TOLEDO, Ohio (Interstat) — The Toledo Rockets used a dominant defensive performance and a breakout scoring night from Patricia Anumgba to cruise past the Northern Illinois Huskies 70-49 in a Mid-American Conference women’s basketball game Wednesday night at Savage Hall.

Anumgba, a sophomore guard from Silver Spring, Maryland, erupted for a game-high 24 points, surpassing her total from her previous three games combined. She spearheaded a Toledo defense that forced 21 Huskies turnovers, converting them into 28 points, while the Rockets committed only 10 turnovers themselves.

The game’s decisive stretch came early, as Toledo established control with its defensive pressure and never relented. After Northern Illinois’ Nevaeh Wingate hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 5-5 in the first quarter, the Rockets embarked on a 13-2 run over the next four and a half minutes. The Huskies struggled to find any offensive rhythm against Toledo’s active hands and disruptive schemes, managing just seven field goals in the entire first half.

Toledo led 18-12 after one quarter and extended its advantage to 35-22 by halftime. The Rockets shot 48.1% from the field in the first half while holding Northern Illinois to a frigid 28.6%. The Huskies’ offensive woes were encapsulated by their assist-to-turnover ratio; they finished the game with only four assists against those 21 giveaways.

Northern Illinois, which fell to 3-13 overall and 1-2 in the MAC, showed a brief spark to open the fourth quarter. Wingate, who led the Huskies with 15 points, scored five quick points to cut the Toledo lead to 47-42. But Anumgba answered immediately with a jumper, and after a Huskies turnover, she found Miriam Diala for a layup to push the lead back to nine. Anumgba then delivered the knockout blow, stealing the ball and converting a driving layup to make it 60-44 with 5:37 remaining, part of a personal 7-0 run that sealed the victory.

The Rockets, who improved to 8-7 overall and 2-1 in conference play, showcased balanced support behind Anumgba. Faith Fedd-Robinson added 11 points, four assists and was a central figure in the defensive effort with three of Toledo’s 13 steals. Diala chipped in eight points, while Ella Weaver and Evalyse Cole each scored six. The Rockets shared the ball effectively, tallying 13 assists on 27 made field goals.

For Northern Illinois, Wingate’s 15 points came on 6-of-15 shooting. Nadechka Laccen added nine points, and Teresa Mbemba contributed eight off the bench. The Huskies were hampered by poor efficiency, scoring just 49 points on 64 possessions for an offensive rating of 76.9. Toledo, by contrast, scored 70 points on the same number of possessions for a rating of 110.0.

The Rockets also controlled the glass, outrebounding Northern Illinois 32-24 and limiting the Huskies to just four second-chance points despite eight offensive rebounds.

A crowd of 3,471 at Savage Hall watched Toledo secure its second consecutive conference victory following a win over Western Michigan on Saturday. The Rockets will look to continue their momentum when they travel to face Eastern Michigan next Tuesday.

Northern Illinois, which has lost two of its last three, will try to regroup on the road at Ohio on Saturday.

The victory unfolded largely as expected according to advanced metrics, as Toledo entered the game with a 96.9% probability to win according to Interstat’s ELO system. The Rockets’ defensive intensity and Anumgba’s offensive explosion proved that projection accurate, handing the Huskies their seventh loss in the last nine games.