TOLEDO, Ohio - Sophia Wiard scored 15 of her team-high 20 points in the second half to rally the Toledo women's basketball to a 76-68 victory over Cleveland State in first-round action of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) at Savage Arena on Thursday.

The No. 2 seed Rockets will next host St. John's on Sunday in a 2:00 p.m. game. The Red Storm defeated No. 3 seed Florida 79-60 in Gainesville on Thursday in its first-round contest.

Toledo (27-5) trailed by as many as five points in the first half and by two, 28-26, at the half before outscoring CSU 50-40 in the second half to claim the victory. The Rockets had a hard time solving CSU's zone in the first half, shooting just 10-of-28 (35.7%) in the first 20 minutes.

It was a different story in the second half, however, as Toledo made 17-of-31 (54.8%) from the field and 12-of-14 (85.7%) from the free-throw line in the final two quarters. Wiard made 8-of-8 free throws in the second half to help clinch the win.

"Their defense was one of the stingiest zones I've ever played against," said Head Coach Tricia Cullop. "I thought as the game went on our players got more comfortable with what was open. We also understood the pace we had to play to find open shots."

Wiard was joined by Khera Goss (15 points), Quinesha Lockett (12 points) and Hannah Noveroske (12 points) in the double figure scoring column for Toledo. Cleveland State (29-6) was led by Mickayla Perdue, a former Rocket, with 31 points.

1^st Quarter

• The game got off to a slow start, with neither team scoring in the first two-and-a-half minutes.  CSU eventually grinded into a 9-6 lead with 3:13 left.
• Nan Garcia had a pair of inside buckets in a  9-4 run to close out the opening quarter with a 15-13 lead over CSU.
• Toledo hit just 6-of-15 (40.0%) shots in the first quarter but held the Vikings to only  4-of-17 (23.5%).

2^nd Quarter

• Colbi Maples scored seven points as CSU opened the second quarter with an 8-4 run to pull ahead 21-19 at the 3:40 mark
• Mickayla Perdue hit a three-pointer and a mid-range jumper to extend CSU's lead to 26-21 with 1:18 left.
• Sammi Mikonowicz hit a jumper with 13 seconds left to close the gap to 28-26 at halftime.
• Toledo shot 10-28 (35.7%) in the first half and was led by Nan Garcia with six points and three assists.
• The Rockets held CSU to just 10-of-33 (30.3%) from the field and forced 12 turnovers.

3^rd Quarter

•  Toledo outscored the Vikings 25-18 in the third quarter to take a 51-46 lead into the fourth quarter.

4^th Quarter

• CSU cut the lead to 54-52 on a three-pointer by Perdue with 7:48 to play.
• The game stayed tight until Quinesha Lockett hit a three-pointer with 3:51 left to extend Toledo's lead to 65-57.
• CSU got no closer than six points the rest of the way as Wiard made six free throws in the final 37 seconds to seal the victory.

NOTES

• Toledo has now won 14 straight games in Savage Arena.
• Toledo has now won nine straight first round post-season games at Savage Arena (eight straight in WNIT first-round home games going back to 2010).
• Toledo now leads the all-time series with CSU, 19-9.

Tickets
 
Tickets are available now for Sunday's game with St. John's and can be ordered online by going to utrockets.com/WBBTix, calling or texting 419-530-GOLD (4653), or by stopping by the Rocket Ticket Office located in the Sullivan Athletic Complex at Savage Arena during normal business hours. Tickets are $23 for reserved seating, $18 for GA, $13 for Youth.  UT faculty/staff tickets are half price.

Women's Basketball Season Ticket Members will have first priority to reserve their seat locations. Those seats can be purchased through their online ticket account or through the Rocket Ticket Office. Season ticket members have until 5:00 p.m. Friday to reserve their seats for Sunday's game.