KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team closed out the home portion of its schedule with a 56-49 loss to the Toledo Rockets.

In their home finale, the Broncos made up for a season-low 14-point first half in only three minutes of the third quarter. WMU got within a point of Toledo five times in the final 15 minutes of the game. But the Brown and Gold couldn't find the final push to take the lead from the Rockets in the 56-49 defeat. Sophomore guard Kailey Starks had a team-high 15 points and was the only Western Michigan player in double figures as she went 7-of-12 from the floor.

It was a slow start for both sides on Wednesday night as the Broncos first points took three minutes to go in. WMU made a basket every three minutes of the first quarter while a seven-point run late put Toledo in front by 12. Starks made a last second layup for the Brown and Gold to get Western Michigan within 10 before the second.

 But the Broncos weren't able to get around the Rockets stifling defense for the first four minutes of the second quarter. Toledo grew its lead to 19 points before WMU broke its cold spell. The Brown and Gold shut down the Rockets offense for over six minutes to end the first half, while adding eight points to a 25-14 half time score.

Western Michigan's offense stayed hot to start the second half, putting together a nine-point run to make it only a possession game. Toledo answered with a layup to get back up by four but only a minute later, senior guard Alli Carlson hit the Broncos first three of the night to make it a one-point deficit. It was back and forth scoring over the next three minutes until the Rockets closed out the third with five points for a 36-30 game.

Toledo made the first basket of the fourth quarter, but WMU responded almost immediately with a triple for sophomore forward D'Myjah Bolds. It became bucket for bucket in the next minute until the Brown and Gold went on a seven-point scoring frenzy to get back within a point. Western Michigan and the Rockets continued to go back and forth down the stretch until the Broncos found themselves in foul trouble. WMU added just seven points in the final two minutes of the game while Toledo had nine at the line for the 56-49 final score.

 The Brown and Gold won the turnover battle on Wednesday night, only surrendering the ball 14 times to the Rockets 15. Western Michigan also topped Toledo in blocks and steals with eight and three on the night. Carlson had a team-high three steals while three different Broncos recorded a block. Bolds and senior forward Ariana Wilkes led WMU under the glass with seven rebounds each while junior guard Nile Muguira Orbe was the only player with multiple assists.

Western Michigan closes out the 2025-26 regular season on the road. The Broncos will see Kent State for the only time this season on Saturday afternoon at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. Tip-off for WMU's final game on March 7 is set for 1 p.m.