MUNCIE, Ind. – The Toledo women's basketball team fell in a road MAC contest to Ball State, dropping a 77-63 decision to the Cardinals at Worthen Arena on Monday.
 
The Rockets (12-5, 4-3 MAC) took an 11-2 lead in the first quarter, but the Cardinals (15-4, 7-0 MAC) surged back to take the lead at quarter's end and extended its advantage the rest of the way to remain undefeated in conference games.
 
"We got lost in transition a few times and gave up those four early threes in the first quarter," said Head Coach Ginny Boggess. "Ball State is a good and experienced team and they've played together for a long time. They got to their spots and challenged our skills defensively. We have to keep working on our 1-on-1 defense, our angles, our pursuit and our help and we'll get better."
 
The Rockets were led by graduate student Nan Garcia with a season-high 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 3-of-7 from three. Both her six field goals and three triples were season highs. Classmate Sammi Mikonowicz added 12 points, including 5-of-6 at the free throw line, while Khera Goss finished with 11 points. Freshman Destiny Robinson led the Rockets in assists, with four of Toledo's 14 for the game.
 
Mikonowicz hauled in eight rebounds on the afternoon to lead Toledo while Garcia grabbed seven. The duo each had two steals to lead the Rockets defensively. Mikonowicz blocked two shots for the game, tying her career high while three other Rockets blocked one shot.
 
Ball State's Ally Becki scored a game-high 26 points and added nine assists to lead Ball State.
 
First Quarter – Ball State 18, Toledo 14

• Toledo jumped out of the gate with an 11-0 run over 3:59, taking an 11-2 lead at the 4:41 mark.
• Nan Garcia knocked down a three and Kendall Carruthers drove for a three-point play during the spurt.
• After the media timeout, Ball State went on a 13-0 run over 3:14 to take a 15-11 lead.
• Garcia led UT with four points while Destiny Robinson and Sammi Mikonowicz each grabbed three rebounds for the Rockets.

Second Quarter – Ball State 38, Toledo 28

• Nan Garcia scored Toledo's first five points of the quarter, cutting the deficit to 20-19 with 8:35 left.
• Ball State then went on an 8-2 run to extend the lead to 28-21 at the 5:13 mark.
• The Cardinals then scored the next six points out of the media timeout, pushing their advantage to the biggest of the half at 34-21.
• A three by Robinson and layup by Mikonowicz helped the Rockets close the half within 10.
• Garcia finished with nine points on 3-of-6 shooting to lead Toledo in the half.

Third Quarter – Ball State 61, Toledo 46

• Mikonowicz opened the quarter with a three to put Toledo within seven.
• Ball State then out-scored the Rockets 12-5 to grab a 50-36 lead at the 4:04 mark.
• Free throws by Mikonowicz and a layup by Goss put Toledo back within 10 at 52-42.
• The Cardinals scored nine of the last 13 points to push its advantage to 61-46 at quarter's end.

Fourth Quarter – Ball State 77, Toledo 63

• Back-to-back layups by Ally Becki pushed the BSU lead to 65-46 early in the period.
• Toledo chipped away at the deficit, first closing to within 14 at the 5:47 mark on a three-point play from Goss. Baskets were largely traded the rest of the way, as Toledo could not pull closer than 14.
• Garcia scored six points in the quarter and grabbed four rebounds while Goss had five points.

Game Notes

• Ball State held a 50.0%-41.9% shooting advantage and held a +5 margin in the turnover battle.
• Mikonowicz' eight rebounds put her at 992 for her career, passing Linda Janicki for second all-time in Rocket history.
• Goss reached double-figure scoring for the 10th time in her last 11 games. She made five field goals and shot 50% or better for the third-consecutive game.
• The Rockets blocked six shots as a team, their most in a game since the season opener against Marshall.

UP NEXT
Toledo is back in the Glass City for the Battle of I-75 on Saturday, Jan. 25 against Bowling Green at Savage Arena. Tipoff will be at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+ with radio broadcasts on WCWA 1230 AM and The Varsity Network App.