CLEVELAND, Ohio – Fifth-year senior Quinesha Lockett scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half to rally the Toledo women's basketball team to a 72-61 victory over Western Michigan in quarterfinal action of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Wednesday.
 
No. 1 seed Toledo (26-4) trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half and was down 42-32 at halftime, before outscoring No. 8 seed Western Michigan (12-18) 40-19 in the final 20 minutes to win its 14^th-consecutive game and advance to the semifinals vs. No. 4 seed Buffalo, which defeated No. 5 seed Bowling Green.
 
"I was so proud of our players for settling down in the second half and having such great poise," said Head Coach Tricia Cullop, who was named MAC Coach of the Year for the sixth time in her career yesterday. "I think that comes with experience. These kids have been with us for a long time. They didn't get rattled. They just kept focused and knew that if we just stayed together we could figure it out."
 
Lockett was joined in double figures by Sophia Wiard, Sammi Mikonowicz, and Khera Goss, who each scored 12 points. Mikonowicz had all 12 of her points in the second half, including six points in a decisive 17-4 Toledo run to open the fourth quarter. WMU opened the game by hitting 4-of-5 from three-point range and eventually built a 38-25 lead with 2:37 left in the first half.
 
"I thought Q (Lockett) hit some big shots, I thought Sammi hit some big shots from the corner, and Soph (Wiard) kept everyone at bay," said Cullop. "Hats off to Western. They came out shooting lights out. Their defensive game plan was to confuse us a little bit, and it did. We knew it would happen. Everybody plays hard when your basketball life is on the line."
 
Toledo, the defending MAC Tournament champion, shot just 25-of-63 (39.7%) from the floor but forced 15 WMU turnovers while committing just six. The Rockets also put the clamps down on defense in the second half, holding the Broncos to just 7-of-19 (36.8%) in the final 20 minutes. WMU made just 1-of-9 (11.1%) three-pointers in the final two quarters after ripping the nets for 8-of-17 (47.0%) from long range in the opening 20 minutes. WMU senior guard Hannah Spitzley scored just two points in the second half after pouring in 18 in the first half.
           
1^st Quarter

• Western hit 4-of-5 from three-point range to jump out to an early 14-5 lead.
• Quinesha Lockett hit a three-pointer and a layup in a 9-2 Toledo run that cut the lead to 16-14 with a minute left in the quarter.
• Hannah Spitzley hit a layup at the buzzer to give the Broncos a 20-16 edge heading into the second quarter. Spitzley had 11 points in the quarter.
• Toledo shot 6-17 (35.3%) from the field in the first 10 minutes.

2^nd Quarter

• WMU continued its three-point barrage, hitting three more triples to extend its lead to 33-23 at the media timeout with 3:46 left.
• A Khera Goss three-pointer cut the lead to 40-32 but Western scored the last bucket of the half to take a 42-32 lead into the locker room.
• Toledo shot 12-of-31 (38.7%) from the field in the first half while WMU hit 17-of-34 (50.0%).
• Goss led Toledo with 12 points while Spitzley had 18 for the Broncos.

3^rd Quarter

• Toledo outscored WMU 20-8 to take a 52-50 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
• Lockett and Sophia Wiard each scored four points in an 8-0 Toledo run to start the quarter that cut the lead to 42-40 with 5:54 left.
• A Sammi Mikonowicz jumper with 3:48 left put Toledo up, 46-44, UT's first lead since the first basket of the game.
• Lockett had eight points in the quarter.

4^th Quarter

• After Western tied the score at 54-54, Mikonowicz scored four points in a 7-0 run that gave Toledo a 61-54 edge and forced WMU to call timeout with 4:59 left.
• From there it was all Toledo as the Rockets built the lead to 15 points before settling on the 11-point margin.

NOTES

• Toledo's 14-game winning streak is tied for the seventh longest in school history and is its longest since winning a school-record 17 in a row last season.
• Toledo moves its all-time record in MAC Tournament play to 60-28, the most wins of any MAC school, and is 7-1 vs. WMU in MAC tourney play.
• The Rockets are now 84-15 over the past three years.