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 16th trip to the MAC Championship Game. Toledo (24-7) will face No. 1 seed Ball State (26-7) at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 14, for a chance for its 10th MAC tourney title.
Sammi Mikonowicz helped lead the Rockets to another comeback victory, this time over Buffalo, 56-49, in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Championships at Rocket Arena in Cleveland on Friday.
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.
