The Toledo women’s basketball team defeated Ohio University 80-65 at Savage Arena on Jan. 18. The victory marked the program’s third annual Justice for Sierah game, scored in front of a season-high crowd of 4,337 attendees.
Toledo wore custom Justice for Sierah jerseys, which are available for auction at https://qtego.us/qlink/utjusticeforsierah through Jan. 20, with all proceeds going to the Justice for Sierah Foundation. The foundation seeks to create safe communities through education of self-awareness and self-defense for youth. Their advocacy is focused on preventing assaults and abductions, and establishing a system for quicker recovery if someone is in danger.
In the game supporting the foundation, three Rockets scored in the double digits, led by graduate student Khera Goss who finished with a career-high 23 points. Sophomore Kendall Carruthers scored 16 points and three assists, while graduate student Sammi Mikonowicz added 11 points and five assists.
Goss went 6-for-7 shooting, 6-6 at the free throw line, and 6-for-6 from behind the arc. This is Goss’ fourth straight game reaching double digits, and twelfth of the season.
Defensively, freshman Destiny Robinson lead the Rockets with seven rebounds while Carruthers and graduate student Nan Garcia both had six. Five different Rockets had at least one steal in the game—part of 14 turnovers for Ohio.
"I'm really proud of our bounce-back effort, responding after a tough game on Wednesday," said Head Coach Ginny Boggess. "Our ability to make corrections from Wednesday helped us find each other tonight and showed our mental resiliency. That was a fun game today going into a quick turnaround on Monday."
The Rockets (12-4, 4-2 MAC) started behind in the first quarter, with the Bobcats (3-13, 1-5 MAC) coming out of the gate with a seven-scoring run in the first two minutes of the match. The Rockets began to close in on Ohio’s lead halfway through the first quarter, with Goss making a layup with 3:46 in the quarter to bring the score to 8-9. Two free throws from sophomore Cadence Dykstra brought the Rockets to a 12-13 margin heading into the second quarter.
The teams traded baskets in the beginning of the second quarter. With 7:48 to go in the half, the two were tied at 17-17. A three-pointer from Goss started a 14-point run for the Rockets with Goss and Carruthers both scoring two points beyond the arc, giving them a 33-20 advantage with 3:03 left in the half.
The Rockets continued to expand their lead outscoring the Bobcats 24-16 in the third quarter, taking a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter. Despite being outscored 21-23 in the final quarter, it was not enough to catch the Rockets.
The Rockets head to Muncie, Indiana on Monday, Jan. 20 to play Ball State University. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. and will be available to watch on CBS Sports Network.
Toledo will return to Savage Arena on Saturday Jan. 25 to play Bowling Green in the Battle of I-75. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be available to watch on ESPN+.
"It’s going to be a fun battle and try to sell this place out," said Boggess. "We need your support. We need you to come use your voice, come get loud. I promise if you have never been to a game, you’ll fall in love with this team, and you’ll want to come back to cheer them on.”