Toledo Hangs On, Defeats Bowling Green 71-67 on the Road

Saturday, January 29

Bowling Green, Ohio

1:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

15-4,9-1MAC

Bowling Green

9-8,4-4MAC

Toledo

Bowling Green

Junior Sophia Wiard led the way offensively with 20 points in Toledo's 71-67 win at Bowling Green on Saturday.

Photo by: Haley Boehm

Toledo Hangs On, Defeats Bowling Green 71-67 on the Road

1/29/2022 4:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's basketball team visited arch-rival Bowling Green on Saturday and came away with a hard-fought 71-67 road win.

Coming off their first MAC loss of the season last Wednesday, the Rockets (15-4, 9-1 MAC) bounced back to win Saturday's iteration of the Battle of I-75 at the Stroh Center. Toledo led wire-to-wire against the Falcons (9-8, 4-4 MAC), but saw a double-digit lead dwindle to just five points in the final minutes. The Rockets were able to hold on, though, and bring home a close win.

"Road wins are really hard to get, especially here," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "I'm proud of the way we played today. Coming off a tough game earlier this week, I kept telling our players to pick themselves back up and be ready to go for this game today. I knew with the rivalry and the emotions this game brings that we had to be ready. I was really proud of the way we started the game, I thought we came out and executed very well. It got a little too close there at the end, but I'm proud of our team. Those were two great teams out there today and this is a great rivalry."

Four players scored in double figures on Saturday, with junior Sophia Wiard leading the way with 20 points. Wiard was 6-of-10 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and made 6-of-7 free throw attempts. Freshman Jessica Cook had a strong game, posting her third double-double of the year with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz nearly had her second straight double-double, posting 10 points and nine rebounds, and junior Quinesha Lockett contributed 13 points.

As a team, UT connected on 26-of-60 shots (43.3 percent) and made 12-of-15 free throws. BGSU shot 38.3 percent from the field (23-for-60), but made just 3-of-19 three-point field goals. Toledo built a sizable early lead thanks to its 54.8 field goal percentage (17-for-31) in the first half.

Bowling Green was led by Amy Velasco and her game-high 21 points. Kadie Hempfling (13 points) and Jocelyn Tate (10 points) both cracked double figures as well.

The Battle of I-75 returns to Savage Arena on Saturday, Feb. 12.

Toledo's next game is a home contest against Miami on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 7:00 p.m.

1^st Quarter

Toledo took an early 11-3 lead to start the game, making five of its first seven shots while Bowling Green opened the day just 1-of-7 from the floor.
The lead grew to 16-3 after a pair of free throws from Wiard and a three-pointer from senior Jayda Jansen, giving the Rockets a 13-point advantage with 4:25 to go in the quarter.
The Falcons cut their deficit to single digits at the buzzer on a basket by Sophie Dziekan, putting the score at 21-13 in favor of UT at the end of the first quarter.
Cook had a productive first frame, scoring four points while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out a couple assists.

2^nd Quarter

Mikonowicz opened the scoring in the second quarter with a three-pointer to push Toledo's lead to 24-13.
Junior Hannah Noveroske and Lockett carried the Rockets' offensive production for the next several minutes, doing their part to keep a comfortable cushion for the Midnight Blue and Gold.
Toledo found its three-point stroke near the end of the first half and was able to grow its lead to a game-high 14 points, 43-29, in the waning moments of the second quarter. Wiard, sophomore Khera Goss, and junior Soleil Barnes knocked down three straight treys, with Barnes' shot capping a 9-3 UT run at the end of the half.
The Rockets would take a 43-31 lead into halftime.

3^rd Quarter

The Toledo lead stayed in double-digits for nearly the entire third quarter.
Bowling Green's Zoe Miller provided a spark off the bench, scoring nine points in the third period alone.
Miller's final basket of the quarter came with 13 seconds to go and put UT's lead back into single digits, 55-46, through 30 minutes of play.

4^th Quarter

Cook started the fourth quarter off well, scoring Toledo's first three baskets to help bring the lead back to 12 points, 61-49, with 8:03 to play in the game.
After a basket from Wiard, Bowling Green went on a 9-0 run to trim Toledo's lead to five points, 65-60, with 2:30 remaining.
Wiard's clutch bucket at the 1:46 mark put the team back up by seven, 67-60, and Lockett knocked down both of her free throws 25 second later to give the Rockets a 69-60 advantage.
BGSU's Velasco and Tate traded baskets to bring the Rockets' lead back down to five points, 69-64, with just 36 seconds left.
Bowling Green forced a couple late turnovers to stay alive, but would not complete its comeback. Toledo held on to win, 71-67, to snap a two-game losing skid in the Battle of I-75.