TOLEDO — The Toledo women’s basketball team responded to Wednesday’s loss with a 76-63 victory over first-place Akron at Savage Arena in front of 4,689 fans on Saturday.
Toledo junior Sammi Mikonowicz (Rossford) played a major role, scoring 11 points.
The Rockets (13-4, 4-2 MAC) were tied with the Zips (13-4, 4-2 MAC) at the end of the first quarter before outscoring their opponents 23-11 in the second period. That proved to provide enough breathing room as UT’s lead never fell below six points for the remainder of the game.
The win was Toledo’s sixth straight at home, pushing its 2022-23 home record to 8-1. The Rockets have now won 13 of their last 14 home MAC games.
“I’m really proud of how we responded today,” head coach Tricia Cullop said. “We could have pouted and not shown up today after a very difficult loss on Wednesday (at Bowling Green), but we didn’t.
“I think one of the big difference today was our bench; they were phenomenal. I thought our focus in the post was much-improved from Wednesday, and it was nice to only see eight turnovers. I’m happy to get this win and proud of our response to Wednesday’s game.”
Sophomore Jessica Cook turned one of her best performances of the season, scoring a team-high 14 points while shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor. Cook was one of five Rockets to reach double figures in scoring and was joined by senior Jayda Jansen (10 points), senior Quinesha Lockett (10 points), and junior Nan Garcia (10 points).
Senior Sophia Wiard was closed behind with eight points and junior Khera Goss contributed seven points and a career-high eight assists.
After committing a season-high 22 turnovers on Wednesday, Toledo tied a season-low with just eight turnovers vs. Akron. UT shot 45.6% (26-for-57) from the field with a season-high with 22 assists.
The Zips were led by Reagan Bass, who scored led all comers with 24 points and eight rebounds. Akron shot 37.7% (23-for-61) from the floor and 29.4% (5-for-17) from three-point range.
