TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's basketball team rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to defeat St. John's, 72-71, in second-round action of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) before 2,521 fans in Savage Arena on Sunday.
 
Toledo (28-5) will next play on Thursday (6:00 p.m. PT/9:00 p.m. ET) at No. 1 seed Washington State (20-14), which defeated Santa Clara 73-47 today.
 
After falling behind 49-36 in the third quarter, the Rockets stormed back and took their first lead of the second half, 62-61, on a Quinesha Lockett free throw with 2:22 remaining. Toledo led by as many as four points down the stretch until the waning moments when the Red Storm had one final possession down 72-69 with 10 seconds remaining. The Johnnies missed a pair of free throws but got the ball back when Hahhan Noveroske was called for traveling on the rebound of the second miss. St. John's converted a layup with 1.7 seconds left to cut the lead to one, but Toledo was then able to in-bounds the ball and run out the clock to secure the victory.
 
"I was really proud of how we persevered, being down at the half and having 10 turnovers," said Head Coach Tricia Cullop, who secured the 21st post-season win (NCAA/WNIT/WBIT) of her career. "They were shooting lights out in the first half. We could have easily packed it up and went home. They were so resilient and mentally tough. They just never give up. This group is not afraid to scrap and claw and do whatever it takes to win."
 
Senior forward Sammi Mikonowicz led the way for the Midnight Blue and Gold with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Senior center Hannah Noversoske added 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Lockett finished with 11 points and five assists.
 
Toledo made 30-of-58 (51.7%) from the field, including 17-of-28 (60.7%) in the second half, and out-rebounded the Red Storm 35-25. The Johnnies shot 29-of-57 (50.9%) from the floor but just 6-of-15 (40.0%) in the fourth quarter. Unique Drake led St. John's (18-15) with 21 points.
            
1^st Quarter

• Toledo jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead before St. John's countered to tie the game at 7-7.
• A  Sammi Mikonowicz layup at the 3:59 mark helped Toledo regain the lead, 11-7.
• St. Johns' Skye Owen tied it up at 15-15 with a three-point play with 1:25 left.
• Nan Garcia snagged an errant Toledo shot and converted with 22 seconds left to give Toledo a 19-17 edge at the quarter break.

2^nd Quarter

• Ber'nyah Mayo hit consecutive layups to cap an 8-2 St. John's run that put the Johnnies up 25-21 and forced a Toledo timeout with 6:51 left in the half.
• St. John's scored six straight points to extend its lead to 31-23 with 3:54 remaining.
• After Toledo cut the lead to four, St. John's scored the final six points of the half with Mayo's three-pointer at the buzzer giving the Red Storm a 37-27 halftime lead.
• Toledo shot 13-of-30 (43.3%) from the field and missed all seven of its three-point attempts.
• St. John's connected on 15-of-27 (55.6%) from the floor and made 3-of-4 from behind the arc, outscoring Toledo 20-8 in the second quarter.

3^rd Quarter

•  Toledo came out with a fury to start the second half, opening up with a 7-0 burst that cut the lead to 37-34 and forced St. John's to call timeout less than two minutes into the quarter.
• St. John's came right back with a 12-2 run powered by a pair of three-pointers by Jailah Donald to increase its lead to 49-36 with 5:39 left.
• Toledo punched right back with 10 straight points to cut the lead to 49-46 with 2:13 left in the quarter.
•  After UT trimmed the lead to two points, Unique Drake nailed a pair of three-pointers, including a triple at the buzzer to give St. John's a 57-51 edge heading into the final 10 minutes.

4^th Quarter

• Drake hit another three to move St. John's led to 62-53 two minutes into the final quarter.
• Quinesha Lockett converted a three-point play and Hannah Noversoke made an inside bucket to cut the lead to 62-61 with 4:18 left.
• Mikonowicz then capped a 5-0 Toledo run that gave the Rockets a 67-64 lead with 1:34 remaining.
• After a St. John's bucket cut the lead to one, Lockett made her second three-point play of the game to give Toledo a 70-66 advantage with just 38 seconds left.
• After the two teams each split a pair of free throws, Drake hit a running baseline shot to cut the lead to 71-69 with 10 seconds left.
•  After Mikonowicz made 1-of-2 free throws, St. John's Jillian Archer scored on an in-bounds play under the basket with 1.7 seconds left.
• Toledo was able to in-bounds the ball and run out the clock to secure the win.

NOTES

• Toledo has now won 15 straight games at Savage Arena (15-1 overall this season).
• Toledo is now 20-8 in post-season games at Savage Arena, including an 18-8 mark in WNIT games from 1998 to 2022.
• If Toledo defeats Washington State, it would advance to the WBIT Final Four in Indianapolis (April 1 and 3).