TOLEDO, Ohio – Four Rockets scored in double figures on Wednesday night as the Toledo women's basketball team won its fourth straight game, an 82-55 victory vs. Western Michigan.
The Rockets (10-3, 3-0 MAC) trailed 40-36 with 6:08 to go in the third quarter before back-to-back three-pointers from
Sophia Wiard sparked an offensive outburst that lasted the rest of the game. The second of Wiard's consecutive threes gave Toledo a 42-40 advantage, and UT would not trail WMU (5-8, 0-3 MAC) for the rest of the game.
Toledo outscored Western Michigan 46-15 over the final 16:08 of game time and shot 68.2% from the floor, connecting on 15-of-22 shots.
"I'm really proud of our team for showing solid effort all night," head coach
Tricia Cullop said. "It was nice to see four players score in double figures tonight too. I was really happy for
Sammi Mikonowicz that she got a double-double, I think we're a better team when she looks to score. I'm also really proud of
Soleil Barnes for the way she played. I thought
Sophia Wiard really stepped up too, her back-to-back threes in the third quarter were big."
Wiard led Toledo in scoring with 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting. She was 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and knocked down all four of her free throw attempts as well.
Sammi Mikonowicz collected her first double-double of the year, scoring a season-high 13 points while pulling down 10 rebounds.
Soleil Barnes had a huge night, scoring a season-best 13 points while making 2-of-3 three-point field goals.
Khera Goss joined her teammates in double figures with 12 points.
Toledo shot 52.8% from the floor, making 28-of-53 shots, and was 18-of-23 from the free throw line. UT also comfortably won the battle of the boards, outrebounding WMU 38-23.
Western Michigan was led by Kaitlyn Zarycki, who scored a game-high 23 points. The Broncos shot 40.7% as a team, going 22-of-54 from the floor.
Toledo hosts Ohio this Saturday, Jan. 13 at 2:00 p.m. 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.
1st Quarter
- Both teams opened their scoring on a three-pointer, with Sophia Wiard providing the first Rocket points at the 8:04 mark.
- Toledo took a 13-9 lead on another three, this one from Khera Goss, with 3:17 to go in the quarter.
- Wiard knocked down a pair of free throws at the 1:54 mark to break a tie and put UT ahead 15-13, which would hold as the score when the horn sounded.
2nd Quarter
- A Nan Garcia layup and a pair of free throws by Sammi Mikonowicz increased Toledo's lead to 19-13 early in the quarter.
- Western Michigan countered with a 9-2 run capped by a pair of jumpers by De'Ahna Richardson to grab a 22-21 lead and forcing Toledo to call timeout with 4:36 remaining.
- Toledo outscored the Broncos 10-2 in the final three minutes of the half to take a 33-26 lead into the locker room.
- Wiard led the Rockets with 10 points, hitting 3-of-4 shots from the field and 2-of-2 from long range.
3rd Quarter
- Kaitlyn Zyricki scored nine points in a 13-3 WMU run to open the second half and give the Broncos a 40-36 lead.
- Wiard hit a pair of three-pointers to jump ignite a Rocket rally and then finished off the 21-5 run with a pair of free throws that closed out the third quarter and gave Toledo a 57-45 lead.
4th Quarter
- After WMU opened the fourth quarter with a bucket, Goss made a layup and a triple to extend Toledo's lead to 62-47.
- Mikonowicz scored seven points in a 14-2 run that gave the Rockets a comfortable 71-49 lead at the media timeout with 4:16 remaining.
- A 7-0 Toledo run was capped by a basket from Ella Weaver with 1:33 to play and gave UT an 80-50 lead, its largest of the night.
- The final score settled at 82-55, giving the Rockets their largest MAC win of the year so far.
