TOLEDO, Ohio – Sophomore Kendall Carruthers scored a season-high 21 points and graduate student Khera Goss added 20 to lead the Toledo women's basketball team a 80-68 victory over Bowling Green in the Battle of I-75 before 6,527 fans at Savage Arena on Saturday.
 
Down by five at the break, the Rockets used a strong second-half performance to claim its fifth-consecutive victory over their arch-rivals. Toledo (13-5, 5-3 MAC) out-scored Bowling Green (9-10, 3-5 MAC), 53-36 in the final 20 minutes, grabbing the lead with 5:22 left in the third quarter. The Rockets extended the lead throughout the second half, reaching double-digits in the first minute of the fourth quarter, and were never seriously challenged down the stretch.
 
"I'm really proud of our team's effort and am grateful for the fans that showed up today," said Head Coach Ginny Boggess. "We needed every single one of Team Toledo and our fans made today a blast. Our players made plays and our veterans especially stepped up big-time today. Toledo and Bowling Green are two pillars of mid-major basketball and I'm not surprised the all-time rivalry is so close."
 
Carruthers led a red-hot Rocket offense, knocking down 7-of-13 shots from the field, 3-of-4 from three and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Goss was 8-of-11 from the floor and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Sammi Mikonowicz chipped in with 10 points on 4-of-9 from the field. As a team, the Rockets shot an impressive 54.4% (31-of-57) from the field, including 69.0% (20-of-29) in the second half. Toledo also had the three-ball working, shooting 56.3% (9-of-16), along with 90.0% (9-of-10) at the free throw line.

The Rockets totaled 21 assists, led by a career-high seven from graduate student Nan Garcia. Goss, Mikonowicz, and sophomore Cadence Dykstra each had three dishes.
 
Toledo also out-rebounded Bowling Green 31-23 on the day, led by Goss and Mikonowicz with six each. Goss, Mikonowicz and Garcia each came up with two of Toledo's eight steals on the day. Freshman Destiny Robinson set a season high with two blocks while Mikonowicz and freshman Faith Fedd-Robinson each had one.
 
First Quarter – Bowling Green 19, Toledo 17

• After Toledo jumped out to a 6-2 lead, Bowling Green countered with a 9-2 run capped by Lexi Fleming's three-pointer which gave the Falcons an 11-8 lead at the 5:26 mark.
• After some back-and-forth action, Amy Velasco hit a pair of free throws with 3.8 seconds left in the quarter to give BGSU a 19-17 lead at the break.
• Both teams shot above 50% in the quarter. Bowling Green was 7-for-11 (63.6%) from the field while Toledo was 8-for-15 (53.3%).
• Kendall Carruthers led the Rockets with six points. The Falcons were led by Fleming with seven.

Second Quarter – Bowling Green 32, Toledo 27

• Bowling Green went on a 10-0 run to grab a 29-19 lead and force a Toledo timeout with 6:18 left in the half.
• The Rockets fought back to cut the lead to 32-27 at halftime, with threes from Ella Weaver and Carruthers in the stretch.
• Toledo shot 11-of-28 (39.3%) from the floor in the half, while the Falcons were 13-of-24 (54.2%).
• Carruthers led the Rockets with 11 points while Fleming had 12 for the Falcons in the half.

Third Quarter – Toledo 52, Bowling Green 45

• Toledo came out of halftime on a 15-5 run to take a 42-37 lead at the 4:51 mark, pushing ahead for the first time in the half at 5:22.
• Khera Goss had five points in the run.
• The Rockets' lead reached seven points four different times. Faith Fedd-Robinson hit a layup with 31 seconds left in the quarter to make it 52-45 at the break.
• Toledo made five of its last six shots in the quarter and shot 11-for-16 (68.8%) overall in the period.
• Goss scored seven points in the quarter on 3-of-4 from the floor.

Fourth Quarter – Toledo 80, Bowling Green 68

• Toledo scored the first four points of the fourth quarter and then increased its lead to 63-51 on a short jumper by Jessica Cook at the 7:41 mark.
• Toledo extended its lead to 68-52, its biggest of the game, on a three-pointer by Carruthers with 5:22 left in the game.
• Bowling Green scored 10 of the next 14 points. A layup by Fleming cut the lead to 72-62 with 1:50 left, but the Falcons would get no closer.
• The Rockets were 9-of-13 from the field, 3-of-4 from three and 7-of-8 from the free throw line in the quarter.
• Goss delivered 11 points and shot 4-of-5 in the quarter.

Game Notes

• The attendance of 6,527 broke the Battle of I-75 women's basketball rivalry record, beating the previous mark of 6,086 set in 2023.
• Saturday's crowd was also the second-largest regular-season home crowd, and fourth-largest overall in program history.
• Toledo won its fifth-straight game against Bowling Green.
• The 53 points in the second half was Toledo's most in conference action.
• Goss reached 20 points for the second time in three games and double-digit scoring for the 11th time in her last 12. In her last four games, Goss is averaging 16.3 points per game and shooting 24-of-37 (64.9%) in that span.
• Toledo marked its first time this season in which two players scored 20 or more points in a game.
• The Rockets are 5-0 this season in games following a loss.

UP NEXT
Toledo remains at Savage Arena and will take on Miami on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Tipoff is at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.