TOLEDO, Ohio – For the 16th time in program history, the Toledo women's basketball team will play for the MAC Tournament title, taking on Ball State on Saturday, March 15 at Rocket Arena. Tipoff is set for 11:00 a.m. on CBS Sports Network, with radio broadcasts on WCWA 1230 AM and The Varsity Network app.
 
The No. 2 seed Rockets (24-7) will attempt to secure their second tournament crown in three seasons while the No. 1 seed Cardinals (26-7) will play for their first title since 2009.
 
Toledo enters the contest winners of 12 of its last 14 games. Toledo defeated No. 7 seed Central Michigan, 76-58 in the quarterfinals, before defeating Buffalo, 56-49 in Friday's semifinals, coming back from halftime deficits in both games. Both Nan Garcia and Sammi Mikonowicz secured double-doubles against the Bulls, with Garcia scoring 13 points and grabbing a career-high with 15 rebounds.
 
The Cardinals advanced to the championship game with blowout victories over Western Michigan, 82-53 and Kent State, 70-53. Lachelle Austin scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting against the Golden Flashes.
 
Toledo leads the all-time series, 63-32 and is 6-1 all-time against Ball State in the MAC Tournament. The two teams split the regular-season series, with home victories in both matchups.
 
No. 2 Toledo (24-7, 13-5 MAC) vs. No. 1 Ball State (26-7, 16-2 MAC)
Saturday, March 15 | 11:00 a.m. ET | Cleveland, Ohio/Rocket Arena | Live Stats | Tickets
 
WATCH: CBS Sports Network (Fran Charles and Missy Heidrick; Hailey Sutton)
LISTEN: The Varsity Network/WCWA 1230 AM (Jim Heller)
 
All-Time: Toledo, 63-32
Last Meeting: Toledo 70, Ball State 66 – Feb. 19, 2025, Toledo, Ohio
 
Seniors Step Up Against Buffalo

• Toledo received significant contributions from its seniors and graduate students against Buffalo, including 44 points and 36 rebounds.
• Nan Garcia (13 PTS/15 REB) and Sammi Mikonowicz (13 PTS/11 REB) each had double-doubles, the first time two Rockets had double-doubles in the same game this season.
• Mikonowicz recorded her 18th double-double of her career and Garcia claimed her third.
• Defensively, Khera Goss primarily guarded two-time MAC leading scorer Chellia Watson, holding Watson to just 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting.
• Jessica Cook scored eight points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, with consecutive baskets in the fourth quarter which gave Toledo the lead for good.

Rockets in the MAC Tournament

• Toledo looks to win its 10th MAC Tournament title and second in three years on Saturday.
• The Rockets will play for the 16th time in the MAC Tournament finals.
• UT is a top-two seed for the fourth-consecutive season after being the No. 1 seed each of the last three years.
• Toledo's senior class of Jessica Cook, Nan Garcia, Khera Goss, Sammi Mikonowicz and Hannah Noveroske holds a 7-2 record in MAC Tournament games.

Rebounding Rockets

• The Rockets out-rebounded Buffalo, 45-28 in the semifinal win against the Bulls.
• Toledo ranked 28th in the country with a +6.8 rebounding margin entering Friday.
• The Rockets have out-rebounded 22 of their last 25 opponents dating back to Dec. 6.
• Mikonowicz entered the tournament eighth in the league with a 6.3 rebounding average.

Of Note

• Toledo is 11-6 away from Savage Arena and 4-1 in neutral-site contests this season.
• Sammi Mikonowicz is fifth in the MAC with a 52.0% shooting percentage while Khera Goss is eighth at a 49.4% clip.
• Goss is also fifth with a 40.7% three-point percentage while Kendall Carruthers is 12th at 37.0%.
• Mikonowicz is seventh in free throw percentage at 82.3% while Carruthers is eighth at 82.1%.
• As a team, Toledo's field goal percentage of 45.1% is third in the MAC and Toledo entered Friday 37th in the country. Toledo has shot at least 50% in nine games this season. The Rockets shot 45.8% (22-of-48) in the Feb. 19 victory against Ball State.
• Head Coach Ginny Boggess is 6-2 all-time in conference tournament games between the MAAC (0-1), CAA (4-1) and MAC (2-0). She is coaching in her fourth conference tournament and second conference championship game of her career.