TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's basketball team took the lead at the end of the first quarter and carried the advantage the rest of the way to emerge to a 79-72 victory over Long Beach State at Savage Arena on Friday.
 
After trailing 7-0, the Rockets (3-1) took a one-point lead at the end of the first quarter, extended that margin to five by halftime and continued to grow the margin to as large as 16 in the third quarter, then held off a late rally by the Beach (2-2).

Four Rockets scored in double figures for the first time this season, led by sophomore Kendall Carruthers, who finished with 19 points on a pinpoint 7-of-9 shooting effort and 4-for-4 from three, while adding six assists. Sophomore Cadence Dykstra added 13 points on a 4-for-4 night from the field and distributed a career-high seven assists. Graduate student Nan Garcia chipped in 14 points, going 5-for-9 from the floor while classmate Khera Goss added 12, finishing 4-for-9 along with five assists.
 
On the glass, Garcia and Goss added five rebounds apiece to lead the Rockets. Dykstra, graduate student Hannah Noveroske and freshman Kendall Braden each collected three. Goss also had two steals and a block defensively while sophomore Ella Weaver also contributed a pair of swipes.
 
The Rockets had their best shooting night of the season at 52.8% (28-of-53) from the floor, along with a 10-for-21 effort from the three-point line. Toledo's defense also forced 20 turnovers on the evening from the Beach.
 
"I thought our team was ready to go tonight against a really good Long Beach State squad coming into our house," said Head Coach Ginny Boggess. "I felt the momentum and thought tonight would be a tipping point for some of our young women and for us collectively. We saw growth in the play from Cadence Dykstra and some of our young players off the bench, and Nan Garcia and Hannah Noveroske made huge contributions. I'm very pleased overall and also excited that we still have some things to clean up and build upon moving forward."

First Quarter – Toledo 16, Long Beach State 15

• Long Beach scored the first seven points of the game and took a 12-3 lead into the first media timeout.
• Toledo fought back, finishing the quarter on a 13-3 run to take a 16-15 lead at the break.
• After starting out hitting just one of their first six shots, the Rockets made 6-of-8 to finish out the first 15 minutes.
• Kendall Carruthers led the way with seven points on 3-of-3 from the field.

Second Quarter – Toledo 34, Long Beach State 29

• Toledo extended its lead to 22-15 on a three-pointer by Khera Goss and a three-point play by Cadence Dykstra.
• Long Beach twice cut the lead to three, but the Rockets hung tough and took a 34-29 lead into the locker room.
• After allowing LBSU to hit four of its first five shots, UT clamped down and held their opponents to 6-of-18 the rest of the half.
• Toledo forced 15 Beach turnovers and converted them into 15 points.
• Carruthers led six Rocket scorers with 11 points.

Third Quarter – Toledo 60, Long Beach State 48

• Another three-pointer by Carruthers capped an 8-3 run and upped Toledo's lead to 46-37 with 6:42 left in the quarter.
• Moments later, Sammi Mikonowicz knocked down a short jumper to make it 53-42.
• Consecutive buckets by Cadence Dykstra, Mikonowicz and Carruthers pushed Toledo's lead to 60-44 late in the quarter.
• LBSU scored the last four points of the quarter to trim the margin to 60-48.
• Toledo outscored the Beach 26-19 in the third frame, shooting a sizzling 11-of-14 (78.6%) in the quarter, led by Carruthers, who made all three of her shots for eight points.

Fourth Quarter – Toledo 79, Long Beach State 72

• After Long Beach cut the lead to nine, Ella Weaver answered with a three-pointer to make it 63-51.
• Toledo's lead fluctuated between nine and 12 points over the next five minutes until Nan Garcia nailed a triple to make it 71-58 with 4:46 left.
• Long Beach State would rally to cut its deficit to eight at 71-63 with 4:05 remaining, before a Garcia bucket and a pair of Dykstra free throws helped extend the lead to 12 with 2:19 to go.
• The Beach fought back, but would not get closer than six, which occurred with just 8.4 seconds to play at 78-72.

UP NEXT
Toledo will begin play at the Navy Thanksgiving Classic on Saturday, Nov. 30 when they take on Navy at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+. The Rockets will then finish the tournament against Maryland on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 3:30 p.m.