, provide encouragement to the survivors fighting now and their families, celebrate the survivors that have won the fight and remember the ones that were less fortunate. The Rockets have raised over $142,000 for this cause over the last decade.

In addition, Toledo players will once again wear special pink uniforms for the game. Guest emcee Chrys Peterson and the Rockets will hold a live jersey auction immediately following the contest. All proceeds from the live auction will benefit Susan G Komen® Northwest Ohio and the Eleanor N. Dana Cancer Center.

The Rockets and Broncos are meeting for the second time this season and 82nd overall. Toledo suffered an 84-72 road setback against WMU on Jan. 4 to snap an 11-game winning streak in the series.

The Midnight Blue & Gold fell behind early versus the host Broncos and could not recover in the MAC opener for both teams. Senior Mariella Santucci paced Toledo with 20 points and a career-best 11 rebounds to post her fifth-collegiate double-double. Freshman Sophia Wiard added a season-best 12 points off the bench and junior Tanaya Beacham had 10.

Leighah-Amori Wool led Western Michigan with a game-high 23 points, followed closely by Jordan Walker with 20. The Broncos also received 15 points and a team-high 11 caroms from Breanna Mobley.

Toledo leads the all-time series, 59-22, and has won five-straight home games against WMU. A year ago, Toledo claimed a 73-63 home victory vs. Western Michigan before 3,377 fans in Savage Arena (Feb. 27). Western Michigan's last road victory against Toledo occurred on Feb. 23, 2014 when it escaped Savage Arena with a 60-59 triumph.

In Toledo's 86-58 road loss to the MAC East Division-leading Bobcats (17-7, 10-3 MAC) on Wednesday, the home team broke open a close game with a pivotal 28-1 run over the course of the final two periods. Ohio ended the third stanza on a 14-0 burst and opened the fourth period with a 14-1 rally to pull away from Toledo.

Beacham led the Rockets with 20 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to register her second-career double-double. Beacham shot an efficient 9-of-12 from the field and 2-of-4 from the charity stripe to tally at least 20 points for the second time as a Rocket.

Toledo's next highest scorer was freshman Quinesha Lockett with eight points, followed closely by junior Tatyana Davis and freshman Soleil Barnes with seven each.

The Bobcats shot 51.5 percent (34-of-66) from the field, including 14-of-31 from three-point land, to stop a two-game losing skid against Toledo. Four-time MAC East Division Player of the Week Erica Johnson was Ohio's main culprit from beyond the arc with eight three-point field goals and she finished with a game-high 31 points. 

The Rockets, which sport a 6-5 home record, currently have three players averaging at least 10.0 points in MAC play. Junior Nakiah Black leads the way at 12.4 ppg, while Santucci and Lockett are contributing 12.2 and 10.0 ppg, respectively.

Toledo will take on a Western Michigan squad which is in the midst of a season-tying best three-game winning streak, most recently claiming a 69-55 home triumph vs. Bowling Green on Wednesday. Mobley led the Broncos with a game-tying high 23 points and a contest-best 13 boards against the Falcons (8-17, 1-12 MAC), with Walker and Chelayne Bailey tallying 15 and 13 points, respectively. 

WMU, which is 6-7 away from home, possesses an offense with three players contributing at least 12.0 points, led by Walker's and Mobley's 15.0 and 14.6 ppg. Mobley is also pulling down a MAC-best 11.0 rebounds per contest. 

In MAC games, the Broncos are leading the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.03, 13.77-13.38).

Following tomorrow's home matchup, Toledo will travel to MAC West Division rival Ball State (18-7, 10-3 MAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The opening tip against the Cardinals is slated for 7:00 p.m. in Worthen Arena and will be streamed on ESPN3. 

The Rockets and Cardinals will square off for the second time in the last two weeks and 84th overall. Toledo suffered a 60-58 home setback against BSU on Feb. 12 to snap a three-game winning streak in the series.