THE MATCHUP
Western Michigan (14-11, 7-6 MAC)
at Toledo (15-10, 6-7 MAC)
 
Series Record – WMU trails, 21-56
Date / Time – Feb. 17, 2 p.m.
Location – Toledo, Ohio (John F. Savage Arena) 


BROADCAST INFORMATION
ESPN3
Radio – 1660 AM The Fan, Aaron Coyle
Live Stats – www.sidearmstats.com/toledo/wbball
Twitter Updates - @WMU_WBB
 
THE MATCHUP
The Broncos and Rockets first met in 1981, with this being the 78th meeting between the two. Toledo leads the all-time series 56-21 and has dominated as of late, winning the last eight meetings and 20 of the last 25 dating back to 2007 including a 78-73 win back on Jan. 31 in Kalamazoo. The dynamic duo of juniors Breanna Mobley and Deja Wimby led Western Michigan as the two combined for 39 points. Mobley poured in 20 points to go along with a season-high 13 rebounds while Wimby added 19. WMU was down by as many as 14 late in the third and pulled within two early in the fourth but the comeback fell short inside University Arena.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Last time out, the Broncos saw its two-game winning streak snapped to the hands of the Ball State Cardinals in Kalamazoo with a score of 81-71. Trailing 14 at the break Western Michigan cut the deficit to four at the end of the third. Deja Wimby led the comeback with 11 points but the Cardinals sealed the victory outscoring WMU 24-18 in the final stanza. Three players scored in double figures for the Brown & Gold, including a team-high 25 points from junior Breanna Mobley while Wimby added 16 and senior Najee Smith recorded 11.
 
FINAL STRETCH
The Broncos will play three of its final five games on the road and all against MAC West opponents, including two who are higher in the standings. Western Michigan is currently third in the west and sit in a three-way tie for fourth with Miami and Ohio in the conference standings.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
With just five games remaining in the regular season, it is crunch time for the Western Michigan women's basketball team. After Saturday, WMU travels to Ball State on Wednesday, Feb. 21 for a 7 p.m. tip before returning home for its final mini home stand. The Brown & Gold welcome rivals Central Michigan for "Alumni Day" on Saturday, Feb. 24 and Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. for "Senior Night". The final regular season contest will be at Northern Illinois on March 3.
 
INDIVIDUAL MAC RANKINGS
Individually, the Broncos boast six familiar names that can be found throughout the top-15 of statistical categories in the MAC. Junior Breanna Mobley is seventh in the conference for scoring (16.3), fifth in rebounding (8.7), second in offensive rebounding (4.2), tenth in defensive rebounding (4.4), 14th in defensive rebounds (4.5) and total blocked shots (18), fifth in field goal percentage (.554) and ninth in free-throw percentage (.786).
 
Junior counterpart Deja Wimby is third in assists (5.7), eighth in steals (2.3), and sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.7). Redshirt senior Marley Hill sits in eighth for total blocks shots with 22 while sophomore Emma VanZanten has 15 total, good for an 11th place tie. Junior Meredith Miller leads the MAC in three-point field goal percentage with a .458 while senior Najee Smith follows behind in 13th at a .358 percentage rate.
 
ROCKETS SCOUTING REPORT
The 2017 MAC Tournament champions Toledo are coached by 10th year head coach Tricia Cullop and enter the game 15-10 and right behind WMU in the west division with a 6-7 conference record. The Rockets are riding a three-game losing streak heading into Saturday including a 38-point loss at Central Michigan last time out. Three players score in double figures and are led by junior Kaayla McIntyre who is 11th in scoring with 15.1 ppg and ninth in rebounding at 7.6 rpg. As a team, the Rockets are 9-2 at home and own ninth position in the conference in scoring offense (66.2) and their 66.8 scoring defense places them in sixth.