Toledo women’s basketball (15-14, 9-9) upset the No. 3-seeded UMass Minutewomen (23-7, 15-3) in their inaugural Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament appearance, winning 67-56.

While four Rockets recorded double figures, arguably the biggest reason for Toledo’s victory over UMass was down to one key element.

Rebounding. 

The Rockets out-rebounded UMass 46 to 31 on the night, which ultimately was a big decider in the game, according to Toledo head coach Ginney Boggess.

“I knew we were gonna have to rebound, I didn’t think that if we let them get home from three and start that momentum that we would be able to keep up with,” said Boggess. [UMass] is a really great team, a well-coached team. I think rebounding was the difference tonight for sure.

UMass was out-rebounded in every single quarter by Toledo. 11-9 in the first, 12-8 in the second, 12-9 through the third, and 11-5 during the fourth. The Rockets grabbed at least 10 boards in every quarter of the game.

Toledo’s Patricia Anumgba recorded a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, which was the most on the team. But Boggess spotlighted a couple of other Rockets that made the difference. 

“I thought we rebounded the ball really well…and for example, I told [Evalyse] Cole, I said, ‘you’ve barely practiced.’ She’s coming back to return to play…she hasn’t played basketball in three weeks, and I was like, ‘just go get a couple of rebounds. That’ll help us win the game.” Ella Weaver, shooters are a tender bunch. We get shot sensitive, and I said, ‘Just focus on rebounding.’

Cole and Weaver combined for five rebounds, which may not have lit up the stat sheet, but ultimately was a factor in the Rockets’ upsetting the Minutewomen.

Toledo will go on to face No. 2 seed Ball State in the semi-finals of the MAC Tournament on Friday, March 13. Falcon Media Sports Network will have the call of the game on Falcon Radio, along with complete coverage of the tournament from Rocket Arena in Cleveland.