CLEVELAND, Ohio – Win and advance! Toledo took that tournament adage to heart with its upset of No. 1 seed Central Michigan, 78-71, on Wednesday in the Quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament in Rocket Mortgage Fie­ldHouse. With the impressive win, the No. 9 seed Rockets will now advance to the MAC Tournament Semifinals against vs. No. 4 Ohio (19-11) on Friday at 11:00 a.m.

Junior Tanaya Beacham led a season-tying best five Rockets in double figures with 14 points, followed closely by classmate Nakiah Black (12). Senior Sara Rokkanen, junior Tatyana Davis and freshman Quinesha Lockett chipped in with 11 points each.

Toledo (14-17) also benefited from eight points, a team-high eight caroms, a contest-best seven helpers and three steals from senior Mariella Santucci to advance to the MAC's 'Final Four' for the seventh time in 12 years under Head Coach Tricia Cullop.

"I'm extremely proud of our team," said Cullop. "We've been through a lot with some injuries and obstacles in the middle of the season and I feel like we were starting to catch our stride and play some of our best basketball at the end. I was really hoping that we could catch some momentum and kind of ride that wave here at the end and that's kind of come to fruition.

"I think one thing stands true with this team: When you love one another, you play harder for one another and this team really, really cares deeply about each other and they didn't want to let each other down."

CMU held a 44-39 lead after Molly Davis knocked down a triple with 8:31 left in the third quarter but the Chippewas would not score again until MAC Player of the Year Micaela Kelly converted a trey with 9:27 left in regulation. The Rockets held CMU (23-7) scoreless for the final eight-plus minutes in the third quarter, forcing the Chippewas to miss 12 of its 14 shots in the period and shoot a frigid 14.3 percent from the field. Toledo outscored the MAC regular-season champion, 20-5, in the period to take a 54-44 lead into the final 10 minutes of play.

For the game, the Rockets shot a respectable 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from the floor, including 9-of-26 from three-point range, and 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the charity stripe. Toledo also finished with 13 assists, compared to only 10 turnovers to run its record to 7-4 all-time against the Chippewas in the conference tournament.

Kyra Bussell paced Central Michigan with a game-high 23 points, including 21 in the first half, while Kelly with 21.

FIRST QUARTER
• The Chippewas utilized an 8-0 run midway through the opening period to hold a 19-16 lead. Bussell triggered the burst with six points to give CMU a three-point advantage after the first 10 minutes.

• Black and Beacham also started strong for the Rockets, scoring the team's first nine points.

SECOND QUARTER
• Toledo rode the hot hand of Davis at the start of the period, as the sharpshooter drilled her second triple of the game and followed it up with a long two-point field goal to trim the deficit to 25-23 at the 7:26 mark.

• Unfortunately for the Rockets, CMU countered by scoring nine of the next 11 points to extend its lead to 34-25 with 5:14 remaining in the half. Central Michigan did all of the damage from beyond the arc, as Bussell, Gabrielle Bird and Maddy Watters each knocked down three-point field goals to force Toledo to call a timeout.

• CMU eventually extended its margin to double figures before the Rockets ripped off nine of the final 13 points to make it a four-point difference, 39-35, at intermission. Freshman Mali Morgan-Elliott started the late push with a trey, followed by baskets from freshman Sophia Wiard, Davis and Black to cut Toledo's deficit to only five at the break.

• Davis paced Toledo with 10 points in the first half, while Bussell led Central Michigan with a game-high 21.

THIRD QUARTER
• The teams traded baskets to start of the period, before Toledo put together a 15-0 run to assume a 55-45 lead going into the final quarter. Rokkanen sparked the run with a pair of triples and Beacham converted two close-range shots to help the Rockets totally change the complexion on the game.

FOURTH QUARTER
• CMU did not go quietly, opening the final period on an 8-2 run to trim Toledo's lead to 56-52 with 7:47 left in regulation. Kelly did a majority of the damage with consecutive triples to force the Rockets burn a timeout.

• Toledo responded well out of the stoppage in play, receiving a three-point field goal from Black on the wing, followed by a baseline jumper by Rokkanen to set the score at 62-52 at the 5:20 mark.

• The Chippewas made one final push in the waning moments of regulation and got as close as three points, but Toledo made five charity tosses in the final 38 seconds to close out its upset victory.


Highlights from Toledo's quarterfinal win over Central Michigan.


Head Coach Tricia Cullop, senior Nakiah Black, and junior Tanaya Beacham post-game.