CLEVELAND, Ohio – Senior guard Quinesha Lockett scored 17 points to lead the Toledo Rockets to a 73-58 victory over arch-rival Bowling Green in the MAC Championship finals
With the victory, Toledo (28-4) earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, the ninth tourney appearance in its history and first since 2017, which was also the last time Toledo won the MAC Tournament championship. It was the 16th consecutive win for Toledo, whose last defeat was at Bowling Green on Jan. 18.
Lockett, who added five rebounds and six assists, was named the Tournament MVP. She totaled 44 points in three games in the tournament. Senior guard Sammi Mikonwicz and sophomore forward Jessica Cook joined Lockett on the All-Tournament Team. Cook added 16 points on 8-of-11 from the floor to go with seven rebounds vs. BGSU, while Mikonwicz added eight points and a game-high 16 rebounds.
Toledo jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never trailed in the contest, though Bowling Green did narrow the margin to five points in the second half. But the Rockets exploded for 25 points in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Toledo will find out its first-round opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on ESPN on Sunday at 8:00 p.m.
Toledo came out of the gates on fire, scoring the game's first nine points on 4-of-4 from the field and forcing BG to call a timeout at the 7:53 mark. A Quinesha Lockett three-pointer made it 12-0 before BGSU finally got on the scoreboard.
The Rockets built the lead to 20-6 before BG's Elissa Brett knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to 20-12 at the 2:20 mark. A Jessica Cook layup and Lockett free throw pushed Toledo's advantage to 23-12 at the quarter break.
Toledo made 9-of-13 (69.2%) shots from the field and were led by Lockett's eight points. The Falcons connected on just 5-of-15 of their attempts in the first.
The teams exchanged baskets to start the second, with Toledo taking a 29-17 lead into the media timeout at 4:54.
BG used a 7-2 run to trim the lead to 31-24 with 2:36 left. Toledo took a 33-26 lead into halftime. The Rockets shot just 3-of-13 (23.1%) in the second quarter to end up 12-of-26 (46.2%) for the half.
Cook led Toledo with 10 points on 5-of-5 from the floor and added five rebounds. The Rockets held the Falcons to just 11-of-31 (35.5%) form the field in the first 20 minutes and held a 21-14 rebounding edge.
A Nan Garcia three-pointer at the 6:43 mark in the third increased Toledo's lead to 39-30. BGSU cut the lead to 44-39 with a field goal and pair of free throws at 3:16 following a flagrant foul call on Sammi Mikonowicz on a rebound.
A Cook layup with 1:13 left in the third pushed the lead to 48-39. BG's Allison Day hit a put-back just before the horn to make it 48-41 going into the final period.
Toledo opened the final quarter with a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 54-41 and force another Falcon timeout at the 8:39 mark.
After a Falcon layup cut the lead to 56-45, Toledo went on a 9-0 capped by a Lockett triple at the 4:01 mark that gave Toledo an insurmountable 65-45 lead.
Toledo outscored the Falcons 25-17 in the fourth quarter to cruise to victory.
MAC All-Tournament Team
Katie Shumate - Kent State
Elissa Brett - Bowling Green
Jessica Cook - Toledo
Sammi Mikonowicz - Toledo
Quinesha Lockett - Toledo (MVP)
