TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo women's basketball team will open a new chapter in its history when the Rockets tip off their season against Marshall on Monday, Nov. 4 at Savage Arena. The matchup with the Thundering Herd will begin at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+.
 
The Rockets will play their first game under Head Coach Ginny Boggess, who was hired as the 10th Head Coach in program history on April 9, 2024. Boggess will embark in her fourth year as a Division I head coach, having gone 54-42 in three seasons at Monmouth, which included winning the 2023 CAA Tournament title and a 20-win turnaround overall.
 
Toledo is coming off a 28-6 record in 2023-24, just one win short of the program record for wins in a season. The Rockets clinched their third-straight MAC regular-season championship with a 17-1 conference record and reached the third round of the WBIT in the postseason.
 
UT returns three starters from last year's roster in Nan Garcia, Khera Goss and Sammi Mikonowicz, along with reserves Jessica Cook, Cadence Dykstra, Hannah Noveroske, Emmi Rinat and Ella Weaver. Toledo brings in six freshmen in Kendall Braden, Evalyse Cole, Faith Fedd-Robinson, Destiny Robinson, Courtney Smith and Heidi Smith, along with transfer Kendall Carruthers.
 
Toledo (0-0, 0-0 MAC) vs. Marshall (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt)
 
Monday, Nov. 4 | 7:00 p.m. | Toledo, Ohio - Savage Arena | Live Stats | Tickets
 
WATCH: ESPN+ (Mason Lowry and Rhett Boyd)
LISTEN: The Varsity Network/WCWA 1230 AM (Jim Heller)
 
All-Time: Toledo, 4-3
Last Matchup: Marshall 68, Toledo 56 – March 9, 2005, Cleveland, Ohio
 
Opening Tips

• Toledo gets set for its first home game since March 24, 2024, when it hosted St. John's in the WBIT second round.
• Marshall is the defending SBC regular-season and tournament champions, and is led by Head Coach Juli Fulks, who enters her first year guiding the Thundering Herd.
• The Rockets wrapped up its preseason with an 87-54 exhibition victory against Findlay at Savage Arena on Oct. 27.
• Toledo was picked fifth in the Mid-American Conference preseason poll on Oct. 22 and received a vote as conference tournament champion.
• Monday will be Toledo's first of three non-conference games against teams which reached the NCAA Tournament last season. The Rockets will later take on Iowa (Nov. 13) and Maryland (Dec. 1) in its non-conference schedule.

Rockets in the MAC-SBC Challenge

• The Rockets and Thundering Herd will play in the first round of the MAC-SBC Challenge, which enters its second season. Toledo went 2-0 in MAC-SBC games last season.
• Toledo started off the challenge with a 21-point comeback at James Madison in a 60-49 victory on Nov. 8, 2023, marking its largest come-from-behind victory since the 2001 MAC Championship Game.
• The Rockets then defeated ULM 72-57 in Savage Arena on Feb. 10 to complete the sweep in the challenge.
• Toledo will play twice more against the Sun Belt this season, facing Troy on Dec. 18 in the Cherokee Invitational and on the road against an SBC opponent to be determined on Feb. 8.
• Each of the 12 MAC women's programs will host 12 Sun Belt schools on Monday, while the 12 MAC schools will visit 12 Sun Belt schools on the men's side.

Defending Home Court

• Toledo enters the season on a 15-game home winning streak, having not lost a home game since Nov. 19, 2023.
• The Rockets hold a 43-4 mark in Savage Arena over the last three seasons and a 440-145 (.752) all-time record in the venue
• Toledo has also led the MAC in home attendance for 33 straight seasons. The Rockets were 33^rd in the country last year with an average of 4,351 fans, and marked three of its six biggest home crowds at Savage Arena last year.

Preseason Accolades

• Sammi Mikonowicz was named among 10 student-athletes to the Mid-American Conference Preseason All-MAC teams with a second-team selection.
• A third-team all-conference pick a season ago, Mikonowicz averaged 9.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists, shooting 45.0% from the field and 78.1% from the free-throw line.
• The Rossford, Ohio native has played and started all of Toledo's 127 games since the 2020-21 season.