TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's basketball team was locked in a back-and-forth contest all afternoon with Gonzaga, but came up a possession short in a 72-69 decision, in front of a home opener crowd of 4,127 at Savage Arena on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Rockets (0-2) held even with the Bulldogs (2-0) at halftime, and surged ahead by as much as six in the third quarter. After Gonzaga took the lead, Toledo fought back in the fourth quarter and tied the game four different times, but a 5-0 Gonzaga run in the closing minutes was enough to hold off Toledo's six made three-pointers in the final period.
 
No team led by more than seven points in the game, and both teams knocked down eight triples. Gonzaga made 16-of-17 free throws in the game, compared to just 5-of-6 for Toledo.
 
Quoting Head Coach Ginny Boggess
"Shoutout to the crowd for showing up on a snowy, wintery day. They brought us a tremendous amount of energy. Thank you so much. We showed a lot of fight tonight. That's one we really want to put away in front of the home crowd. Moving forward, we'll learn from some of our defensive mistakes. They got to the line in the second half and we didn't. We've got to be more confrontational down low, play off two feet instead of one and make sure we're getting opportunities at the free throw line."
 
Rocket Leaders
Kendall Carruthers – 15 points, 3 steals, 2 assists
Miriam Diala – 14 points, 6-of-8 FGs, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Faith Fedd-Robinson – 11 points, 5-of-7 FGs, 3 rebounds
Evalyse Cole – 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3-of-6 3-PT FGs

How It Happened

• After a defensive struggle in the first half, Toledo grabbed a 23-18 lead on back-to-back threes by Alexa Hocevar and Patricia Anumgba with 3:31 left in the first half. Gonzaga responded with a 7-0 run before Miriam Diala's bucket tied the game, 27-27 heading into the half.
• The Rockets pushed ahead in the third quarter, 43-37 with a 6-0 run over 1:29 on buckets by Carruthers, Anumgba and Ella Weaver.
• Gonzaga responded with an 11-0 run of their own to take a 48-45 lead at the end of the third quarter. The Bulldogs then extended the advantage to their biggest of the evening at 52-45 with 8:30 left to play.
• Back-to-back threes by Evalyse Cole and Carruthers tied the game, 56-56 with 5:18 to play. The two teams then traded baskets, with Faith Fedd-Robinson's floater retying the game, 63-63 with 1:50 to go.
• The Bulldogs scored on back-to-back possessions for a 68-63 lead with 45.3 seconds left. But three-pointers by Fedd-Robinson and Cole put Toledo within one, 70-69 with 9.0 seconds to play.
• After Gonzaga knocked down a pair of free throws, Toledo's two looks at a game-tying three did not fall.

Game Notes

• Miriam Diala's 14 points marked her second double-digit scoring game of her career (18 with George Washington, Nov. 11, 2024).
• Kendall Carruthers earned her ninth scoring outing of at least 15 points in a Rocket uniform.
• Evalyse Cole's three three-pointers were a career high.
• Rebounds favored Gonzaga, 31-28, while Toledo cut its turnovers in half from the Troy game and won the turnover battle, 18-14.
• Toledo's crowd of 4,127 was its largest for a home opener in three seasons.

Up Next
Toledo returns to Savage Arena in one week, taking on Detroit Mercy on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+.