TOLEDO, Ohio -- The Western Michigan University women's basketball team looks to continue its perfect start to 2026 on the road this weekend.

LAST TIME OUT
It came down to the wire, but the Western Michigan University women's basketball team was able to hold on for a 55-48 win over the Akron Zips. The Broncos battled back and forth with Akron in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's game, with all but 20 seconds being a one-possession lead on either side. An open layup for junior guard Nile Muguira Orbe, followed by six made free throws, sealed the win for WMU in the closing 30 seconds of the game.

Despite leading the game for over 30 minutes, WMU had to dig deep in the final 10 minutes to earn the 55-48 victory. An 8-2 run in the last 26 seconds secured the victory for the Brown and Gold.

PERFECT IN 2026
Western Michigan made a big return to University Arena to begin 2026. The Broncos' are 2-0 on their home court with wins over Buffalo and Akron in the past week. WMU's win over Buffalo to start the year on the 3rd was it's first win over the Bulls since 2024 and the first at home since 2023. While the Brown and Gold's win over Akron continued a winning streak over the Zips, growing to five straight games. With a 2-1 MAC record, Western Michigan is sixth in the conference standings as one of six teams above .500.

DOUBLE DOUBLE FIRSTS
It was a career game for sophomore forward D'Myjah Bolds on Wednesday night. Bolds recorded the first double double of the season for the Broncos in the team's win over Akron. The sophomore led WMU on both sides of the ball against the Zips with a career-high 15 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes on the floor.

Bolds performance was also the first double double of her career, having only had two double figure scoring games as a freshman. Bolds fully reset her career-high in rebounds on Wednesday with 12 boards. Her former high of 10 was set back in November of 2024 in a Brown and Gold win over NAIA Cleary.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday afternoon Western Michigan plays one of its longest opponents in program history in the Toledo Rockets. This weekend's meeting will be the 93rd game between the two, with Toledo holding a distinct 68-24 advantage. The Bronco's have won most of their games in the series at home in Kalamazoo with 14 wins inside Read Fieldhouse.

WMU won last season's meeting 41-38 behind a double figure performance from graduate guard Hannah Spitzley.  In the victory, former head coach Shane Clipfell tied Fran Ebert (1967-82) for the most wins in program history with 179 and secured his 250th career win as a head coach.

SCOUTING THE ROCKETS
The Rockets come into Saturday's game after having a rough week on the road in MAC play. Toledo dropped two close games to Miami and Ball State in Oxford and Muncie after putting together a season high three-game win streak. The Rockets are just under .500 on the season at 6-7 and have won a game in conference play against Buffalo at home.

Toledo is led on the floor by a pair of double figure scorers in junior guard Kendall Carruthers and sophomore guard Faith Fedd-Robinson. The two guards average 14.1 and 11.5 points respectively while Fedd-Robinson also leads the team in rebounds with 5.5 a game. As a team, the Rockets are aggressive under the glass, limiting their opponents to only 30 rebounds a game. Toledo currently leads the MAC in rebounding defense by over three boards through 40 minutes.