TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's basketball team's historic season came to an end on Monday night at Savage Arena with its 73-71 overtime loss to Middle Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the WNIT.

The Rockets finish the year 29-6, tying the program record for most wins in a season after already setting the school record and Mid-American Conference record for conference wins in a season (19).

In a battle between mid-major heavyweights, the Rockets and Blue Raiders combined for 17 lead changes and 15 tie scores in Monday's overtime thriller. Neither team led by more than four points in the final 15 minutes.

Toledo trailed by two, 60-58, with 1:57 to go in regulation when senior Jayda Jansen forced a turnover and immediately turned it into a three-point play, putting UT ahead 61-60. Middle Tennessee tied it up at 62-62 with five seconds to go, leaving the Rockets with the chance to take the final shot. Nan Garcia's buzzer-beater was off the mark, though, sending the game into overtime.

The extra period also came down to the final seconds. Sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz drilled a three-pointer with 1:35 to go to tie the game at 69-69, but MTSU was able to rebuild a three-point lead, 72-69, with 25 seconds left. Junior Sophia Wiard's jumper made it a one-point game, and after Middle Tennessee's Anastasiia Boldyreva made 1-of-2 free throws with just seconds left on the clock, the Rockets once again had a chance to take the last shot. Toledo got a good shot off, but Garcia's layup attempt would not fall as the final horn sounded, leaving the Midnight Blue and Gold on the wrong end of a 73-71 decision.

"What a game," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "I thought both teams did a really good job of trying to take each other out of what we do well. I thought we did a wonderful job of taking away their threes and I think they did a wonderful job of forcing turnovers. I'm so appreciative of everybody that made this game happen, despite the outcome. What a great game for our community to have at home. I'm disappointed that we didn't pull it off, but you can't fault our effort or desire tonight. I absolutely love this team. I'm sad that this season is over because I really did look forward to practice every day. But we return a great nucleus next season and I'm excited to see what's ahead for this team."

Mikonowicz led a quartet of Rockets in double figures with 17 points while adding 13 rebounds, clinching her fifth double-double of the season. Jansen and sophomore Khera Goss both added 12 points, and junior Quinesha Lockett contributed 10 points and seven rebounds. A box score stuffer all season long, junior Sophia Wiard added six points, eight assists, and four rebounds against MTSU.

Toledo shot 47.3 percent from the floor, connecting on 26-of-55 shots and shooting at least 50 percent in four of the five quarters played. The Rockets also won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Blue Raiders 40-31.

Middle Tennessee was led by Boldyreva, who scored a game-high 28 points on 13-of-20 shooting. Courtney Whitson added 18 points, 14 of which came in the first quarter. The Blue Raiders entered the night as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation, but were held to just seven made threes by the Rockets.  

"I hope everybody that was in the arena tonight goes out and buys season tickets for next year whenever they're available because they're going to be in for a treat," Cullop said. "This team will only get better. They're going to work hard in the offseason, work hard, and get stronger."

Year-End Notes

• Toledo's 29 wins tie the program record for most wins in a season with the 2010-11 and 2012-13 teams.
• The Rockets' 19-1 ledger in MAC play set a new league record for most conference wins in a single season. UT steamrolled through the MAC to capture its 10^th regular season title.
• As of the end of Monday's game, Toledo is one of just eight teams in the country to reach the 29-win benchmark: Florida Gulf coast, NC State, Stanford, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and UConn. All seven other teams made the NCAA Tournament.
• A couple individual single-season records fell this year:
  • As of Monday night, nobody in program history has played more in a season than Sophia Wiard did this year. She was on the court for 1,213 minutes this year, topping Courtney Ingersoll (1,189 / 2011-12) for most minutes played in a season. Quinesha Lockett entered the top five after playing 1,164 minutes this year.
  • Lockett had already broken the single-season field goal attempts record entering tonight, so the new benchmark stands at 544.
• Lockett scored 626 points this year and connected on 219 field goals, both of which are now the fifth-highest totals in school history.

 
1^st Quarter

• Lockett started the night off with back-to-back baskets to give Toledo an early lead.
• The Rockets led 10-2 through the first three minutes of the game, holding MTSU to 1-of-6 shooting to begin the night.
• The second half of the quarter was a different story; Middle Tennessee exploded out to a 15-0 run to take a 17-10 lead with 2:22 to go. Whitson connected on three of her four treys in a span of 2:24 of game time to help her team rebound from a rough start.
• Jansen broke the Rockets' scoring drought with a three-pointer at the 1:59 mark, but Whitson answered with her fourth three-pointer of the quarter to put the score at 20-13 in favor of MTSU at the end of the first period.

2^nd Quarter

• The pendulum swung the way of the Rockets at the start of the second quarter. They scored nine straight points to take a two-point lead, 22-20, with 7:00 to go in the half.
• The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the first half, with neither leading by more than two points.
• With the score tied at 29-29, sophomore Nan Garcia knocked down a jumper in the final minute to give Toledo a 31-29 lead heading into halftime.

 
3^rd Quarter

• Middle Tennessee scored the first four points of the third quarter to take a two-point lead, 33-31.
• Goss then scored two quick buckets to flip the script and make it 36-33. After making her way to the hoop for a layup in transition, her teammate Lockett stole the inbounds pass and found a wide-open Goss for a three-pointer to cap a quick five-point swing.
• The Blue Raiders answered with a couple quick baskets to take a one-point lead, 37-36, but that would be the final time they held a share of the lead in the third quarter.
• Toledo scored seven straight points to go up 43-37, a spurt that was capped by a Mikonowicz three-pointer.
• The third quarter ended with the Rockets leading 47-43.

 
4th Quarter

• The fourth quarter was exceptionally close, with neither team leading by more than three and both squads fighting to six tie scores.
• Toledo took the lead, 54-52, on a basket by Jansen, but MTSU rattled off six straight points to take a 58-54 advantage with 3:39 to play.
• With her team trailing by two, Jansen's remarkable three-point play turned the tide and gave Toledo a 61-60 lead with 50 seconds to play.
• Middle Tennessee's Jalynn Gregory was fouled in the waning moments of regulation and made both free throws to tie the game at 62-62.
• Nan Garcia's last-second shot was off the mark, sending the game into overtime.

 
Overtime

• Neither team scored in the first 90 seconds of overtime. MTSU's Kseniya Malashka scored the first basket to give her team a 64-62 lead at the 3:23 mark.
• The biggest shot of the extra period for Toledo came from Mikonowicz. Her stepback three-pointer with 1:35 to go tied the game at 69-69.
• Fittingly, Middle Tennessee's Boldyreva broke the tie with 59 seconds to play and put the Blue Raiders on top, 71-69.
• Trailing by three with less than 20 seconds to go, Wiard's pullup jumper in the paint made it a one-point game, 72-71.
• Boldyreva made 1-of-2 free throw attempts with just seconds left on the clock, setting the Rockets up with a chance to take the final shot.
• Garcia worked her way to the basket on Toledo's final possession but her layup attempt came up short and MTSU grabbed the rebound.

Head Coach Tricia Cullop post-game.


Sophomore Sammi Mikonowicz post-game.


Sophomore Khera Goss post-game.