DeKALB, Ill. – Sammi Mikonowicz put her name at the top of Toledo's career minutes charts, as the Toledo women's basketball team took down Northern Illinois, 79-70 at the NIU Convocation Center on Wednesday.
 
The Rockets (22-6, 13-4 MAC) led from the opening minutes on and extended the lead to double-digits, which they held for much of the second half. Toledo won its third-straight game while the Huskies (13-16, 6-11 MAC) dropped their fourth decision of their last five.
 
With losses by Buffalo and Kent State and a win by Ball State, Toledo will be the No. 2 seed in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
Quoting Head Coach Ginny Boggess
"I thought the difference tonight was our connectivity down the stretch. Our bench was tremendous tonight.  I'm proud of how we out-teamed the other team. This is a tough place to play. Coach Lisa Carlsen and her staff had a great gameplan and we'll need to clean a few things up before we wrap up the regular season and head to Cleveland. Any road win is a great road win and I'm proud of the team."
 
Top Rocket Performers

• Sammi Mikonowicz – 19 PTS, 7-of-13 FGs, 2-of-4 3-PT FGs, 7 REB
• Kendall Carruthers – 13 PTS, 5-of-11 FGs, 3-of-4 3-PT FGs, 3 AST
• Hannah Noveroske – 12 PTS, 6-of-8 FGs, 3 REB
• Nan Garcia – 12 PTS, 3-of-8 FGs, 6-of-9 FTs, 6 REBs, 2 STL

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Toledo got out to a fast start, taking a 9-2 lead within three minutes thanks to threes from Sammi Mikonowicz and Kendall Carruthers. Northern Illinois cut the deficit to 19-15 by the end of the quarter.
• The Rockets stretched the lead to as much as nine in the second quarter, 34-25 at the 3:55 mark from a Carruthers' three. Hannah Noveroske's layup to end the half put the Rockets up seven, 38-31 at the break.
• The Rockets opened the second half with a 7-0 run in the first 2:15 to push the lead to 45-31. After NIU cut the lead to seven, the Rockets spurred to an 11-0 run for a 59-41 lead late in the quarter.
• Toledo pushed the lead to as big as 15 and never got below double-digits until the final seconds to close out the win. Mikonowicz reached the career record in the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

• Sammi Mikonowicz passed former Rocket great Sophia Wiard for the program record and has 4,962 minutes for her career.

UP NEXT
Toledo finishes the regular season on Saturday, March 8, taking on Kent State on the road. Tipoff between the Rockets and the Golden Flashes will be at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN+, WCWA 1230 AM and The Varsity Network app.