Toledo Welcomes Central Michigan on Wednesday Evening

Wednesday, January 12

Toledo, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

Central Michigan

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Quinesha Lockett vs. Wright State 11-13-2021

Junior Quinesha Lockett is just 19 points away from becoming the 31st 1,000-point scorer in program history.

Photo by: Scott Grau

Toledo Welcomes Central Michigan on Wednesday Evening

1/11/2022 12:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

TOLEDO, Ohio – The first-place Toledo women's basketball team (10-3, 4-0 MAC) welcomes Central Michigan (3-10, 1-3 MAC) to Savage Arena on Wednesday evening. The game is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN3.

Toledo is coming off a 76-67 win at Western Michigan, the 400th win of head coach Tricia Cullop's illustrious career.

"I'm really lucky," Cullop said. "I'm lucky to have a job that I love and to coach people that are so unbelievably fun to coach. This team's chemistry and our staff's chemistry has been so fun to see this year. This is one of the best teams and best staffs I've had, and I just want to enjoy this as long as I can. But this also makes me reflect on all the great players I've coached. As a coach, you don't do it by yourself, and I have been so fortunate to have so many great players in my career and so many that have really excelled in this program."

With the win, Toledo remained unbeaten in Mid-American Conference play and is off to its best start since 2016-17, when the team also opened the year 10-3.

Sophia Wiard led the way offensively at WMU on Saturday, scoring a season-high 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting while contributing seven rebounds and six assists. Jayda Jansen added 12 points, her most as a Rocket, and she was 3-for-4 from long range as well. Khera Goss contributed 11 points and four rebounds to help the cause.

Quinesha Lockett enters Wednesday's game just 19 points away from becoming the 31st player in program history to score 1,000 career points. Lockett is averaging a team-best 17.2 ppg this season and has six games with at least 20 points.

Hannah Noveroske has been a big part of Toledo's success to begin MAC play. The junior center is averaging 12.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, and a whopping 3.5 bpg, far and away the most in the league in MAC competition.

The Rockets rank atop the MAC in scoring defense (58.4 ppg) and field-goal percentage defense (35.3%), allowing more than 60 points in just four of 12 games this season.

Following Wednesday's game, Toledo will play two straight road contests. The Rockets visit Northern Illinois this Saturday, Jan. 15 before heading to Muncie, Ind. to face Ball State on Wednesday, Jan. 19.

Rocket Notes

The all-time series between Toledo and Central Michigan stands at 52-36 in favor of UT. Wednesday will be the 89^th meeting between these two teams, which will be tied with Eastern Michigan for the most games against one team in program history
Toledo has won its first five home games of the 2021-22 season, its best start at home since winning the first nine home contests of the 2017-18 campaign.
There have been three five-block performances by a MAC player this season, and Hannah Noveroske has two of them. Central Michigan's Jahari Smith has the other; she had five blocks against Northern Illinois on Jan. 1.
Quinesha Lockett sits ninth in the MAC in scoring (17.2 ppg). Lockett has scored in double figures in 11 of 13 games this season and has cracked 20 points six times. She is one of four players in the MAC to have at least six 20-point performances.
UT's free throw shooting has been excellent the last two games. The Rockets are 33-for-38 (86.8%) from the line over their last two contests, which has propelled them to third in the MAC in free throw shooting (72.0%).
The Rockets lead the MAC in scoring defense (58.38) and field goal percentage defense (35.3%). Toledo has held opponents to 60 points or fewer in eight of 13 games this season, and opposing teams have shot above 40% from the field just once against UT.
Perennially among the national leaders in attendance, Toledo is right back near the top of Division I in 2021-22. UT is averaging 3,487 fans per game in three home games this year, which ranks 24th in the nation in average attendance. Toledo's next home game is Wednesday, Jan. 12 against Central Michigan

About Central Michigan
Central Michigan enters Wednesday's contest having lost seven of its last eight games, with the lone win coming at home against Northern Illinois on New Year's Day. CMU's other MAC games have come against Buffalo, Western Michigan, and Eastern Michigan, and all three were double-digit losses. Junior guard and two-time All-MAC honoree Molly Davis is averaging a team-best 18.2 ppg this season but has been heating up as of late, averaging 23.0 ppg over her last five games. Senior forward Jahari Smith is averaging a double-double for the Chippewas (11.5 ppg/11.3 rpg).