CLEVELAND, Ohio – Senior guard Quinesha Lockett scored 19 points and made a critical defensive play in overtime to lead No. 1 seed Toledo to a 75-74 victory over No. 8 seed Buffalo in Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal action at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Wednesday.
 
        Toledo (26-4) took the lead in overtime on a pair of free throws from senior guard Jayda Jansen with 14.5 seconds left. Following a timeout, Buffalo's Re'Shawna Stone drove to the basket and Lockett tied her up on the shot, forcing a held ball. Buffalo retained possession but its final shot attempt missed the mark, giving the Rockets the victory and advancing them to the semifinals on Friday. Toledo will play No. 4 seed Kent State at 10:00 a.m. on Friday in the semis.
   
        "That's March. Everybody's playing for their life right now," said Toledo Head Coach Tricia Cullop. "We did not give up. We were relentless. They've been my Cardiac Kids the last three games, trying to give me a heart attack. But I could not be more proud of the resiliency of this team, their fortitude, not getting frustrated when things didn't go their way, and clawing back to find a way to win."

    The Rockets' victory extended their winning streak to 14 games, tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in program history and three wins away from setting a new school record for consecutive wins.
 
        Lockett led Toledo with 19 points, shooting 5-of-7 from three-point range and tying a career-high with seven assists. However, it was her last play on the defensive end that helped the Rockets clinch their 14^th consecutive victory.
 
        "I was just trying to contain (Re'Shawna Stone) and stay in front of her because she's a really good driver," said Lockett, who was named the MAC Player of the Year yesterday. "Once I saw her going up for the shot I just put my hands up and just took it."
 
        Lockett was joined in double digits by four teammates, including junior forward Nan Garcia, who shot 8-of-10 from the field and scored 15 of her season-high 17 points in the first half. Junior guard Sammi Mikonowicz added 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
        For the game, Toledo shot 29-of-66 (43.9%) from the field, just slightly better than Buffalo's 27-of-63 (42.9%) shooting. Significantly, the Rockets prevented Buffalo from hitting a single three-pointer in the second half and overtime after the Bulls had hit 8-of-13 from behind the arc in the first half.
 
        Senior guard Zakiyah Winfeld led the Bulls with 22 points while Stone added 18.
 
        Cullop said she was not surprised that Buffalo (12-16) gave her regular-season MAC champions such a battle.
 
        "We knew we were going to get their best shot," said Cullop, whose Rockets had to battle back from significant deficits in their last two regular-season games. "Not everything is going to be perfect in a pretty little bow. But we continue to find ways to win."

    For more information about the 2023 MAC Tournament, fans can visit utrockets.com/MACTournament to learn more about tickets, pregame festivities, and more.

         
1^st Quarter

•  The two teams traded baskets for much of the first quarter, with neither side building more than a three-point lead through the opening eight minutes.
•  Buffalo opened an 18-13 lead on a layup by Zakaiyah Whitfield with 1:29 left in the quarter before settling on an 18-15 edge at the break.
•  Toledo shot 6-of-14 (42.9%) in the opening 10 minutes with six players registering at least one bucket.  The Bulls made 7-of-15 (46.7%) from the field.

 
2^nd Quarter

•  Nan Garcia opened the quarter by making three straight field goals to tie the score 21-21 at the 8:28 mark.
•  Moments later, Jayda Jansen hit back-to-back buckets, including a three-pointer that gave Toledo a 29-24 edge.
•  Buffalo's Hatie Ogden hit a three-pointer with nine seconds left in the half to cap a 16-4 Bulls run that gave Buffalo a 42-37 lead.
•  Garcia hit a three-pointer at the horn to cut the lead to 42-40 at halftime.
•  Garcia finished the half with 15 points (tying her season high), 13 coming in the second quarter, on 7-of-9 from the floor.
•  Toledo caught fire in the second quarter, connecting on 11-of-17 (64.7%) from the field, giving them a 54.8% mark (17-of-31) for the half.
•  Buffalo was outstanding from long distance in the first half, knocking down 8-of-13 (61.5%) from three-point range.

 
3^rd Quarter

•  Both teams began the third quarter a bit cold from the field with Buffalo holding on to a 48-46 lead at the first media timeout.
•  Toledo took a 49-48 lead on a Sammi Mikonowicz three-pointer but the Bulls came right back with a pair of free throws and a turnaround jumper by Winfield to go up 52-49 at the 2:12 mark.
•  Buffalo held on to a 54-51 lead at the end of three quarters.
•  The Rockets made just 5-of-15 shots in the third period while holding Buffalo to 4-of-14 (28.6%) shooting.

 
4^th Quarter

•   Toledo continued to apply a full-court press that forced a few Bulls' turnovers and sped up the game.
•  A Mikonowicz three-pointer at the 7:25 mark gave the Rockets a 58-56 lead.
•  Winfield made a pair of baskets to put Buffalo back on top before Toledo regained the lead 62-60 on a Quinesha Lockett triple with 3:06 left.
•  After Buffalo regained the lead, Lockett converted a three-point play on a put-back to put Toledo back up 65-64 with 59 seconds to go.
•  Seconds later, Re'Shawna Stone scored on a transition layup to put Buffalo back on top 66-65.
•  After a Sophia Wiard missed three-pointer, Stone hit a pair of free throws to extend the Bulls' lead to 68-65 with 33 seconds left.
•  Lockett knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 68-68 with 13.4 seconds remaining.
•  Stone's three-point attempt from the top of the key at the buzzer rimmed out, sending the game into overtime.

 
Overtime

•   After Buffalo hit an early bucket, Lockett hit a three-pointer to put Toledo ahead 71-70 at the 1:53 mark.
•  Toledo regained the lead, 73-72 on a pair of Jansen free throws but Buffalo countered with a Winfield layup to go ahead 74-73 with 53 seconds left on the clock.
•  Jansen hit another pair of free throws with 14.5 seconds left to give Toledo a 75-74 edge.
•  Lockett came through with the game-winning defensive play, tying up Stone on a drive to the hoop on a held ball with 0.5 seconds left. Buffalo retained possession, but its final shot attempt missed the mark.