Quinesha Lockett’s 37 Points Lead Toledo to Thrilling 92-82 Win over Marquette in WNIT

Thursday, March 24

Milwaukee, Wis.

8:00 p.m. ET

University of Toledo

29-5,19-1MAC

Marquette

23-11,13-7Big East

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Toledo	25	24	21	22	92
Marquette	22	24	28	8	82

Box Score (PDF)

Quinesha Lockett scored a career-high 37 points in Toledo's 92-82 win at Marquette in the third round of the WNIT on Thursday.

Photo by: Erin Fankhauser

3/24/2022 11:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Junior Quinesha Lockett scored 21 of Toledo's 22 points in the fourth quarter on her way to a career-high of 37 in Thursday night's thrilling 92-82 win over Marquette in Milwaukee in the third round of the WNIT.

Toledo will now host Middle Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the WNIT on Monday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale now online at utrockets.com/WNITtix, over the phone by calling 419-530-GOLD (4653), or by visiting the Rocket Ticket Office at Savage Arena. The Rocket Ticket Office will be open on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. and again on Monday beginning at 9:00 a.m.

The Rockets (29-5) led for much of the game, but trailed the Golden Eagles (23-11) 74-70 heading into the fourth quarter before Lockett took the game into her own hands. She proceeded to make 6-of-8 shots from the field and all seven of her free throw attempts to cap a marvelous 37-point night and propel the Rockets into the next round.

"I'm really proud of our players," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "We knew this was going to be a difficult matchup for us. Marquette is a very skilled team and they're well-coached. It took a valiant effort to win tonight. You could really tell how badly both teams wanted to win and I could not be more proud of our players for how well they kept it together when the momentum shifted. We never lost our confidence and we never lost our focus."

Toledo's 29 wins ties a school record for most victories in a season, matching win totals from the 2010-11 and 2012-13 squads. The 92 points UT scored on Thursday are a program record for most in a WNIT game and the most the team has scored against a Division I opponent since scoring 92 at Cleveland State on Nov. 19, 2016. The Rockets will now play in the quarterfinals of the WNIT for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

Lockett's backcourt mate junior Sophia Wiard provided Toledo with a gutty performance on Thursday night, scoring 20 points while tallying seven rebounds and six assists on 8-of-9 shooting. Sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz added 10 points and Khera Goss scored nine.

The Rockets shot 57.1 percent from the floor (32-for-56), tying a season high, and made a season-best 55.0 percent of their three-pointers (11-for-20). Marquette shot well also, making 34-of-75 shots, good for 45.3 percent.

Marquette was led by Chloe Marotta, who scored 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Karissa McLaughlin and Liza Karlen both added 18 points.

1^st Quarter

Marquette scored the first four points of the game to take an early lead.
The Rockets answered with an 11-2 run to take an 11-6 lead with 5:56 to go in the quarter. Mikonowicz and senior Jayda Jansen capped the scoring surge with back-to-back threes.
The Golden Eagles pulled within a point, 11-10, before Toledo exploded ahead with an 8-0 run to take a 19-10 lead, a stretch that ended with a trey from Garcia.
Marquette battled back to tie the score at 22-22 in the final minute, but Wiard's three-pointer in the closing seconds lifted UT to a 25-22 lead heading into the second quarter.

2^nd Quarter

Toledo continued to shoot well into the second quarter, scoring the first five points to open up a 30-22 lead.
The Rockets' lead crept into double figures on a basket by freshman Jessica Cook at the 3:44 mark, putting the score at 43-33.
The Golden Eagles were able to chip away down the stretch and pulled within three, 49-46, at halftime.
Toledo's 49 points at the half were a season-high for first half points.

3^rd Quarter

Mikonowicz scored six straight points near the midway point of the quarter to push Toledo's lead to 63-56.
Marquette immediately used a 10-0 run to take its first lead since the first quarter, putting the score at 66-64 with 3:01 to go in the quarter.
The Rockets and Golden Eagles traded buckets for the final three minutes, but Marquette brought a 74-70 lead into the final quarter.

4^th Quarter

The fourth quarter became The Quinesha Lockett Show. She drove to the hoop for two for the first basket of the period and only got better from there.
She knocked down a three-pointer at the 7:08 mark to drag the Rockets to within a point, 76-75, then knocked down a pair of free throws with 6:24 remaining to give UT a 77-76 lead.
Marotta's final bucket of the night gave Marquette a 78-77 lead with 5:01 to play, but Lockett responded with seven straight points to give Toledo the lead for good, putting the score at 84-78 with 3:32 to play.
Lockett's and-one with 1:19 to left in the game whipped the Rockets' bench into a frenzy and provided an exclamation point to Toledo's outstanding win.