CLEVELAND, Ohio – The No. 1 seed Toledo women's basketball team will face No. 5 Ball State on Friday in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Tip off between the Rockets and Cardinals is set for 10:00 a.m. on ESPN+.
 
The winner of the first semifinal game will meet the winner of No. 2 Buffalo vs. No. 3 Akron in the Championship Game on Saturday, March 12 at 11:00 a.m. on CBS Sports Network.
 
Toledo advanced to the semis thanks to an 80-67 win over Ohio in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. UT (26-4) held a 34-32 halftime lead and led Ohio (15-14) by just five points headed into the fourth quarter. The Rockets outscored the Bobcats 22-14 in the fourth quarter to advance to the semifinals.
 
Junior guards Sophia Wiard and Quinesha Lockett scored 19 points each, and Wiard was one rebound shy of a triple double, adding 10 assists and nine rebounds in 40 minutes of play. Lockett scored 10 of her 19 points in the final 10 minutes to help the Rockets seal the victory in what had been a close contest through three quarters.
 
Ball State won its quarterfinal game against Northern Illinois, overcoming a 13-point deficit to win 60-54 and advance to the next round.
 
2022 MAC Tournament Bracket
 
Wednesday, March 9, 2022 -- Quarterfinals
Game 1: No. 1 Toledo 80, No. 8 Ohio 67
Game 2: No. 5 Ball State 60, No. 4 Northern Illinois 54
Game 3: No. 3 Buffalo 67, No. 7 Western Michigan 49
Game 4: No. 3 Akron 81, No. 6 Bowling Green 67
 
Friday, March 11, 2022 -- Semifinals
Game 5: No. 1 Toledo vs. No. 5 Ball State, 10:00 a.m. ET %
Game 6: No. 2 Buffalo vs. No. 3 Akron, Time TBA* %
 
Saturday, March 12, 2022 -- MAC Championship
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner,  11:00 a.m. ET #
 
# Game will be televised on CBS Sports Network
% Game will be televised on ESPN+ 
*30 minutes following the completion of the first game of the session
 
Season Series vs. Ball State
The Rockets have defeated the Cardinals twice this season, albeit in close games. Toledo won, 58-55, in Muncie on Jan. 19 and escaped with a 69-66 win at home on Feb. 19. UT trailed Ball State by 15 points in the first meeting, but came back to win.
 
The Rockets fell behind early in the first meeting, trailing the Cardinals 21-6 at the end of the first quarter, but chipped away at their sizable deficit until taking their first lead of the night in the third quarter. Toledo trailed by nine points, 52-43, with 8:06 to go, but ended the game on a 15-3 tear to stun Ball State. Quinesha Lockett led the way offensively with 14 points and Khera Goss also reached double figures, scoring 11.
 
The second meeting at Savage Arena was also a close game. Toledo led for nearly the entire game, 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. 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. Sophia Wiard added 14 points and four assists, while 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.