The Toledo women’s basketball team captured its third consecutive outright Mid-American Conference Championship with an 83-61 victory over Kent State before a joyous crowd of 6,238 at Savage Arena on Saturday.
Toledo (25-4, 17-1 MAC) entered the game having already clinched a share of the MAC crown but needed a win to earn the No. 1 seed in this week’s MAC Tournament in Cleveland. The Rockets will play No. 8 seed Western Michigan at 11 a.m. on Wednesday in quarterfinal action at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland. Toledo won the 2023 MAC tourney and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, defeating Big 12 Tournament champion Iowa State in the first round.
The Toledo women’s basketball team captured their third consecutive outright Mid-American Conference Championship with an 83-61 victory over Kent State before a joyous crowd of 6,238 at Savage Arena on Saturday.
For more information or to purchase MAC Tournament tickets, visit utrockets.com/mactournament.
On Senior Day in Savage Arena, Toledo’s senior backcourt duo of Quinesha Lockett and Sophia Wiard combined for 46 points to lead the Rockets, much to the delight of the adoring fans who came to bid farewell to them and fellow seniors Soleil Barnes and Yaniah Curry. Wiard sank 8-of-11 shots, including a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range, to put up 25 points along with six rebounds and five assists. Lockett scored 21 points on 7-of-13 attempts.
“Our seniors are special,” said Head Coach Tricia Cullop, who won her 350th career game at Toledo. “They’ve raised the bar. Three straight championships has never been done here before in women’s basketball. More importantly, they’ve shown everybody how to do it with class. They’re just incredible people and wonderful leaders. They’re going to go on and do amazing things when they’re done here. I’m just glad they’re not done yet.”
Kent State led after one quarter, 23-16, but Toledo dominated the rest of the way. A 25-15 third quarter for the Rockets put the game on ice.
The win was the 13th in a row for Toledo and raised its record in Savage Arena to 41-4 over the past three seasons. The crowd of 6,238 was the fourth-largest in school history and second-largest for a regular-season game, trailing only the 7,082 that showed up in Toledo’s 69-46 win over Michigan on Dec. 6 of this season. The all-time record is 7,301 vs. USC in the championship finals of the 2011 WNIT.
“There’s not a better place to coach and play in this league than Toledo because of our amazing fans,” Cullop said. “They make this an unbelievably tough place to get a win for our opponents and an unbelievable place for us to enjoy as the home team.”
