AKRON, Ohio – The University of Toledo women's basketball team outlasted Akron, 73-70, in a thriller at James A. Rhodes Arena on Saturday.
 
The Rockets (17-4, 11-1 MAC) trailed the Zips (9-8, 6-5 MAC) by five at halftime, but battled back to take the lead early in the third quarter. Akron retook the lead late in the third period and held a four-point lead, 65-61, with 5:17 to go. Toledo then used a 7-0 run to turn a four-point deficit into a three-point lead with 2:24 to play. Despite constant pressure from the Zips, UT held on to complete the comeback and earn an impressive road win.
 
The victory strengthens the Rockets' grip on first place in the MAC standings over Buffalo (14-7, 8-3 MAC) and Ball State (14-7, 7-4 MAC).
 
"Akron was on fire at the beginning of the game," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "I thought we just needed to keep chugging along and keep our composure and we'd be alright. Akron did a good job of taking away some of the things we wanted to do offensively, but I'm proud of the way we came back in the second half and went back to some of those things and found ways to score. Sometimes you need to wear a team down a bit to get what you want out of the game and I thought we were able to do that today. I'm also really proud of the tenacity that Hannah Noveroske showed today. We're blessed to have more than one post player who can do some damage inside, and today was Hannah's day."
 
Noveroske tied a career-high with 19 points and grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds for her first double-double. In the previous meeting with Akron she also scored 19 points while tallying nine boards.  
Junior Sophia Wiard also had a double-double on Saturday, her second of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. She did the bulk of her damage at the free throw line, making 11-of-15 shots.

Junior Quinesha Lockett led the Rockets with 20 points, her 10^th 20-point scoring effort of the season. Sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz contributed eight points and seven rebounds, and freshman Jessica Cook added six points and five boards.
 
Toledo won the rebounding battle handily, collecting 49 boards compared to Akron's 28. The Rockets cleaned up the glass on the offensive end, tallying 18 offensive rebounds.
 
The Zips were led by Jordyn Dawson and her 26 points. Reagan Bass (11 points) was the only other Akron player to score in double figures.
 
Next up for the Rockets is a weeknight battle in Oxford against the Miami RedHawks. That game is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 9 at 7:00 p.m.
 
1^st Quarter

• Cook scored the first basket of the game, but Akron followed that up with a 12-2 run to take a 12-4 advantage at the 4:54 mark.
• Toledo trimmed the deficit to two points with a quick 6-0 run, with Noveroske baskets bookending a pair of Wiard free throws.
• Akron held a 19-12 lead in the closing seconds, but Wiard was fouled on a last-second heave near midcourt. She drained all three of her free throw attempts to put the score at 19-15 in favor of the Zips after one quarter.

 
2^nd Quarter

• Akron found its shooting stroke early in the second quarter and took a game-high, 10-point lead. Molly Neitzel scored the first five points of the quarter and teammates Jodryn Dawson and Rachel Martindale hit back-to-back threes to put Akron ahead, 30-20, with 6:46 left in the first half.
• The Rockets trimmed the deficit to four points, 32-28, with 3:28 left in the quarter.
• The Zips had a three-pointer wiped off the scoreboard after the officials determined the shot clock had run out before they got the shot off.
• Mikonowicz drilled a three-pointer with 50 seconds left to make it a one-possession game, but Akron scored with 15 seconds left to bring the score to 41-36 at halftime.

 
3^rd Quarter

• Lockett knocked down a trey to open the second half and bring the Rockets within two, 41-39.
• Both teams traded buckets inside, then sophomore Khera Goss gave Toledo the lead with a three-pointer, 44-43, at the 7:58 mark. The shot gave UT its first lead since making the first basket of the game.
• The Rockets surged ahead with a 9-0 run to take their largest lead of the day, an eight-point advantage with 4:26 left in the quarter. Cook scored two straight baskets, then a trey from Lockett and a layup from Mikonowicz gave Toledo a 53-45 lead.
• Not to be outdone, the Zips followed that up with a 9-0 run of their own to retake the lead, 54-53.
• On the very next possession, Lockett drove to the hoop for two and gave Toledo a 55-54 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

 
4^th Quarter

• Mikonowicz knocked down a three-pointer with 7:44 to play to give Toledo a 60-56 lead.
• Akron returned the favor and made back-to-back treys to take a 62-60 lead with 6:38 to play.
• A minute later, Lockett made one of her two free throw attempts to put the Rockets within a point, but Dawson answered back with a three-pointer to give Akron a 65-61 advantage with just over five minutes to play.
• That would be the final field goal the Rockets' would allow all game. What followed was a 7-0 Toledo run that gave the Midnight Blue and Gold the lead for good.
• Noveroske grabbed her own rebound and went up strong again with 3:02 to play, and her bucket gave UT a 66-65 lead it would not relinquish.
• Akron trimmed Toledo's lead to one point three separate times in the final 2:30 of the game, but could not get any closer. Wiard knocked down two clutch free throws in the closing seconds to put the score at 73-70, which would hold as the final score.