TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's basketball team will look to move its winning streak to eight games on Saturday when it hosts Buffalo in a showdown of the top two teams in the Mid-American Conference. Saturday's game will tip off at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Rockets (13-3, 7-0 MAC) sit atop the conference standings while the Bulls (11-4, 5-0 MAC) are also unbeaten in MAC play.

The Rockets are coming off a thrilling, come-from-behind victory at Ball State on Wednesday. Trailing by as many as 15 points, Toledo came back to win, 58-55, to remain undefeated in MAC play.

UT trailed by nine points, 52-43, with 8:06 to go in the fourth quarter, but ended the game on a 15-3 tear to stun Ball State. The 15-point deficit was the largest that Toledo has overcome to win a game this season and the largest comeback since Jan. 26, 2014 when the team stormed back from 17 points down at Ohio.

Quinesha Lockett led the way offensively with 14 points and Khera Goss also reached double figures, scoring 11. Jessica Cook added nine points, six rebounds, and four assists in her first appearance in the starting lineup since the beginning of the season. Hannah Noveroske added eight points, nine rebounds, and three blocks to help the cause.

Defense has been a strength for the Rockets this season, as they have led the MAC in scoring defense (57.2) and field goal percentage defense (34.8%) for much of the season. UT ranks 18th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, and opposing teams have shot above 40% from the field just once.

Following Saturday's game, Toledo will host Ohio on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 7:00 p.m. The game against the Bobcats will be Nurse Appreciation night, and junior Hanna Noveroske, a nursing major, will receive her white coat at halftime in a special presentation.
 
Rocket Notes

• The Rockets are off to a 7-0 start in conference play for the first time since the 1998-99 season, when the team won its first eight conference games.
• Toledo's seven-game winning streak is the longest since the 2016-17 season, when the team won eight games in a row. That streak culminated in a 82-71 victory over NIU in the MAC Tournament Championship Game.
• Defense has been a strength for the Rockets this season, as they have led the MAC in scoring defense (57.19) and field goal percentage defense (34.8%) for much of the season. UT ranks 18th in the nation in field goal percentage defense, and opposing teams have shot above 40% from the field just once.
• Toledo overcame a 15-point deficit to win at Ball State on Wednesday, its largest deficit overcome to win since coming back from 17 points down in a game against Ohio on Jan. 26, 2014. Toledo had previously overcome a nine-point deficit twice this season (at Oakland and vs. Eastern Michigan).
• Sophia Wiard led the MAC in assist/turnover ratio last season and is leading the league again this season (2.45).
• Quinesha Lockett sits eighth in the MAC in scoring (17.8 PPG). Lockett has scored in double figures in 14 of 16 games this season and has cracked 20 points eight times. She is one of four players in the MAC to have at least eight 20-point performances.
• In the game at Northern Illinois last Saturday, the Rockets held the Huskies without a three-pointer (0-for-10), the first time an opponent has failed to make at least one three in a game since March 6, 2013 (Ball State, 0-for-13).
• In MAC play, opponents are averaging just 55.7 PPG and are shooting just 33.5% from the field against Toledo.
• Perennially among the national leaders in attendance, Toledo is right back near the top of Division I in 2021-22. UT is averaging 3,345 fans per game in three home games this year, which ranks 24th in the nation in average attendance. Toledo's next home game is Saturday, Jan. 22 against Buffalo.
• Toledo shot 50% from three-point range at Western Michigan (1/8), the second time the team has shot at least 50% from long range this season; they made 52.6% of their threes against Loyola (Md.) (10-for-19).
• UT's free throw shooting has been terrific the last five games. The Rockets are 60-for-75 (79.6%) from the line over that timeframe, which has propelled them to third in the MAC in free throw shooting (72.2%).
• Individually, Khera Goss (10-for-10), Sophia Wiard (6-for-6), and Hannah Noveroske (15-for-17) have been excellent from the free throw line over the last five games.
• Toledo's 51 rebounds against Central Michigan (1/12) were a season high and the most in a game since they had 53 rebounds against Ohio on Jan. 10, 2018.

 
About Buffalo
Buffalo enters Saturday's game riding a five-game winning streak, with all five victories coming during conference play. The Bulls rank second in the MAC in scoring offense (77.27 PPG) and boast the league's top scorer, Dyaisha Fair. The junior guard is averaging 23.5 PPG, which ranks fifth in the country, and has scored at least 20 points in each of the last eight games. Fair scored a season-high 40 points at Bowling Green on Jan. 5, making her one of eight players in the nation with a 40-point game this year.