After a foul by the Rockets, freshman guard Madi Morson stepped up to the free-throw line to take two important shots. Morson sank both of them to take the 60-59 lead for the Chippewas, the first lead held by the team since the beginning of the second quarter, sending McGuirk Arena into a frenzy.

Coming off of its one-point victory over Miami (OH) in their last outing, Central Michigan took on Toledo in a Saturday matchup which turned out to be a fast-paced offensive showdown from both sides. Despite grabbing the lead late, the Chippewas were unable to keep Toledo from going on a late run to seal the game in what turned out to be a 71-66 loss for Central Michigan.

“We competed for three of the quarters,” head coach Kristin Haynie said. “So that second quarter really killed us. We were shooting ourselves in the foot with turnovers and missed defensive assignments. So, we put together 40 minutes. We're going to be difficult to beat, and so I'm really proud of them for their fight… Toledo’s a really good team.”

Both the Chippewas and Rockets hit early shots to begin the game. The quick pace and strong offense early set the tone as the teams traded baskets as the first quarter continued. With 4:31 left in the first frame of play, Morson went up for a tough layup, finishing the play with a bucket to give Central Michigan its first lead of the afternoon while also earning a trip to the free throw line.

Chippewa freshman forward Ayanna-Sarai Darrington, fresh off of a 10-point, seven-rebound performance in her last game out, started the game hot, scoring six points in the first six minutes of the match.

Toledo hit a rough patch and struggled to make their shots, going scoreless for about four minutes midway through the quarter before finally making a shot with 1:28 left in the first.

With 47 seconds left in the quarter, Toledo senior forward Jessica Cook was fouled and made both of her free throws to tie the game at 13. Responding to the bucket, senior guard Lisa Tesson found freshman guard Jayda Mosley for a three-pointer to cap off the scoring and take a 16-13 lead.

Both teams continued to find offensive success to start the second. Toledo retook its lead at the 7:41 minute mark of the second quarter and then added to it with a couple of made baskets and free throws to take their largest lead of the day at 25-18.

With the Rocket lead trimmed to 11 with 4:22 left in the first half, Central Michigan needed to change the momentum. Both Morson and junior forward Demetria Prewitt shouldered the load for the Chippewas as both players hit baskets and free throws to bring their team back within two using a 12-3 run with 1:58 left in the half.

The Rockets responded with a 7-2 run of their own, capped off by a three pointer, to end the half with a seven-point lead, up 40-33 as the teams took a break for halftime.

With a quick pace, both teams ran the score up in the first half. The Chippewas, who scored only 47 points in their last game against Miami (OH), found offensive success in the first half from several players up and down the bench. Morson led the charge for Central Michigan, racking up nine points in the first half, followed by eight from Darrington and six from Prewitt.

The Chippewas struggled with fouls throughout the first half as the team committed 11.

“We just have to stop bailing them out,” Haynie said. “First of all, we got to play better one-on-one defense, that was a struggle for us today. And then when they get to the rim, just walling up and not fouling them. We have to do a better job of eliminating our fouls.”

Central Michigan came out of halftime and almost immediately knocked down two quick buckets to cut the Toledo lead down to just three only 40 seconds into the half.

Toledo stretched the lead back out to eight with less than half the third quarter left to play. Fouls continued to plague the Chippewas, and by the 4:18 mark of the third quarter, every Chippewa except for one had drawn at least one foul throughout the game.

The Chippewas were able to keep the game close as the third quarter ended, the Rockets on top 57-49.

Central Michigan found some momentum to start the fourth quarter and used an 11-2 run, starting back in the third, to claw the score back within two with 8:35 left in the game.

As the fourth quarter progressed, Toledo began to have trouble making a basket. With a little more than five minutes left in the game, Morson stepped up to the line and made both of her free throws to give the lead back to the Chippewas for the first time in the second half.

Toledo finally found a basket of its own after going 0-6 to start the fourth quarter to take the lead back for the Rockets. Central Michigan, however, retook the lead as Darrington hit a jumper for two with 4:11 left in the game.

As the game clock ticked down, Toledo grabbed control of the game and built a six-point lead using six points from graduate guard/forward Sammi Mikonowicz, forcing the Chippewas to take a timeout with 45 seconds left in the game.

Despite the effort from the Chippewas along with a late layup from Morson, they were not able to climb back into the game as time expired, letting the Rockets escape with the 71-66 victory.

The Chippewas will head on the road for their next matchup as they take on the Zips of Akron on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Ohio.