Toledo women end season in winning fashion

Mar. 7—Just when they're getting hot, the season has ended for the University of Toledo women's basketball team.

The Rockets wrapped up the 2020-21 season with a 59-55 victory over Eastern Michigan on Saturday at Savage Arena, UT's third win in its final four games.

The Mid-American Conference postseason rules this season — only the top eight teams advance to the conference tournament in Cleveland — prevent Toledo from marching on.

"I felt like the last eight or nine games this team was playing some of its best basketball," UT coach Tricia Cullop said. "I was texting with Akron's coach and she and I both said how disappointing it was. She just beat Ohio. There have been a lot of upsets with the teams at the bottom part of the bracket. I hate it. I absolutely hate it."

In their first meeting with Eastern Michigan (10-9, 7-7), the Rockets lost a first-half lead in a game that was eminently winnable. It came at a critical juncture of the season and after EMU had a lengthy pause because of coronavirus difficulties, serving as a stinging defeat for Toledo.

A future without the MAC tournament didn't lessen the intensity for UT (12-12, 8-12) during the rematch. The Rockets were determined to end the season on a winning note, doing exactly that with an aggressive defense that forced 18 turnovers, contributing to more than 35 percent (21) of Toledo's points.

"It's a big deal, especially with Eastern being one of the better defensive teams in the MAC," said Rockets guard Sophia Wiard, who had 13 points, six assists, and two steals. "When we were able to get a lot of things in transition, it helped us out a lot offensively to get easy buckets."

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Quinesha Lockett had a game-high 22 points and averaged 19.6 points per game this season, the highest average for a Rocket in more than two decades.

Toledo started the game eight of 13 from the field but only shot 35 percent in the final 28 minutes, leaning on its defense and a little help from Eastern Michigan. The Eagles shot 41.4 percent, only made two 3s, and were seven of 12 from the free-throw line.

"We went into this game knowing that we didn't have anything past today to play for," Cullop said. "I think it showed the character of our kids that they came out and played their tails off anyway. I could not be more proud of how they represented the University of Toledo today and how hard they played all season. They're just great kids."

Toledo's 40 percent MAC win percentage is the second-worst in Cullop's 13 years, and it comes one season after No. 1 on the list. UT is 26-29 overall the past two seasons. (The Rockets advanced to the MAC tournament semifinals in 2020 before the event was canceled.)

"We should have started playing better basketball earlier in the season, and we'd be where we wanted to be," Wiard said. "We just need to get better individually first."

One major accomplishment for UT was avoiding outbreaks, just one of three MAC team that didn't have a game canceled.

"That's because our kids stayed very disciplined with what they were doing," Cullop said. "They didn't go to parties. They didn't go out and do things they weren't supposed to do. And I'm not insinuating other teams did that. All I'm saying is we did something right. Our kids were very smart and disciplined in their personal lives so we could be on the court playing."

Toledo grappled with youth and injuries throughout the season, with 90 percent of its production coming from freshmen and sophomores. The absence of 6-foot-4 freshman Caily Bolser, one of the top players in the state of Indiana, left a gaping hole on a roster desperate for height.

Help is on the way. Jessica Cook, a 6-foot-2 forward signee from Syracuse, N.Y., is averaging 27.4 points per game and, as Cullop said, "The wonderful thing is everyone can hang on to their programs because next year this team doesn't change."

The optimism flowing from Cullop is hard to ignore. This offseason will be perhaps the most important of her career as she attempts to return Toledo to a place it formerly resided as one of the top programs in the MAC.

"We've got to work on expanding our game. If you're a 3-point shooter, you can't just be a 3-point shooter when you come back. If you're a great defensive player but maybe your shot wasn't falling, you have to knock down your shot next year," Cullop said.

"We're going to go through every single kid on our roster and meet with them and devise a plan, and hit the ground running in two weeks because I want them to achieve their goals in the future. Not only getting back to the tournament but being a contender."

First Published March 6, 2021, 5:31pm