Toledo Heads to Duke on Wednesday Night Searching For Sixth Straight Win

Wednesday, December 20

Durham, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

Duke

Sophia Wiard leads the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (2.26).

Photo by: Daniel Miller/University of Toledo

Toledo Heads to Duke on Wednesday Night Searching For Sixth Straight Win

12/19/2023 8:17:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

Rockets and Blue Devils tip off at 7:00 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium

TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's basketball team heads to Duke on Wednesday for its final non-conference road game of the year. The Rockets and Blue Devils will tip off at 7:00 p.m. at Cameron Indoor Stadium on ACCNX.

Toledo (6-2) is riding a five-game winning streak heading into Wednesday's game and is coming off a 78-65 win at Oakland on Sunday night.

Last Time Out
The Rockets withstood a first-quarter surge from Oakland and overcame a season-high 23 turnovers to claim the road win vs. the Golden Grizzlies. After trailing by five at the end of the first quarter. Toledo put the clamps down on Oakland's offense and outscored its opponent 36-20 over the next 20 minutes of play. The fourth quarter was high-scoring and choppy featuring 20 combined fouls between the two squads. UT outpaced Oakland, 29-27, in the final period and went 13-of-15 from the free throw line to ice the game down the stretch.

Khera Goss led the way offensively, scoring a career-high 21 points while connecting on 6-of-9 shots from the floor. Emmi Rinat was one rebound away from a double-double, scoring 15 points while grabbing nine boards, both single-game highs in her Toledo career.

Last Meeting Between Toledo and Duke
The Rockets fell to the Blue Devils, 58-41, last year on Nov. 20, 2022, in front of 5,427 fans at Savage Arena.

The Rockets (3-1) trailed Duke (5-0) by just three points, 17-14, at the end of the first quarter, but were outscored 15-3 in the second frame. Despite hanging with the Blue Devils in the second half, Toledo was not able to overcome the early deficit. Nan Garcia and Khera Goss tied for the team lead that day with 11 points, and Quinesha Lockett was close behind with nine points.

Rocket Notes

The Rockets did the bulk of their damage at the free throw line on Sunday vs. Oakland, setting season highs in free throw (32) and free throw attempts (38). Their 32 made free throws are the seventh-most in a single game in Division I this season and the most by a MAC school in a game this year.
Toledo is the MAC's second-best free throw shooting team, its 75.5% free throw percentage ranking just behind Akron (76.2%) for the top spot in the league.
Toledo leads the MAC in scoring defense (61.00) and scoring margin (+7.63) and ranks third in scoring offense (68.63). UT is the only team in the MAC to rank in the top three in both scoring offense and scoring defense.
Sophia Wiard leads the MAC in assist/turnover ratio (2.26) and ranks second in assists (5.00). She has led Toledo in assists in six of the first eight games this year.
Wiard has 501 career assists, which ranks 13th among active Division I players.
Hannah Noveroske is averaging 1.63 BPG, which is tied for second in the MAC. She had three blocks vs. Michigan, which tied her season high.

About Duke
Duke is 6-4 heading into play on Wednesday, with its four losses coming against highly-ranked Stanford and South Carolina as well as Davidson and Clemson. The Blue Devils are coming off an 82-63 victory on Dec. 10 vs. Florida Gulf Coast. Duke can do damage inside and outside, as it ranks third in the nation in blocks per game (7.3) and leads the ACC in three-point field goal percentage (37.8%). Four players are averaging double figures in scoring, with Taina Mair leading the way at 12.2 PPG.

Next Up
Toledo hosts Hillsdale on Wednesday, Dec. 30 in its final non-conference game of the year. MAC play begins on Wednesday, Jan. 3 at Miami.

To purchase women's basketball tickets, visit the Rocket Athletic Ticket Office at the Sullivan Athletic Complex in Savage Arena, contact the Rocket Athletic Ticket Office at 419-530-GOLD (4653), or go online to UTRockets.com/tix.