No. 1 Toledo Opens MAC Tournament against No. 8 Ohio on Wednesday

Wednesday, March 9

Cleveland, Ohio

11:00 a.m.

University of Toledo

No. 8 Ohio

The No. 1 seed Toledo Rockets face the No. 8 seed Ohio Bobcats in the MAC Tournament on Wednesday, March 9 at 11:00 a.m.

Photo by: Daniel Miller/University of Toledo

No. 1 Toledo Opens MAC Tournament against No. 8 Ohio on Wednesday

3/8/2022 12:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

TOLEDO, Ohio – Postseason play for the Toledo women's basketball team begins on Wednesday, March 9 at the MAC Tournament in Cleveland. The No. 1 seed Rockets will face the No. 8 seed Ohio Bobcats at 11:00 a.m. on ESPN+.

For more information about the 2022 MAC Tournament, fans can visit utrockets.com/MACTournament to learn more about tickets, pregame festivities, and more.

2022 MAC Tournament Bracket

Wednesday, March 9, 2022 -- Quarterfinals
Game 1: No. 1 Toledo vs. No. 8 Ohio, 11:00 a.m. ET %
Game 2: No. 4 Northern Illinois vs. No. 5 Ball State, Time TBA* %
Game 3: No. 2 Buffalo vs. No. 7 Western Michigan, Time TBA* %
Game 4: No. 3 Akron vs. No. 6 Buffalo, Time TBA* %

Friday, March 11, 2022 -- Semifinals
Game 5: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 winner, 10:00 a.m. ET %
Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner, 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 against Ohio
Toledo's lone blemish in conference play came at the hands of the Bobcats on Wednesday, Jan. 26 in a 79-72 loss at home.

Toledo led by as many as nine late in the third quarter of that game, but saw its offensive well run dry against a hot-shooting Ohio team in the fourth quarter. UT made just 5-of-20 shots in the final frame while the Bobcats shot 81.8 percent (9-of-11). Sammi Mikonowicz tied a school record with 22 rebounds that night, while Ohio's CeCe Hooks scored a game-high 30 points.

The Rockets exacted revenge in the second meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 16 in Athens, overcoming a 17-point deficit to win 76-73. With 3:02 remaining in the second quarter, Hooks made both free throws to make the score 40-23. Toledo closed the gap to 11 points before the end of the half, then proceeded to outscore the Bobcats 29-16 in the third quarter to take a 60-58 lead, its first of the night. Ohio fought back to tie the score at 68-68 with 4:23 left in the game, but on the next possession Quinesha Lockett's three-point play gave Toledo the lead for good. Sophia Wiard had a terrific night, scoring a season-high 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting and providing a critical block with 55 seconds remaining on what would have been the go-ahead basket.

Catching up with the Rockets
Toledo just wrapped up one of the best seasons in recent memory, posting a 25-4 overall record and an historic 19-1 ledger in MAC play, a new conference record for most league wins in a season. The Rockets captured their 10^th MAC Regular Season Championship in program history and their first since 2012-13 and reached the 25-win plateau for the 12^th time ever.

Toledo enters the MAC Tournament having won 11 straight games, its second winning streak of at least eight games this season. Only the 2012-13 and 1996-97 teams have won at least eight games in a row twice in the same season. There are only 10 other teams in the nation with an active winning streak of at least 11 games:

20 – Stanford
18 – Jackson State
15 – Princeton
14 – South Dakota State
13 – Maine
12 – Mercer
12 – Fairfield
11 – Toledo
11 – Belmont

Postseason Recognitions
Five members of the Toledo women's basketball team and head coach Tricia Cullop were recognized with postseason distinctions by the Mid-American Conference, the league announced Tuesday.

For the fourth time in her career, Cullop was named MAC Coach of the Year after leading the Rockets to a 25-4 record (19-1 MAC) and a MAC regular season title. Juniors Quinesha Lockett and Sophia Wiard both earned All-MAC honors, with Lockett being named to the First Team and Wiard to the Second Team. Junior Hannah Noveroske was named the league's Sixth Player of the Year while freshman Jessica Cook and sophomore Khera Goss were named to the MAC's All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team, respectively.

Five players earning postseason MAC honors is a school record. Multiple Toledo teams have placed four players on the postseason award list, most recently the 2015-16 squad (Brenae Harris, Janice Monakana, Kaayla McIntyre, Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott).

Rocket Notes

Toledo has had an exceptionally strong defensive season to this point. UT leads the MAC in scoring defense (59.79), field goal percentage defense (36.8%), and three-point field goal percentage defense (29.1%). They are the only team allowing fewer than 60 points per game.
The Rockets also ranked first in scoring defense (60.40) and field goal percentage defense (37.2%) in MAC play. UT allowed 55 points or fewer eight times in MAC play, more than any other team.
Toledo's average scoring margin this season is +12.10, comfortably the best in the league and the 28th in the country. Buffalo is in second place (+8.93) in the MAC.
Toledo takes care of the ball as well as anyone in the MAC. It leads the league in fewest turnovers per game (12.9), a figure that ranks 27^th in the nation.
The Rockets are the top free throw shooting team in the conference (74.8 percent).
Offensively, the Rockets have cracked 70 points in 11 of the last 13 games. UT reached the 70-point benchmark five times in the first 12 games of the season.
Sophia Wiard leads the MAC and ranks 17th in the country in assist/turnover ratio (2.50). She led the MAC in that category last season as well.
Wiard can really stuff the box score; she has 20 games with at least 10 points, 14 games with at least five assists, and 11 games with at least seven rebounds.
Quinesha Lockett sits 8th in the MAC in scoring (17.6 PPG). She's scored in double figures in 27 of 29 games this season and has cracked 20 points 13 times. She is one of five players in the MAC to have at least 13 20-point performances.
Sammi Mikonowicz is averaging 10.3 RPG over her last 12 contests, a stretch that began with a school record-tying 22-rebound performance against Ohio on Jan. 26. She ranks fourth in the MAC in rebounding during that time span.
Jayda Jansen has come on strong recently, reaching double figures in scoring in three of the last five games.

About Ohio
Despite dropping three of their final four games, the Bobcats (15-13, 9-10 MAC) secured the No. 8 seed in this week's conference tournament. Ohio is one of the most dangerous offensive teams in a MAC, ranking second in scoring offense (74.11) while boasting one of the top scoring threats in CeCe Hooks (22.44 PPG). The Bobcats were the only team to beat the Rockets in the regular season and also defeated top teams Buffalo and Akron.