CLEVELAND, Ohio – No. 1 seed Toledo fell behind early and made a valiant second-half comeback before falling to No. 5 seed Ball State, 71-66, in semifinal action of the MAC Women's Basketball Tournament at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland on Friday.
 
The Rockets trailed by as many as 17 points midway through the third quarter before coming to within two points, 63-61, on a Sophia Wiard three-pointer with 1:22 left in the game. But the Cardinals scored eight points the rest of the way to advance to Saturday's championship game.
 
 "Ball State played very, very well today," said Head Coach Tricia Cullop. "They made a lot of great shots in the first half. We didn't have an answer defensively in the first half and they went on a long run. I think it hurt us on the other end of the floor. We weren't shooting it well and they were, especially in the second quarter. We dug ourselves a big hole.
 
 "But just like always, our team responded. They were amazing fighting back. The resiliency of this group is what has gotten us to this point. It just wasn't enough today. I told my team it's hard to be perfect for a long time. And they've been absolutely amazing for a long time."
 
Wiard led the Rockets with 16 points. She was joined by backcourt mate Quinesha Lockett in double figures with 14. Nan Garcia, Khera Goss, and Sammi Mikonowicz all contributed nine points on Friday
 
The Rockets were hurt by a poor-shooting first half in which they made just 9-of-28 (32.1%) shots from the field. A 21-12 advantage in the third quarter got Toledo back in the game.
 
Toledo (26-5), which went 19-1 in MAC play this season, will now have to wait and see if the selection committee chooses the Rockets as an at-large team in the Women's NCAA Championship Tournament on Sunday night. Cullop feels strongly that Toledo belongs in the 68-team field.
 
 "If a selection committee person were sitting right beside me, I would say, we've gone to 68 teams (in the tournament field). We didn't add four to add teams that have lost 10 of their last 11 games. We added it to add value to our tournament," said Cullop. "We have absolutely proven ourselves over and over again."
 
         
1^st Quarter

• Ball State made five of its first seven shots and held an 11-5 lead at the media timeout.
• The Cardinals' lead increased to 16-7 before Toledo closed out the quarter on an 8-4 run to trim the deficit to 20-15.

 
2^nd Quarter

• The Rockets took their first lead of the game, 21-20, on a layup by Quinesha Lockett with 6:39 left.
• Ball State reeled off the next six points in less than a minute, regaining the lead 26-21 and forcing Toledo to call timeout with 5:29 left.
• The Cardinals then outscored the Rockets 11-2 to increase their lead to 37-23 and force Cullop to call another TO at the 3:11 mark. BSU ended up with a 39-25 halftime lead.
• Toledo connected on just 9-of-28 (32.1%) of its shots in the first half, including just 1-of-7 from behind the arc. Ball State netted 15-of-29 (51.7%) from the floor.
• Lockett led Toledo with seven first-half points.

 
3^rd Quarter

• A three-point play by BSU's Annie Rauch pushed the Cardinal lead to 48-31 at the 5:08 mark.
• Nan Garcia knocked down a three-pointer and followed that with a three-point play to trim the lead to 50-41 with 3:25 left.
• Khera Goss drilled a three-pointer with 38 seconds left to cut the BSU lead to 51-46 heading into the final quarter.
• Toledo hit 8-of-13 (61.5%) shots in the quarter to get back in the game.

 
4^th Quarter

•  Sammi Mikonowicz ignited a rally with a blocked shot and four points in a 5-2 Toledo spurt that cut the lead to 55-51 at the media timeout at 4:41.
• Ball State pushed the lead back to seven but Sophia Wiard countered with a three-pointer to make the score 60-56 with 2:39 left.
• Wiard hit another three with 1:22 left to cut the lead to 63-61 but Ball State came right back with a bucket to make it 65-61 with 53 seconds left.
• Toledo turned it over on its next possession and was then forced to foul. Chyna Latimer split the pair with 35.7 seconds to make it 66-61.
• Lockett made a pair of quick layups, the second coming with 24.4 seconds left to trim the lead to 68-65.
• After Ball State split a pair of free throws, Mikonowicz rebounded a Lockett miss and was fouled. She also split the pair to make the score 69-66.
• Ball State's Sydney Freeman made two free throws with four seconds left to seal the win for the Cardinals.

Head Coach Tricia Cullop, sophomore Nan Garcia, junior Sophia Wiard post-game.