TOLEDO, Ohio –  The University of Toledo women's basketball team (9-11, 5-11 MAC) heads to Central Michigan (13-7, 11-5 MAC) for a Mid-American Conference battle with the Chippewas on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN3.

These two teams met earlier this season on Jan. 27 at Savage Arena, with CMU winning that game 83-74 despite an inspired comeback attempt by the Rockets. Toledo trailed by as many as 21 points in the first half due in large part to the Chippewas' outstanding shooting. CMU shot 72.4 percent from the field in the first two quarters, fueling a 48-30 halftime lead. But the Rockets came roaring back in the second half, even taking a one-point lead early in the fourth quarter. However the Chippewas were able to pull away and hand Toledo a nine-point defeat.

Last Time Out
Sophomore Sophia Wiard scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds but it wasn't enough for Toledo in a 69-59 loss at Eastern Michigan on Sunday.

Sophomores Quinesha Lockett and Mali Morgan-Elliott added 13 points apiece for the Rockets, who shot 32.8 percent as a team from the floor and made just 4-of-21 from long range.

The Midnight Blue and Gold held a 12-7 lead after one quarter of play and were only down 31-30 at halftime but were playing catch-up most the second half. Toledo cut the lead to 60-56 with just over two minutes to play but missed its final five shots from the floor while Eastern Michigan made 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.


Quick Hits

• Toledo holds a 51-36 all-time record against CMU, including a 20-19 mark when playing at McGuirk Arena.
• The Rockets' have held opponents to a 31.7% three-point field goal percentage this season, fourth in the MAC. Toledo has held three of its last four opponents to a three-point field goal percentage below 31%.
• Toledo's next two games will be against the two teams atop the MAC in field goal percentage. Central Michigan is shooting 45.8% from the floor as a team this year and Ball State is shooting 44.0%. CMU is 26th in the country in that category.
• Sophia Wiard still ranks first in MAC in assist/turnover ratio (1.96, 88-45), a position she has held for much of this season.
• Mali Morgan-Elliott has made at least two three-pointers in six of her last seven games. She had just three such occurrences in her previous 13 contests.
• Quinesha Lockett has been excellent this season, scoring at least 20 points in 10 games this season, including two 30+-point efforts. The Omaha, Neb. native is averaging 19.1 points per game this year. If the season ended today, that would rank eighth all-time in program history for single-season scoring average.
• The Rockets are in the midst of playing three games in a week for the second time in three weeks. They played at Kent State on Monday, Feb. 8, hosted Buffalo on Wednesday, Feb. 10 and visited Akron on Saturday, Feb. 13. This week, Toledo visited EMU on Sunday, plays at CMU on Wednesday, and hosts Ball State on Saturday.

Next Up
Toledo has three games remaining on its regular season schedule following its trip to Mount Pleasant. The Rockets host Ball State this Saturday, Feb. 27 before visiting Western Michigan on Wednesday, March 3, then return home to play Eastern Michigan on Saturday, March 6 in their regular-season finale.

Saturday's home game against Ball State will be Toledo's annual "Rockets for the Cure" game to support breast cancer awareness.