TOLEDO, Ohio — Seven months after compiling one of the best seasons in Toledo women's basketball history, the Rockets have all the makings to build off that history.
Last year, head coach Tricia Cullop and her team not only won the Mid-American Conference tournament championship for the first time since 2017, but then traveled to Knoxville, Tennessee and upset No. 5 seed Iowa State, 80-73, to snap a 27-year NCAA tournament victory drought.
With a little over a week before a new season tips off, this group is eager to begin another run.
"We can't wait to get started," Cullop said. "The way last season ended just made us hungrier for more."
Hard to imagine that UT could be better than they were in 2022-23, but that's not out of the realm of possibilities.
"To not only have our starting five back, but also have some crucial kids coming off the bench and add Hannah (Noveroske) to that," Cullop said. "We've got a good seven or eight that we know what they're going to do."
6-foot-5 senior Hannah Noveroske returns to the rotation after missing all of last season with a knee injury. Her size coupled with the addition of Rhode Island transfer Emmi Rinat, along with four freshmen, will help build depth to a team that is as experienced as they come.
"We have some new freshmen obviously, we have a transfer. It's just a matter of making them fit into the way we play," senior Sammi Mikonowicz said. "We have our people, we know that but we need more people."
The Rossford High School graduate is among a unit that not only brings back all five starters, but three all-conference selections including MAC Player of the Year Quinesha Lockett.
"A lot of eyes are going to be on me and I just have to be ready for that," Lockett said. "Knowing what I have to do for my team which is score, get stops and do everything that I've been doing just more."
Leading the team with 17.9 points per game last year played a big factor in Toledo's tournament run.
Scheduling also helped, something Coach Cullop made sure rang true again in 2023-24.
"It's extremely important. Right out of the gate to play a team like JMU on the road is not an easy game," Cullop said. "We're going to be tested from the get-go. We're also thrilled to have Cincinnati and Michigan coming to Savage Arena, you don't get those opportunities often."
In total, the Rockets will face off against four teams who were in the 2023 NCAA Tournament:
- Nov. 8 @ James Madison (season opener)
- Nov. 12 @ Gonzaga
- Dec. 6 vs. Michigan
- Dec. 20 @ Duke
Toledo will also be seen on national TV on Dec. 6 as well as Jan. 21 when they travel to Ball State. Those games will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
"We're extremely grateful to the MAC office and stepping up to support women's basketball," Cullop said. "We hope that this is just the beginning."
Of course, experiencing some of that spotlight already last year further excites the team moving forward despite the increase in challenge.
"We know what it takes to get there, but we also know that everybody is out to get us," Mikonowicz said. "So we're going to have to work harder than we did last year."
If there is an improvement to be made this season, it would be on defense. Toledo led the conference in field goal percentage allowed (39.3%), thanks in part to Justina King and Jayda Jansen who both graduated.
"The focus this summer was we need to get better on defense because we just lost two great defensive players to graduation," Cullop said. "Not often do you say two kids who came off the bench for us signed pro contracts, but that's how good our bench was."
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