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WBB MAC Championship Game
Haley Boehm
The Toledo women's basketball team will be making its ninth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance on Saturday when it faces Iowa State in the first round.

Toledo Faces Iowa State in First Round of NCAA Tournament on Saturday

Tipoff set for approximately 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2

3/17/2023 12:54:00 PM

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Toledo women's basketball team faces Iowa State in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 18.

The No. 12 seed Rockets (28-4) will face No. 5 seed Iowa State (22-9) in the first round at Thompson-Boling Arena on the campus of the University of Tennessee. The game will tip off at approximately 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2, 30 minutes following the conclusion of the 1:00 p.m. game between No. 4 seed Tennessee and No. 13 seed Saint Louis. The winners of each game will face off on Monday in Knoxville in the second round.

The Rockets will bring a 28-4 overall record and a school record-tying 16-game winning streak into their first-round matchup vs. Iowa State. Toledo earned its spot in the NCAA Tournament after defeating Bowling Green, 73-58, in the MAC Tournament Championship Game last Saturday in Cleveland. UT opened the MAC Tournament with a 75-74 overtime win vs. Buffalo in the quarterfinals and defeated Kent State in the semifinals by a score of 65-58. Senior guard Quinesha Lockett was named MAC Tournament MVP after averaging a team-best 14.7 PPG. Junior forward Sammi Mikonowicz and sophomore forward Jessica Cook were also named to the MAC All-Tournament team.

2023 NCAA Tournament – First Round

No. 12 TOLEDO VS. No. 5 Iowa State
Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023
Tip-Off: 3:30 p.m. (approximately); 30 minutes following the conclusion of the 1:00 p.m. game of No. 4 Tennessee vs. No. 13 Saint Louis
Location: Knoxville, Tenn.
Arena: Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)
Television: ESPN2. Pam Ward will provide play-by-play for the broadcast with Stephanie White serving as analyst
Radio: The Voice of Toledo Women's Basketball Jim Heller will be on the call on WCWA (1230 AM) in Toledo

NCAA Tournament Central
Fans can visit utrockets.com/MarchMadness for information on tickets, watch parties, and more.

NCAA Tournament Tidbits

  • Toledo is making its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and the first since 2017.
  • UT holds a 3-8 record all-time in NCAA Tournament games. Its three wins have all come in first-round action:
    • 83-65 vs. No. 6 seed Rutgers on March 13, 1991 (First Round)
    • 74-64 vs. No. 10 seed Providence on March 18, 1992 (First Round)
    • 65-53 vs. No. 7 seed Ole Miss on March 16, 1996 (First Round)
  • Saturday's game vs. Iowa State will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Rockets have also never faced No. 13 seed Saint Louis and are 0-1 all-time vs. No. 4 seed Tennessee.

Familiar Faces

When Toledo faces Iowa State on Saturday it will be the first-ever matchup between the two schools, but that doesn't mean they don't have plenty of shared history.

The Cyclones are guided by a familiar face in former Rocket coach Bill Fennelly. A Varsity T Hall of Famer, Fennelly coached at Toledo from 1988-95 and led the program to three NCAA Tournament berths, including two trips to the second round. ISU assistant coach Jodi Steyer was an assistant under Fennelly for six seasons at UT, and Latoja (Harris) Schaben is one of the most decorated players in Rocket basketball history as well as a member of Toledo's Varsity T Hall of Fame.

Schaben earned MAC Player of the Year honors in 1992- 93, leading the league in scoring (21.1 PPG) and field-goal percentage (63.7 FG%) that year. Schaben's 62.3 career field-goal percentage is the highest in school history and she also ranks second all-time in rebounds per game (9.2)

2022-23 at a Glance
  • Toledo owns a 28-4 overall record coming into the NCAA Tournament.
  • UT's 28 wins are one off the school record of 29 wins set in 2012-13 and 2021-22.
  • Toledo's 28 wins this season coupled with 29 victories last year are the most wins in back-to-back years in program history (57). The previous school record was 54 after UT won 25 games in 2009-10 and 29 games in 2010-11. The MAC record for most combined wins in back-to-back seasons is 58 by Bowling Green (28 in 2005-06, 31 in 2006-07).
  • The Rockets are bringing a 16-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament, which is tied for the longest winning streak in program history with a 16-game streak by the 2000-01 team. That year, Toledo also carried its 16-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament.
  • Toledo's 16-game winning streak in the sixth-longest active streak in the country.
  • The Rockets were well-compensated via the MAC's Postseason Awards. Quinesha Lockett was named Player of the Year and First-Team All-MAC; head coach Tricia Cullop was named Coach of the Year; Sophia Wiard was named Third-Team All-MAC; and Khera Goss was named to the MAC All-Defensive Team.
  Rocket Notes
  • Toledo owns five wins vs. Top 100 NET programs: No. 26 Michigan, No. 73 Bowling Green (twice), and No. 76 Ball State (twice).
  • Over the last seven games, Sammi Mikonowicz is averaging 11.6 PPG and 11.4 RPG and has three double-doubles. Her highs during that stretch are 19 points vs. Bowling Green (March 1) and 16 rebounds vs. BGSU in the MAC Tournament Championship Game (March 11).
  • Quinesha Lockett enters Saturday's first round game with 1,949 career points, which ranks fourth all-time in school history. She is just four points away from passing Angela Drake (1993-97, 1,952 points) to move into third place all-time. Lockett has passed Rocket legends Naama Shafir (2008-13) and Dana Drew (1,919) over the last few games. Kim Knuth (1995-99) is Toledo's all-time leading scorer with 2,509 career points.
  • Lockett's 1,949 career points are the most among current MAC players. Lockett ranks No. 30 among active D1 players in career points and has played in 122 career games, fewer than 22 of the players ranked ahead of her. Lockett ranks 13th among active mid-major players in career points.
  • Sophia Wiard ranks eighth in the country and second in the MAC with a 2.60 assist/turnover ratio. Wiard has led Toledo in assists or shared the team lead in 21 of 32 games this season and led the MAC in assist/turnover ratio each of the last two seasons (2020-21 and 2021-22).
  • The Rockets are 21st in the country in assist-turnover ratio (1.22), and they also rank 18th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (12.5).
  • UT has committed 12 or fewer turnovers in 21 of its 32 games, including 10 of the last 14. Toledo has committed 10 or fewer turnovers in a game nine times.
 
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