TOLEDO, Ohio – Despite having three players in double figures and holding on to a one-point lead with over three minutes remaining the Western Michigan women's basketball team was unable to defeat Toledo on Wednesday night, falling to the Rockets inside Savage Arena 61-54.

For the fourth time this season WMU had a trio of players score in double figures, led by redshirt senior Reilly Jacobson with 15 points. Jacobson was 7-of-14 from the field against Toledo and ranked second on the team with seven rebounds. The redshirt senior forward was also 1-of-3 from behind the three-point line and had one assist, one steal and two blocks.

Behind Jacobson was freshman Megan Wagner who poured in 12 points, one shy of her career-high. Wagner was 4-of-10 from the field and knocked down a career-high four three-pointers. In 38 minutes Wagner had four rebounds and three assists. It's the second game this season in which Wagner has scored in double figures.

Rounding out the trio of scoring off the bench was sophomore guard Sydney Shafer with 11 points. Coming off her 23-point performance on Sunday against Easter Michigan, Shafer was 3-of-9 from the field, 2-of-6 from long distance and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. The Jackson, Mich., native also had three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 22 minutes.

It was an all-around effort from the Broncos on Wednesday night as Abby Voss, Hannah Spitzley, Taylor Williams and Gabi Saxman each scored four points against Toledo. Redshirt freshman Taylor Williams led WMU on the glass with nine rebounds.

WMU shot 36.4 percent from the field compared to Toledo's 33.9 percent shooting. The Broncos were 7-of-25 from long distance and was narrowly outrebounded 44-40. Toledo held a 14-8 advantage on the offensive glass and forced WMU to commit 15 turnovers, scoring 13 points off of Bronco mistakes.

It was a back and forth game from start to finish as neither team led by more than seven. Western Michigan now has an overall record of 1-7 and is 0-6 in Mid-American Conference play. WMU will now have a week to prepare as its next game is set for Wednesday, Jan 20 at home against Miami.

Western Michigan raced out to an 8-4 lead against Toledo as two of WMU's first three shots came from behind the three-point line. The four-point lead was highlighted by a 5-0 run with a corner three from redshirt senior Reilly Jacobson.

WMU held its lead for most of the first quarter as both teams went scoreless from the field for over three minutes with the Brown & Gold holding on to an 8-7 advantage. Late in the first quarter Toledo embarked on a 9-2 run to gain its first lead of the game. The Rockets ultimately ended the quarter on a 12-4 run to earn a 16-12 lead after one quarter of play.

The script was flipped in the second quarter as WMU outscored Toledo, 16-12 en route to a tie at halftime. WMU trailed 20-16 at the six-minute mark of the second quarter before embarking on a 5-0 run, making four of its next five field goals to tie the game at 23.

The Rockets countered with five straight points to earn a 28-23 lead before WMU ended the half on a 5-0 run to tie the game heading into the locker room. Western Michigan held Toledo scoreless the final 2:59 of the second quarter.

In the third quarter the two teams combined to score just 17 points as WMU outscored Toledo 10-7 in the third and took a 38-35 heading into the fourth. With three minutes left in the third quarter WMU jumped out to its biggest lead of the game at 38-31 thanks in large part to an 11-1 run. The Broncos took a three-point lead into the final quarter as Toledo missed of 14 of its last 15 field goals.  

To begin the fourth quarter both the WMU and Toledo offense came out on fire as the two teams combined make five straight field goals. Just two minutes into the fourth quarter saw 12 points scored with WMU holding on to a 43-42 advantage.

Western Michigan raced out to a 49-45 lead after a 5-0 run and two free-throws from Sydney Shafer. However, Toledo battled its way back and tied the game at 49 with 4:45 remaining. After Toledo tied the game up, freshman Megan Wagner knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the night to give WMU a 52-49 lead.

It was the final field goal of the night for the Broncos as Toledo embarked on a 12-2 run during the final four minutes of play to secure the victory. WMU was held scoreless the final 2:22 of action as the Rockets made four of its final five field goals. The Rockets held a one-point lead with 1:13 remaining and connected on an NBA range three-pointer to extend their lead to 58-54.

On the ensuing possession, Western Michigan had a chance to cut into the Toledo deficit but was called for an offensive foul that gave possession right back to the Rockets. Toledo made three of its final four free-throws to earn the home victory.