TOLEDO, Ohio – The Western Michigan women's basketball team dropped its Mid-American Conference matchup against the Toledo Rockets 82-55 Wednesday evening.  Bronco guard Kaitlyn Zarycki led all scorers tonight with 23 points and added six rebounds, four steals, and two assists in 34 minutes. 

The Brown and Gold sprinted out the gate to begin Wednesday's action at Toledo: During the contest's first minutes, the Brown and Gold knocked down two of their first three shots to take an early 5-3 lead over the Rockets. Toledo would respond to the Bronco's fast start by completing a 10-4 run over the next four minutes and change to put the Brown and Gold in a four-point deficit. 

To halt the run, Western Michigan concluded the quarter offensively with a pair of free throws from Zarycki and a layup from Gabi Saxman to pull within striking distance of the Rockets. At the end of the first, the Broncos trailed Toledo by two, 15-13.

In the second quarter of play down six, Zarycki and Jasmine Elder brought WMU within a single point after a deep three from the guard and a bucket from inside the paint by Elder. Eventually, the Brown and Gold reclaimed the lead at 24-23 with 3:33 left in the first half after a quick offensive spurt by De'Ahna Richardson and Zarycki. Despite the offensive boost, the Broncos entered the break down 33-26.

After halftime, the Brown and Gold rallied and saw a quarter-high 19 points scored in the third Wednesday. 

With seven minutes remaining in the third, Hannah Spitzley knocked down her lone three-pointer on the night to propel the Broncos to a one-point advantage at 37-36. Over the next several minutes, Zarycki took over for WMU and willed the women's basketball team to a four-point advantage with six minutes to go in the quarter and brought the Broncos to a tie at 42 all with 3:53 remaining in the third. However, after tying the game at 42, Toledo would close out the third on a 15-3 run to take a 57-45 lead over the Broncos entering the fourth. 

In the final quarter of play, WMU managed to pull within 10 points after an opening bucket by Denali Craig-Edwards. However, Toledo continued to hit on all cylinders offensively and would score a quarter-high 25 points in the fourth. 

Tonight, Zarycki notched her third consecutive game with at least 23 points scored. Over her last eight games, the guard from Niles, Michigan has averaged 21.4 points per game while shooting an impressive 52.7% from the field. Additionally, the guard Saxman continued her defensive dominance on her journey to 100 career steals: With her latest steal tonight, Saxman sits at 95 career steals and counting. 

Up Next
The Brown and Gold will continue conference play at University Arena against Miami University (Ohio) on Saturday, January 13. Tip off is scheduled for 3:00 PM.