DEKALB, Ill. – The University of Toledo women's basketball team remained undefeated in conference play after Saturday's 73-52 win at Northern Illinois.
 
The Rockets (12-3, 6-0 MAC) held the Huskies (4-8, 1-3 MAC) to 35 percent shooting (21-for-60) and held NIU 0-for-10 from beyond the arc, the first time since 2013 that a UT opponent failed to make a three-pointer.
 
Toledo and Northern Illinois traded baskets early in the game, but a 24-6 first-half scoring run for the Midnight Blue and Gold put them up big, and they would hold a double-digit lead for the rest of the afternoon.
 
"Defensively our team did a really nice job today," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "Our players did a really good job defensively against their outside shooters; I'm impressed with the way we were able to guard Chelby Koker and Janae Poisson today. Northern Illinois is a tough team to stop, and they run a lot of good actions on offense. I think we did a phenomenal job today. Quinesha Lockett had a special game on the offensive end, but I'm really proud of how unselfishly we played. We did a good job once again of taking care of the basketball as well. If we can continue to play like we did today, this team has a chance to go places."
 
Junior Quinesha Lockett provided 23 points, including 18 in the first half, and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Jessica Cook and sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz both contributed 11 points and seven rebounds apiece, and the post duo combined for five steals as well. Junior Sophia Wiard once again stuffed the box score with nine points, nine assists, and three steals.
 
Toledo shot 40 percent from the field (30-for-75) on Saturday, its sixth straight game shooting at least 40 percent from the floor. The Rockets won the turnover battle as well, tying a season high by forcing 22 NIU turnovers while committing just nine themselves, tied for their lowest turnover total in a game this season.

Northern Illinois was led by A'Jah Davis, who scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Errin Hodges was the Huskies' next-highest scorer with eight points.
 
Next up for Toledo is a road contest at Ball State on Wednesday, Jan. 19. The Rockets return home on Saturday, Jan. 22 to host Buffalo.
 
1^st Quarter

• NIU scored the first basket of the game, but Toledo followed that up with six straight points to take a 6-2 advantage.
• The Huskies fought back to take a 9-8 lead with 4:45 to go in the quarter, but that would be the final time they led the entire game.
• Lockett took over for a stretch, scoring seven straight points to give Toledo a 15-9 lead with 2:26 to go in the first quarter.
• An NIU layup at 2:03 gave the Huskies their first field goal in nearly four-and-a-half minutes, but the Rockets continued to score in bunches. Toledo scored the final eight points of the quarter to take a 23-11 lead through 10 minutes of play.

 
2^nd Quarter

• Both teams traded baskets for nearly the entirety of the second quarter, the lone exception being back-to-back field goals from senior Lexi Lance and Lockett giving UT a 32-15 advantage with 6:05 left in the first half.
• The Huskies were able to keep pace with the Rockets for the rest of the second quarter, but by that time Toledo's lead had grown to 41-23 heading into halftime.
• Lockett led all scorers with 18 points in the first half.

 
3^rd Quarter

• Toledo came out firing in the second half, using a 9-2 scoring run to double up NIU and take a 50-25 lead.
• A'Jah Davis scored the first eight points of the second half for Northern Illinois, but her presence in the post was not enough to overcome the Rockets' stellar play at both ends of the court.
• UT's lead grew to a game-high 28 points, 59-31, with 2:41 to go in the quarter on senior Jayda Jansen's three-pointer.
• NIU ended the third quarter on a 6-0 run, but Toledo still took a 59-37 lead into the fourth quarter.

4^th Quarter

• The Huskies continued to chip away in the final frame, trimming their deficit to 18 points, 64-46, with 5:37 to go in the game.
• Lockett saw to it that the Rockets' lead dip returned to the 20's by drilling a three-pointer with 4:36 to go to make the score 67-46.
• Toledo would go on to capture a 21-point victory in DeKalb, its fifth win by at least 20 points this season.