Yet, despite the effort, the fate was sealed. A last ditch attempt was no good, and CMU was sent to the locker room with another loss, the latest a 72-67 setback against Toledo on Wednesday in McGuirk Arena.

CMU (13-8, 11-6) was unable to overcome a slow start at home against Toledo (10-11, 6-11) and dropped its second game in a row

"Give Toledo credit, give them credit," coach Heather Oesterle said. "They played great. I'm questioning our fight with certain people. I really went after our senior class today."

Key moments

Toledo came out fast, scoring the game's first seven points. Sophomore guard Molly Davis got the Chippewas on the board with a 3-pointer and continued to keep the offense afloat while so many players were struggling. Davis scored eight consecutive points early in the second quarter with Toledo threatening to pull away.

The Rockets held the Chippewas scoreless for the final 3:22 of the first quarter, scoring on a buzzer beater from Halle Idowu to push their lead to 22-7 at the end of the first.

"We were turning it over unforced," Oesterle said of the first quarter struggles. "Those were not forced turnovers. For a while there we figured out the first quarter and it was the third quarter that was hurting us. It's like we haven't put four quarters together all year."

Davis went on her run but could get her team only as close as 11. A 3-pointer from junior guard Kalle Martinez cut Toledo's lead to eight, but the Rockets answered with a triple from Soleli Barnes to push the advantage back to double digits.

Senior guard Micaela Kelly started quietly, finishing with only six first half points. Her fast break layup with less than a minute left pushed her over the 2,000 point mark and cut Toledo's lead to 35-26 at the half.

CMU began to rally in the second half. Kelly scored seven points in the first five minutes of the quarter, pushing her into sole possession of second place all-time in scoring. The Chippewas trimmed the lead to just three with five minutes left in the third quarter.

The Rockets fought to stay in front, getting a 3-pointer from Mali Morgan-Elliot to retake the lead after the Chippewas tied the game briefly with a basket from senior forward Kyra Bussell. Davis converted a 3-point play with 7.5 seconds left in the third quarter to cut the Toledo lead to a single point, 51-50, heading into the fourth.

Redshirt sophomore Anika Weekes tied the game at 53 with a 3-point play nearly a minute into the final stanza, and Kelly followed a Toledo bucket with a 3-pointer to take the lead. The Rockets regained the lead with a 8-0 run, which Davis stopped with a floater.

"Our defense, I know it's almost March, but we've got to figure this out," Oesterle said. "There's times where teams are just isolating certain people. ... Maybe we just play more zone (defense)."

Toledo pushed its lead to six, but Davis hit a 3-pointer to cut it down to three with 1:29 to play. Quinesha Lockett scored a layup to make the advantage five. Senior guard Maddy Watters hit a deep triple with the Chippewas down six, but CMU was unable to get any closer.

Key stats

CMU out rebounded Toledo 41-32, holding a 13-7 advantage on the offensive boards. Toledo committed just 10 turnovers to the Chippewas' 16.

CMU shot 39 percent (24-61) from the field and 32 percent (10-31) from beyond the arc. Toledo shot 43 percent (24-56) from the field and 39 percent (7-18) from beyond the arc.

Impact players

Kelly and Davis had 21 to lead the Chippewas in scoring. Junior center Jahari Smith grabbed 14 rebounds, a career-high. Watters contributed nine points while Weekes added seven. Kelly led the team with six assists.

Sammi Mikonowicz and Sophia Wiard each had 15 points to lead Toledo in scoring. Lockett had 12. Morgan-Elliot led the team with seven boards while Wiard had four assists.

Up next

The Chippewas go on the road to play at 6:30 p.m. Saturday night at Eastern Michigan.

Standings

All standings at time of publication

TEAM MAC OVERALL

Bowling Green 12-3 16-4

Ohio 10-5 12-6

Kent State 8-4 9-6

Buffalo 9-5. 12-7

Northern Illinois 9-5 11-8

Central Michigan 11-6 13-8

Ball State 9-7 11-9