CLEVELAND, Ohio – Sammi Mikonowicz and Nan Garcia led another comeback as the Toledo women's basketball team used a lock-down defense to defeat Buffalo, 56-49, in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Championships at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Friday.
 
Trailing 20-13 at halftime, the Rockets outscored Buffalo 43-29 in the second half to earn their 16^th trip to the MAC Championship Game. Toledo (24-7) will face No. 1 seed Ball State (26-7) at 11:00 a.m. Saturday for a chance for its 10^th MAC tourney title.
 
Just like UT's 76-58 quarterfinal win over CMU on Wednesday, Mikonowicz and Garcia keyed the Rocket comeback. Both players scored 13 points apiece, combining for 11 at the end of the third quarter as Buffalo's lead was down to one point. Toledo dominated the final quarter, holding Buffalo to just 4-of-17 (23.5%) from the floor while making 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch.
 
For the game, Toledo held Buffalo to 20-58 (34.5%) from the field and out-rebounded the Bulls, 45-28. Garcia had a career-high 15 boards and Mikonowicz added 11, giving her 1,093 rebounds for her career and setting the program's all-time mark.The Rockets held Chellia Watson, the MAC's leading scorer in each of the past two seasons, to 12 points on just 5-of-19 from the floor.

Quoting Head Coach Ginny Boggess
"A really, really slow start for us today and a tough second quarter. I apologized to (the players) for not having us a little more ready. Their toughness and resiliency in the second half were key, and we were able to make some adjustments. We felt like if we could win the turnovers, the rebounding margin and the free throw battle, we would have a really good shot to win. Obviously didn't win the turnover battle but we kept it together, didn't allow our defense to be affected by our inability to score. That's a testament to these guys."
 
Quoting Khera Goss (on first-half offense)
"It's frustrating because we know that we're better. We have a lot of potential, and when we're not reaching that, it's really, really frustrating for us as a team."
 
Quoting Sammi Mikonowicz
"I was happy that we kept our composure on defense. We only let them have 20 points in the first half."

Top Rocket Performers

• Nan Garcia – 13 PTS, 15 REBS
  • Second double--double in three games
• Sammi Mikonowicz – 13 PTS, 11 REBS, 3 AST
  • 18th career double-double
• Khera Goss – 9 PTS, 2-of-3 from 3-PT FG

How It Happened

• Toledo led 11-10 after one quarter of play. Both teams were 4-of-14 from the field in the period.
• Toledo managed just two points in the second quarter and fell behind 20-13 heading into the locker room. The Rockets were held to 1-of-10 from the floor and committed 10 turnovers.
• Toledo was 5-of-24 (20.8%) from the field and committed 16 turnovers in the first half. Buffalo shot 8-of-26 (30.8) and had nine miscues.
• Sammi Mikonowicz and Nan Garcia combined for 11 points in the final 3:41 of the third quarter draw Toledo to within a point, 36-35, headed into the final 10 minutes. Mikonowicz's final bucket of the quarter gave Toledo its first lead since the opening minutes.
• Tied at 38-38 in the fourth, back-to-back scores from Jessica Cook followed by a Mikonowicz layup put Toledo ahead, 44-38 with 5:40 to play.
• The Bulls cut the lead to 48-45 with 2:52 left to play, but Khera Goss responded with a triple and Buffalo did not get any closer than five points the rest of the way.

Game Notes

• Toledo is in the MAC Championship Game for the 16th time. The Rockets have won nine MAC Tournament titles, most recently in 2023.
• Sammi Mikonowicz and Khera Goss each played in their 158^th career game, breaking the Toledo record set by Sophia Wiard (2019-24).
• Mikonowicz reached 1,093 rebounds for her career, breaking the program all-time mark previously held by Angela Drake (1,087 from 1993-97)
• Nan Garcia's 15 rebounds set a career high.
• Mikonowicz earned her 18th career double-double and Garcia her third.
• Toledo out-rebounded Buffalo, 45-28 and finished with a +46 rebound margin in the three games combined against the Bulls.
• Ginny Boggess is 4-0 against Buffalo in the past year (three wins with Toledo, a win with Monmouth in the WBIT last March).
• Toledo is now 12-2 in its last 14 games.

Up Next
Toledo will face No. 1 seed Ball State for the MAC Championship on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. on CBS Sports Network. The two teams split the regular-season series.