TOLEDO, Ohio – Graduate student Sammi Mikonowicz scored 17 points and reached 1,000 rebounds for her career to lead Toledo to a 64-59 victory over Miami in Mid-American Conference action at Savage Arena Wednesday evening.
 
The Rockets (14-5, 6-3 MAC) built up a double-digit lead in the first half, but the RedHawks (11-8, 4-5 MAC) fought back to take the lead in the fourth quarter in what developed into a back-and-forth battle. With the game tied at 57-57, Toledo scored seven of the game's last nine points in the final 3:54.
 
"That game was fun and an incredible battle," said Head Coach Ginny Boggess. "Credit to a tough and disciplined Miami team that we faced tonight. We knew it was going to be a physical basketball game. We knew we had to guard all five players around the perimeter and Miami came with a big punch in the second and third quarters. I was proud of our resiliency and our ability to take care of the basketball and execute down the stretch."

Mikonowicz shot 5-of-8 from the field, 2-of-4 from three and 5-of-6 at the free throw line. She grabbed six rebounds on the night, giving her 1,004 for her career to become just the second player in program history to reach the 1,000-rebound milestone, and the also the second to make the 1,000-point/1000-rebound club, joining Angela Drake (1993-97) who scored 1,952 points and grabbed 1,087 rebounds during her Rocket career.

Mikonowicz was joined by sophomore Kendall Carruthers who also had 17 points on the night, including eight in the fourth quarter. Carruthers was a perfect 8-of-8 from the foul line and 4-of-9 from the field. Graduate student Nan Garcia led Toledo with five assists.
 
Graduate students Jessica Cook and Khera Goss each grabbed six rebounds to join Mikonowicz as team leaders. Defensively, Carruthers led Toledo with two steals, while freshman Faith Fedd-Robinson blocked two shots.
 
Miami was led by Enjulina Gonzalez, who scored 19 points on 7-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 at the free throw line.
 
First Quarter – Toledo 22, Miami 12

• The Rockets took an early 11-5 lead with Sammi Mikonowicz scoring six points.
• Faith Fedd-Robinson made a layup with 10 seconds left in the quarter to cap off a 6-2 run and give Toledo a 22-12 edge at the break.
• Mikonowicz led all scorers with 10 points, making both of her field goal attempts, and shooting 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
• Mikonowicz's four rebounds helped give Toledo a 12-5 edge on the glass in the first 10 minutes.

Second Quarter – Toledo 36, Miami 25

• A Khera Goss layup extended Toledo's lead to 28-13 at the 6:17 mark.
• After Miami cut the lead to 28-18, the Rockets responded with eight-straight points to push their lead to 36-18 with 2:17 left in the half.
• The Redhawks ended the half on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 36-25 at halftime.
• The Rockets shot 13-of-28 (46.4%) while holding Miami to 9-of-27 (33.3%) from the field.
• Toledo also held a commanding 24-9 advantage on the boards in the first 20 minutes.

Third Quarter – Toledo 48, Miami 45

• Miami trimmed the lead to 41-34 but the Rockets responded with a three from Destiny Robinson and a layup from Mikonowicz to make the score 46-34 with 4:55 left in the third.
• The Redhawks closed out the quarter with a 11-2 run to trim Toledo's lead to 48-45.
• Miami outscored the Rockets 20-12 and forced six Toledo turnovers in the quarter.

Fourth Quarter – Toledo 64, Miami 59

• After Toledo scored the first two points of the quarter, Miami scored the next six points to take a 51-50 lead with 7:18 left in the game.
• A three from Robinson re-gained the lead at 53-51, before Miami tied the game three separate times from that point. The last tie came from a Katey Richason layup with 4:19 to play.
• Up 58-57 in the final minute, Kendall Carruthers' driving layup extended the Rockets' lead to 60-57 with 51.8 seconds to go.
• After Miami scored on the next possession to cut the deficit to 60-59, Carruthers and Robinson each made a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
• Toledo made 9-of-10 free throws in the quarter and won the final period, 16-14.

Game Notes

• With her milestone, Mikonowicz became the only active MAC player to have 1,000 career rebounds.
• The Rockets out-rebounded Miami 39-22, their biggest rebound margin in conference play (+17).
• Toledo won a game in which it trailed in the fourth quarter for the sixth time this year.
• Toledo shot 16-of-18 (88.9%) at the free throw line, its fourth-straight game at 80% or better from the foul line.

 
UP NEXT
Toledo begins a three-game road trip with a matchup at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 1. Tipoff from Ypsilanti is set for 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.