MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The University of Toledo women's basketball team clinched the No. 1 seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Wednesday with its 76-52 win at Central Michigan.
 
The Rockets (22-4, 16-1 MAC), who hold a three-game lead over Buffalo (19-8, 13-4 MAC) in the MAC standings, also secured at least a share of the MAC Regular Season Championship with Wednesday's win. Toledo's 75-66 win over Buffalo earlier this season helped secure the tiebreaker that handed it the No. 1 seed after defeating CMU.
 
The 2022 MAC Tournament begins Wednesday, March 9 in Cleveland, Ohio. As the No. 1 seed, the Rockets will play the first game of the tournament at 11:00 a.m. against the No. 8 seed.
 
Toledo's 16 conference wins ties a program record for most MAC victories in a season with the 1996-97 team that went 16-2 in league play.
 
"I'm really proud of this team," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "I said at the beginning of the year that this is a special group. They get along extremely well, we have depth, and we have talent. But depth and talent don't mean anything if they can't get along, and this group really loves each other and they work hard for each other."
 
All 14 players saw the court on Wednesday and four Rockets scored in double figures. Junior Sophia Wiard stuffed the box score, scoring 14 points while dishing out eight assists and grabbing five rebounds. Sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz recorded a double-double, her fourth of the season, with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Quinesha Lockett scored 11 points and senior Jayda Jansen added 12 points off the bench. Sophomore Soleil Barnes added a pair of three-pointers off the bench.
 
The Rockets had a terrific shooting night, connecting on 50 percent of their shots (28-for-56) while making 11-of-12 free throws. Central Michigan shot 36.4 percent from the floor (20-for-55) and just 4-of-17 from three.
 
CMU's Jahari Smith scored a team-high 13 points and Lisa Tesson was close behind with nine points.
 
Next up for the Rockets is a road contest at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 26.
 
1^st Quarter

• CMU scored the first basket of the game, but Toledo answered with seven straight points to take a 7-2 lead.
• The Chippewas wrestled the lead back with a 7-0 run of their own to take a 9-7 lead with 4:02 left in the quarter.
• Toledo ended the first frame on a 9-2 run to take a 16-11 lead into the second quarter. Mikonowicz ended the scoring run with a three-pointer in the waning seconds.

 
2^nd Quarter

• The two teams traded baskets to keep the difference at five points before the Rockets blasted off on a 15-4 scoring run.
• Wiard capped the outburst with a jumper to put UT ahead 33-17 with 4:18 left in the first half.
• Toledo continued to pile it on and built a 20-point lead, 43-23, heading into halftime.

 
3^rd Quarter

• CMU shot as well as it did all night in the first five minutes of the second half, but a pair of three-pointers from Lockett and Mikonowicz mitigated any potential damage.
• Toledo used an 8-1 run to build its lead back up to 23 points, 61-38.
• The Chippewas scored a late basket in the closing seconds of the third quarter, but the Rockets still took a 61-40 lead into the final frame.

 
4^th Quarter

• Jansen opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a three-pointer, her second of the night.
• Barnes came off the bench and helped Toledo finish CMU off, knocking down a pair of treys in the final quarter.
• Sophomore Halle Idowu scored the final basket of the night to bring about the final score of 76-52.