TOLEDO, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's basketball team withstood a late surge from Ball State to win its seventh straight game on Saturday, 69-66, at Savage Arena.

The Rockets improve to 21-4 and 15-1 in Mid-American Conference play and remain three games ahead of second-place Buffalo in the conference standings following its win over Miami on Saturday. Toledo's 15-1 MAC record is its best since the 2012-13 season, when the team finished conference play with an identical 15-1 ledger.

Toledo led for nearly the entire game on Saturday, but Ball State did not go down without a fight. An and-one from BSU's Annie Rauch with 1:59 to play made it a one-point game, the first of three times the Cardinals trimmed UT's lead to one. Each instance the Rockets were able to get points on the other end and fend off Ball State, which they successfully did long enough to hold on and come away with a win.

"One of the biggest keys for us in this game was trying to limit their three-point opportunities," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "They're one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country, so to limit them to only five three-point field goals was really big for us. I'm also really proud of our players for getting 14 offensive rebounds and for hitting 84 percent of our free throws. To go 21-of-25 from the free throw line in a very physical game mattered a lot. We knew this was going to be a battle, Ball State is a very good offensive team, and we knew this would probably come down to the wire. We were glad to come away with the victory and we're ready to turn our focus to next week."

Junior Quinesha Lockett scored a game-high 21 points, 11 of which came in the fourth quarter, and she was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Junior Sophia Wiard added 14 points and four assists, while senior Jayda Jansen provided 10 points off the bench. Jansen also went 6-for-6 at the charity stripe and did not commit a turnover in over 27 minutes of play.

Led by excellent shooting from Jansen and Lockett, Toledo was 21-of-25 from the free throw line for the game and 10-of-10 in the fourth quarter. The Rockets also outrebounded the Cardinals, 44-26, and held a 14-3 edge in offensive rebounds. Sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz collected a team high eight rebounds and while Lockett and Wiard each grabbed seven boards.

Ball State had four players score in double figures, with Annie Rauch scoring a team-high 14 points. Chyna Latimer added eight points and a game-high nine rebounds.

Toledo heads to Central Michigan this Wednesday, Feb. 23 and can clinch at least a share of the MAC regular season championship with a win.

1^st Quarter

• Lockett's three-point play propelled the Rockets on a 7-0 run to take an 8-4 lead with 4:58 remaining in the quarter. 
• Ball State's Alley Becki hit a pair of threes to tie the game, 13-13, with 2:33 left in the first. 
• Mikonowicz's three-pointer at the buzzer broke the stalemate to give UT a 22-19 heading into the second quarter

 
2^nd Quarter

• Lockett again opened the scoring with a three-point play, pushing Toledo's lead to 25-19.
• Ball State scored eight of the next 10 points to tie the game at 27-27 with 6:21 left in the half.
• Both teams traded baskets to put the score at 29-29 with 5:15 remaining, but that would be the final basket for Ball State in the first half.
• Toledo held BSU scoreless for the final 5:15 of the quarter and used that time to score six points and take a 35-29 lead into halftime.

 
3^rd Quarter

• After Ball State's Marie Kiefer scored the opening basket of the second half, Toledo launched a 7-3 run to take an eight-point lead, 42-34.
• Ball State scored the next five points to make it a one-possession game, but Lockett drilled a three-pointer on the next UT possession to push the lead back to six, 45-39.
• The Cardinals finished the third quarter on a 9-3 run to pull within two points, 50-48, with one quarter remaining.

 
4^th Quarter

•  Wiard knocked down a trey to begin the fourth quarter and push the Rockets' lead to five, 53-48.
• Ball State cut Toledo's lead to four with less than five minutes remaining, shortly after Jansen cruised by the Cardinal defender for a layup to put UT ahead 61-55.
• Rauch's three-point play with 1:59 remaining trimmed the Rockets' lead to one, 63-62.
• With just 26 seconds to play, freshman Jessica Cook corralled a missed shot on the offensive end and went up strong for two, putting Toledo ahead 65-62 late.
• Ball State's Latimer and Ally Becki both scored in the waning moments of the game to cut their deficit to one point, but each time the Rockets successfully responded at the free throw line to keep the Cardinals out of reach. Wiard knocked down both of her free throws with 10 seconds remaining and Lockett made both of her foul shots in the closing seconds to keep Toledo out in front.
• Thelma Dis Agustsdottir heaved up a three-pointer as time expired, but it was off the mark.

Head Coach Tricia Cullop post-game.


Junior Sophia Wiard post-game.


Junior Quinesha Lockett post-game.