TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's basketball team won its eighth straight game on Saturday at Savage Arena, a 75-66 victory over Buffalo in front of a boisterous crowd of 4,054 fans.

In the showdown contest between the last two undefeated teams in the Mid-American Conference, the Rockets led nearly the whole way against the Bulls to claim outright possession of first place. Buffalo (11-5, 5-1 MAC) cut the Rocket lead to three points late in the game but Toledo iced the victory with a 7-0 run to take a 72-62 lead with 1:38 to play
 
The Rockets (14-3, 8-0 MAC) are off to their best start in Mid-American Conference play since the 1998-99 season, when Toledo also began league play 8-0. The program record for most wins to begin MAC play is 11, which was achieved by the 1993-94 team.
 
Only three teams across the country are undefeated in conference play and have at least eight league wins: Toledo (8-0), South Dakota State (9-0, Summit), and No. 4 NC State (8-0, ACC).
 
"I'm really, really proud of our team today," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "Buffalo is a very good team and very athletic. To beat them on the boards tonight shows exceptional effort by our players. I think it took a lot of mental toughness for us to go out there and win today. This was a battle of two really good teams. And as proud as I am of our players, I'm just as proud of our fans. To have them in here creating the incredible environment they do, we're just so happy to have them back."
 
Four out of five Rocket starters reached double digits in the points column on Saturday. Junior Quinesha Lockett and sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz both scored a team-high 17 points. Lockett also had 10 rebounds on the afternoon to post a double-double, her fourth of the season, and contributed a career-high seven assists. Freshman Jessica Cook posted 10 points and junior Sophia Wiard had 15 shooting an efficient 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Cook scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter.
 
The Toledo defense, the best in the MAC this season, stuck to the script and held Buffalo to an off shooting night of 23-68 (33.8 percent) from the floor and 4-16 (25.0 percent) from three range. Buffalo's Summer Hemphill posted a double-double and led all scorers with 20 points and 10 boards, but fouled out early in the fourth quarter. Dyaisha Fair, the MAC's leading scorer, scored 14 points on 4-of-20 shooting, making 6-of-8 free throws.
 
The Rockets won the battle on the glass as well, outrebounding the Bulls 45-39.
 
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.
 
1^st Quarter

• Both teams traded baskets early in the quarter, but five straight points for the Rockets gave them a 13-8 lead with 3:51 to go.
• Buffalo fought back to take a 17-16 lead with 2:14 left in the first quarter. UB's Summer Hemphill scored five straight points to give her team the lead.
• Toledo ended the quarter on a high note though, using a 10-2 run to grab a 26-19 lead at the end of the first frame. UT's scoring spurt was bookended by three-pointers from sophomore Khera Goss and Wiard.
• The Rockets connected on 10-of-15 shots in the first quarter, including all three of their shots from beyond the arc.

 
2^nd Quarter

• Toledo's lead grew to 10 points, 31-21, on a long three from Wiard at the 6:05 mark of the second quarter.
• The Bulls were able to close the gap though, using a 10-2 run to trim UT's lead to two points, 33-31, heading into halftime.
• UB's Georgia Woolley scored five straight points to help close her team's gap, and Hemphill drilled a three-pointer with 3:13 left in the quarter, the final basket for either team in the first half.

 
3^rd Quarter

• Buffalo missed its first 10 shots of the third quarter, allowing Toledo to open the second half on a 12-0 run and take a 45-31 lead.
• Mikonowicz opened the scoring with a three, and  Goss would go on to add a trey of her own. The final six points of UT's second-half scoring run came on free throws.
• The Bulls' first points of the quarter didn't come until the 4:32 mark, when Hemphill made one of two free throw attempts.
• Buffalo ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to trim Toledo's lead to single digits, 52-43, headed into the fourth quarter.

 
4^th Quarter

• Wiard knocked down a three-pointer at the 8:26 mark to push UT's lead back into double figures, 55-45.
• Buffalo would not go down quietly and continued to chip away well into the fourth quarter. The Bulls' Dominique Camp made it a one-possession game after making both of her free throws with 3:10 to go, putting the score at 65-62.
• The Rockets rose up to the occasion, however, scoring the next seven points to retake a double-digit lead, 72-62, with 1:38 to play.
• Mikonowicz provided the dagger, drilling a corner three with 2:00 to go that made it an eight-point game.
• Buffalo managed a couple baskets in the final 90 seconds, but never got closer than eight points. Toledo's margin of victory settled at nine, 75-66.

 
 

Head Coach Tricia Cullop post-game.


Junior Quinesha Lockett post-game.


Sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz post-game.