TOLEDO, Ohio - Just when it looked as if the Toledo Women's Basketball team had turned the corner on its 2019-20 season, fate intervened.

The Rockets seemed on the verge of a memorable finish at the 2020 MAC Tournament after knocking off No. 8 seed Akron on the road and shocking No. 1 seed Central Michigan in the tourney quarterfinals at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. However, Toledo's 'Cinderella Story' came to an end the next day when the tournament was canceled due to concerns about the Coronavirus. As a result of this cancelation, the Rockets were denied a chance to secure their ninth MAC Championship in program history.
 
"It's unfortunate the season was cut short, as I loved the momentum we had built into the semifinals," Cullop said.  

For the season, Toledo posted a 14-17 overall record and a 7-11 ledger in Mid-American Conference play, good for a fifth-place tie in the MAC West Division standings. A young squad that welcomed six newcomers to their roster, Toledo began the year competing against one of the toughest non-conference schedules in recent memory.
 
"We played a difficult non-conference schedule with an inexperienced team," said 12^th-year Head Coach Tricia Cullop. "We beat some strong programs like Pacific and Belmont and lost some close games against Duquesne and Notre Dame. We were always competitive and our schedule had us prepared for the MAC." 

The Midnight Blue & Gold strung together a season-high four-consecutive wins at the outset of MAC play, but a rash of injuries in February put the Rockets in a tough spot.

"We lost Arianne Whitaker and Soliel Barnes for the season due to injuries and Nakiah Black, our best perimeter scorer, hurt her shoulder all in one week," Cullop said. "Despite playing short-handed, our team stayed the course and displayed great perseverance.

"Our captains did a great job of keeping us focused, and we played our best at the end. We knocked off top seed CMU twice in one week and Akron on the road."

Key factors in Toledo's late-season success were the play of Black, junior Tanaya Beacham, senior Sara Rokkanen and senior Mariella Santucci. Black averaged a team-high 15.0 points during the MAC Tournament, followed closely by Beacham and Rokkanen at 14.5 and 12.0 ppg, respectively. Santucci also tallied 15 assists and had only one turnover through the first two rounds of the MAC tourney.

"We also had a lot of players step up to fill the void of what we lost to injury down the stretch, said Cullop. "Tanaya averaged a double-double during that time, Mariella put her teammates in great positions to score, Sara finished the season playing her best while hitting some key shots in each of the tournament games and Nakiah's shoulder finally was able to heal and it showed as she hit key three point baskets at clutch moments."

For the year, the Midnight Blue & Gold was fueled offensively by Black, Santucci, Beacham and freshman Quinesha Lockett, who averaged 12.0, 10.9, 10.8 and 9.3 ppg, respectively. This group accounted for 64.8 percent (1,322-of-2,071) of the team's scoring.

Santucci graduated as the only player in program history to tally at least 1,000 points, 600 assists, 500 rebounds and 200 steals in a career. For the year, the 2019-20 team captain led the MAC and finished tied for 25^th nationally in helpers (160) and ranked second in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.70, 160-94). "Mariella is one of the best passers to ever come through our program," Cullop said.

In addition, Beacham concluded the year 10^th in school history in overall field-goal percentage (.583, 144-of-247), while Black was 10^th in three-point field-goal attempts (190) in a season. A 2019-20 team captain, Beacham was as dominant as any player in the MAC down the stretch, contributing a team-high 15.6 ppg over the final nine games.

As a team, the Rockets tallied 66.8 points over the course of 31 games, shooting 41.2 percent (742-of-1,799) from the field, including 30.4 percent (206-of-678) from three-point range, and 69.9 percent (381-of-545) from the charity stripe. Toledo finished third in the MAC in overall field-goal percentage and fourth in assists (13.94 apg) and rebounding margin (+1.16, 36.35-35.19).

Toledo also led the MAC in attendance for an unprecedented 30th-consecutive season and ranked No. 26 in the NCAA, averaging a league-high 3,844 fans per home game. The Rockets have now ranked in the Top 30 nationally in home attendance in eight of the last nine years.

With the completion of the season, Toledo bode farewell to Black, Rokkanen, Santucci and Whitaker. The Rockets' quartet were a part of 78 overall victories over the last four seasons, including 38 league wins. They played a significant role in helping Toledo secure three post-season berths during this time, including a 2017 MAC Championship.

"I felt so bad for our seniors when the season was cut short, but I couldn't be prouder of them," Cullop said. "They worked extremely hard all season long and did a fantastic job leading our team. All four are wonderful people, talented players and strong students. I have no doubt they will be successful long after graduation."