TOLEDO, OH - Toledo dropped a 73-64 decision to Big Ten foe Northwestern in Friday's season opener before 2,349 fans at Savage Arena. The season-opening setback was only the Rockets' third in the last 10 seasons.

"We played a team that might not be picked to finish in the upper half of the Big Ten, but there is no doubt in my mind they will finish in the top half of their conference," Toledo Head Coach Tricia Cullop said. "Northwestern is a very talented team and they will surprise a lot of people."

Senior Tanika Mays paced the Midnight Blue and Gold with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the 12th career double-double, while sophomore Courtney Ingersoll added 11 points and six caroms off the bench.

UT shot 38.2 percent (26-of-68) from the field, including 32.0 percent (8-of-25) from three-point range, and 50.0 percent (4-of-8) from the charity stripe.

The difference in tonight's game was the Wildcats ability to convert at the free-throw line and translate UT's miscues in points. NU finished with a commanding 27-4 advantage at the free-throw line and a 23-14 edge in points off turnovers. Amy Jaeschke paced the visitors with a game-high 27 points, eight boards, four blocked shots and four steals. Brittany Orban and Kendall Hackney also finished in double digits with 13 points each. Northwestern shot 43.1 percent (22-of-51) from the floor and 81.8 percent (27-of-33) from the charity stripe.

"Amy is very skilled," Cullop said. "She has good size and possesses great hands."

The Rockets struggled out of the gates and misfired on eight of their first 11 shots to dig themselves a 15-7 deficit at the 12:02 mark.

Northwestern did not fare much better knocking down shots at the outset, but a mini 9-0 run capped by a trey from Kristin Cartwright helped the visitors establish the early eight-point cushion.

The Wildcats extended their lead as the opening half wore on with the aid of a 12-2 run, spearheaded by four baskets in the paint, to make the score 27-13 at 5:50. The Rockets just could not buy a basket and went over five minutes with a point as the visitors made it a double-digit contest.

"We let Northwestern get out an early lead and it seemed like the whole game we had to play catch-up," Mays said. "I thought we had some good looks at the basket in the first half, but we just couldn't get anything to fall."

UT would not get closer than nine points for the remainder of the half and trailed 34-23 at the intermission. Toledo shot 30.3 percent (10-of-33) from the field in the first half with 11 turnovers, compared to Northwestern at 48.0 percent (12-of-25) with 11 miscues. The glaring stat of the opening period was the visitors held an 8-0 advantage at the charity stripe and a 14-4 bulge on points off turnovers.

Northwestern opened the second half with sixth straight points to further increase its margin, before a pair of triples by UT sophomores Clare Aubry and Ingersoll made the score 40-31 with 16:51 left in regulation. Unfortunately, the Wildcats responded with a 10-0 burst to establish a 19-point lead, 50-31, at 13:21.

Toledo would not go quiet, though, utilizing five-consecutive points from Ingersoll to trim the margin to 63-52 at 4:23, forcing a timeout. The Rockets forced a stop on NU's ensuing possession, before a layup by freshman Yolanda Richardson cut the deficit under double digits at the 3:36 mark. Richardson finished her collegiate debut with eight points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.

"I came in off the bench and did what I needed to do to help the team as a role player," said Ingersoll, who scored double figures for the fifth time in her UT career. "I wanted to come in and be that spark and hit a couple of shots to get us going."

UT came up big on the defensive end on the Wildcats' next trip down the floor as well and translated that into a three-point by sophomore Naama Shafir to send the UT crowd into a frenzy, 63-57, at the 3:03 mark. Shafir had eight points and a game-high eight assists in 32 minutes.

"We knew we had to keep fighting in the second half, because it wasn't an insurmountable deficit," Mays said.

Much to the dismay of the Rockets' faithful in attendance, though, Northwestern drew fouls on its next two possessions and Orban and Hackney each drained a pair of charity tosses to re-establish a 10-point lead, 67-57, at 2:28. The Wildcats would then seal the win converting six more free throws in the final two minutes.

"One area that I am excited about with this team, despite tonight's loss, is we scheduled tougher (this season) for a reason and that was to improve," Cullop said. "We didn't schedule so we could pad our wins and feel all happy about ourselves and not be prepared for MAC play. I don't want to take a negative out of tonight's game but a positive. I saw nothing but positive growth tonight as we move forward."

The Rockets look to bounce back and earn their first win of the season on Sunday, Nov. 15 when they host Horizon League member Cleveland State. The opening whistle is slated for 2:00 p.m. at Savage Arena.