CLEVELAND, Ohio - No. 9 seed Toledo will clash with No. 1 seed Central Michigan (23-6) in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Mid-American Conference Tournament on Wednesday, March 11 in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. The opening tip is slated for Noon and will be shown on ESPN+.

The division rivals have squared off on 10 occasions in the MAC Tournament, with Toledo holding a slight 6-4 (.600) edge. The Rockets and Chippewas last met in the postseason during the 2012-13 campaign, with the Midnight Blue & Gold dropping a 66-61 neutral-court decision in the semifinals (March 15).

Toledo (13-17) and Central Michigan will also square off for the third time this year and 86th overall. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, with the home squad emerging victorious each time. Toledo secured a 76-67 triumph against the Chippewas in Savage Arena (March 4) and suffered a 73-66 setback in McGuirk Arena (Jan. 25). Toledo leads the all-time series, 50-35, but has lost five of the last seven meetings on the hardwood.

Toledo, which is 6-10 (.375) away from home this season, advanced to the quarterfinals of the post-season tourney with a hard-fought 63-59 road victory against No. 8 seed Akron (15-15) on Monday.

Junior Nakiah Black scored 15 of her team-high 17 points in the second half against the Zips and junior Tanaya Beacham contributed 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to lead a balanced Toledo attack. Senior Sara Rokkanen added 12 points and senior Mariella Santucci had 10 points and a contest-best eight assists to help the Rockets pull off the four-point road triumph.

As a team, Toledo connected on 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the floor and a splendid 80.0 percent (20-of-25) from the charity stripe. The Rockets also posted a 37-27 advantage on the glass and finished with 13 assists, compared to only 12 turnovers to run their record to 6-2 all-time against UA in the conference tournament.

Haliegh Reinoehl paced the No. 8 seed Zips (15-15) with a game-high 21 points, followed by Shaunay Edmonds and Jordyn Dawson with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Toledo continues to be fueled offensively by the quartet of Black, Santucci, Beacham and freshman Quinesha Lockett, who are averaging 12.0, 11.0, 10.7 and 9.2 ppg, respectively. This foursome accounts for 64.0 percent (1,276-of-1,993) of the Rockets' scoring. Santucci is also dishing out a MAC-best 5.1 assists per game.

Toledo will take on a Central Michigan team that ended the regular season with a 76-69 home win vs. Eastern Michigan on Saturday. MAC Player of the Year Micaela Kelly and third-team all-league honoree Kyra Bussell paced the Chippewas with 21 and 18 points against the Eagles, respectively.

CMU is led by Kelly's league-high 21.5 points, 4.9 assists and 1.8 steals, followed by Molly Davis and Bussell's 14.5 and 13.9 ppg, respectively. The Chippewas are 10-5 away from home.

The winner of tomorrow's contest will meet the winner of No. 4 seed Ohio (18-11) and No. 5 seed Western Michigan (18-12) in the semifinals on Friday, March 13 at 11:00 a.m. in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.