TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's basketball team dismantled Bowling Green in an 80-51 win before a crowd of 5,029 at Savage Arena on Saturday. Toledo outscored the Falcons in all four quarters and were never seriously challenged.
 
The Rockets' (19-4, 13-1 MAC) 29-point win over the Falcons (11-10, 6-6 MAC) tied for their largest-ever margin of victory in the Battle of I-75 rivalry, matching an 81-52 win on Jan. 30, 2002. This also marks the first time Toledo has beaten Bowling Green twice in the same season since 2018-19.
 
By virtue of Saturday's win and Buffalo's (16-8, 10-4 MAC) 69-64 loss to Northern Illinois, first-place Toledo now holds a three-game lead over the Bulls in the Mid-American Conference standings.
 
"I'm really proud of how our players played today, especially defensively," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "To hold a great three-point shooting team like Bowling Green to just two made threes is outstanding. I thought that was a big key to the game. I thought we let them get to the free throw line too many times in the first half, but we did a better job in the second half. They're a great team. I have a lot of respect for Robyn and what she does for their program.

"This is a great rivalry. Obviously last year we were on the other end of it, and our players really wanted to get a sweep this year. I'm proud of them, but in the grand scheme of things this is one game and pretty soon we're going to face a team that beat us, and we need to get ready for that."
 
Junior Quinesha Lockett scored a game-high 24 points, her 12^th game with at least 20 points this season, and recorded a career-best five steals. Saturday was her third straight game with 20 points, and her 15 points in the first half helped the Rockets build an early lead they never relinqished.
 
"Quinesha is special," Cullop said. "She's not a one-dimensional player. She can play offense and defense, she can shoot threes and drive. I think her court vision has really improved this year; her understanding of what the defense is doing and getting the ball in the hands of who needs it. I think she's really blossomed this year, but we also have a lot more around her."
 
 Junior Sophia Wiard (16 points) and freshman Jessica Cook (12 points) also cracked double figures in scoring.
 
Toledo won the rebounding battle against BGSU, 45-32, with its top contributors being junior Hannah Noveroske (10 rebounds), Cook (9 rebounds), and sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz (six rebounds.
 
The Rockets held the Falcons to 28.0 percent shooting (14-for-50) and did not allow a single player to score in double figures, the first time they've held all opposing players to single-digit scoring since March 6, 2017 vs. Akron. BGSU's leading scorer was Zoe Miller, who scored nine points off the bench.
 
Following Saturday's game, Toledo will play three of the next four on the road, beginning with a road test at Ohio on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
 
1^st Quarter

• Cook opened the score with a basket inside, then BGSU's Elissa Brett tied the game at 2-2 with her team's first field goal of the game.
• That would mark the last time the Rockets did not have full control of the lead. Mikonowicz and Cook scored on Toledo's next two possessions to make it 6-2, and UT's lead only continued to grow from there.
• The lead grew to as high as seven in the first quarter with a 6-2 run that put the Rockets ahead 15-8.
• Morgan Sharps knocked down a jumper in the final minute for the Falcons, but Toledo still took a 15-10 lead into the second quarter.

 
2^nd Quarter

• Free throws dominated the second quarter, with both teams combining to knock down 17-of-20 shots from the charity stripe.
• The Rockets started the quarter on an 8-2 run to make the score 24-12 with 5:54 to go.
• Lockett took control of Toledo's offense in the second quarter, scoring 11 straight points for her team at one juncture.
• The lead grew to as many as 16 in the first half when Wiard knocked down two free throws to put the score at 32-16 with 3:35 left in the first half.
• Toledo's lead settled at 12, 35-23, as the horn sounded for halftime.

 
3^rd Quarter

• The Rockets' lead ballooned to 21 after an 11-4 run to start the second half. A trey from Mikonowicz kicked off seven straight points in the second half of that scoring run to put the ledger at 48-27 in favor of the Midnight Blue and Gold.
• Senior Jayda Jansen later made a wide-open three to put the lead at 22 points, 51-29.
• Bowling Green got some of those points back with an 8-2 spurt, trimming UT's lead to 53-37 with 3:02 to go in the quarter.
• Toledo scored nine of the final 11 points of the quarter to get the lead back into the twenties and bring a 63-41 lead into the final frame.
• The Rockets made 10-of-15 shots in the third quarter and scored 28 points, their highest scoring output in a single quarter this season.

 
4^th Quarter

• Noveroske and Cook took care of business in the post to start the fourth quarter, combining to score the first six points and make the score 69-41 with 7:42 remaining.
• Wiard put her finishing touch on another good performance with a deep three-pointer with 2:47 to play, giving UT a 73-45 lead.
• Sophomore Halle Idowu and junior Soleil Barnes capped the scoring for Toledo on Saturday. Idowu made both of her free throw attempts shortly after entering the game, and Barnes scored five points in the final 90 seconds to put the finishing touches on a dominant win.

Head Coach Tricia Cullop post-game.


Junior Quinesha Lockett post-game.


Junior Sophia Wiard post-game.
 

Freshman Jessica Cook post-game.