KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Toledo women's basketball team captured one of its biggest wins in program history on Saturday, defeating No. 5 seed Iowa State 80-73  in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

The victory was the Rockets' 17^th straight win, a new school record, and propels them into the second round of the Big Dance for the first time since the 1995-96 season. Toledo's win was also its largest upset triumph in terms of seeding in school history, and the performance matches the Mid-American Conference record for highest seed to win an NCAA Tournament game, last accomplished by No. 12 seed Ball State in 2009.

UT also improved to 29-4 on the season, tying the school record for most wins in a season with the 2010-11, 2012-13 and 2021-22 squads.

Toledo will face No. 4 seed Tennessee on Monday at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN2 in the second round.

The difference in seeding unfazed the Rockets on Saturday, who led for 31:06 of the 40 minutes played and led by as many as 16 over the Big 12 Tournament Champion Cyclones. Toledo trailed by three at the end of the first quarter, but opened the second quarter with a 14-2 run to take a nine-point lead. UT would not trail for the rest of the game despite an Iowa State rally that trimmed the lead to five in the closing seconds. Once the clock hit zeroes, the Rockets spilled onto the court to celebrate their first NCAA Tournament win in 27 years.

"Before the game we talked about this opportunity," head coach Tricia Cullop said. "I couldn't be more proud of the focus and effort and intensity our players showed all game long. This team was very determined after not getting what we wanted a year ago. We not only wanted this opportunity, but we wanted a chance to see how deep we could really go. I'm just so proud of them and I'm honored to be their coach."

Senior Quinesha Lockett was outstanding, scoring a game-high 24 points while grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds for her sixth career double-double. Senior Jayda Jansen and junior Nan Garcia scored 17 points and 12 points, respectively, off the bench, and senior Sophia Wiard added 15 points to help the cause. Junior Sammi Mikonowicz pulled down 10 rebounds, her ninth game with double-digit rebounds this season and fourth such effort in the last five games.

Toledo shot 48.4% (30-for-62) for the game and 56.3% (18-for-32) in the first half.

"Before the game started we knew what we were capable of," Jansen said. "We're really confident in one another. It's us against the world, we're not scared of anybody."

Iowa State was led by Big 12 Player of the Year Ashley Joens, who scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while going a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. Joens was one of four players to score in double figures for Iowa State. One of the top volume three-point shooting teams in the nation, ISU connected on just 6-of-31 three-pointers in Saturday's game.

The Cyclones won the battle of the boards, 40-36, but Toledo outrebounded them on the defensive end by a 32-29 margin. Iowa State ranked fourth in the nation in defensive rebounds per game (31.1) entering the game.

1^st Quarter

• Khera Goss opened the scoring with a three-pointer just 31 seconds into the game.
• Emily Ryan and Ashley Joens combined to score nine of the next 11 points to put Iowa State on top, 9-5.
• A three-pointer from Sophia Wiard at the 5:24 mark put Toledo ahead, 13-11, but Iowa State quickly answered with a bucket to tie the score at 13-13.
• The Cyclones outpaced the Rockets in the final five minutes of the quarter and led 23-20 at the break.

• Toledo came out firing to open the second quarter, surging forward with a 14-2 run to take a 34-25 lead. Lockett provided seven of the UT's 14 points during its game-changing spurt.
• Jayda Jansen and Lockett scored on back-to-back possessions to push the lead into double digits for the first time, 39-29, with 1:56 to go in the half.
• Iowa State scored four quick points in the final seconds to trim Toledo's lead to seven, 43-36, heading into halftime.
• Lockett and Wiard both had 11 points in the first half, as did Iowa State's Joens.

• Lockett scored Toledo's first four points of the quarter, and fast break bucket by Wiard at the 7:25 mark brought the lead back into double figures, 49-39.
• The Rockets used an 8-0 run to open up a 16-point lead, 57-41, with 5:07 to play. The 16-point advantage was UT's largest of the game.
• Iowa State, one of the top free throw shooting teams in the country, went 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final half of the third quarter and ended the period on a 7-0 run to pull within eight, 61-53.

• The Cyclones pulled within five points, 64-59, in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.
• Lockett's three-point play at the 7:07 mark brought the lead back up to eight points.
• The Rockets matched every ISU bucket down the stretch and got several big defensive stops, holding its opponent to 7-of-20 shooting (35.0%) in the fourth quarter.
• Toledo knocked down 10-of-11 free throws in the fourth quarter to help ice the game and seal its historic win.