Toledo (17-14, 9-9) pulled off the biggest upset of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Women’s Basketball Tournament Friday, defeating Ball State (26-7, 16-2) 69-65 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, avenging their loss to the Cardinals in the championship game last season and advancing to the championship game for the third time in the past four seasons.
“This was a rock fight. Sometimes you come up here and you’re the hammer, sometimes you’re the nail,” Ball State head coach Brady Sallee said. “We knew we were good enough, and we are good enough, to be the last team standing up here.”
The Rockets erased an 11-point deficit in the first half, outscoring Ball State 59-46 over the final three quarters.
“I think we just really wanted it for each other,” Toledo junior guard Ella Weaver said. “I think our grit and tenacity, we just value every possession.”
Ball State senior guard Bree Salenbien and Toledo graduate student guard Patricia Anumgba put on one of the best shootouts in this year’s tournament.
Salenbien scored a career-high 34 points, shooting 13-for-20 from the field and 4-of-7 on 3-pointers. She also added five rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“This one (Salenbien) was unbelievable today; we rode her,” Sallee said.
Anumgba tallied a season-high 29 points, nine rebounds, two assists and three steals, shooting 11-for-22 from the floor and 3-of-6 from deep.
“Game changer,” Toledo head coach Ginny Boggess said about Anumga. “We needed her to be a willing and able scorer.”
Toledo pulled off the victory short-handed, missing sophomore guards Faith Fedd-Robinson—who was in surgery during the game—junior guard Alexa Hocevar and sophomore guard Destiny Robinson due to injury.
Despite the adversity, the Rockets outrebounded Toledo 40 to 37, outscoring the Cardinals 36 to 24 in the paint.
“I can’t believe we outrebounded them, and it was a group effort by committee. I think that was probably the difference for us today,” Boggess said. “Rebounding wins championships.”
Ball State struggled with foul trouble, committing 23 personal fouls compared to Toledo’s 15. The Rockets shot 17-for-24 from the charity stripe, while the Cardinals only attempted seven free throws, making six.
“Foul trouble didn’t help, that’s for sure,” Sallee said. “I’m not complaining about the official because I though they were tremendous, and are tremendous.”
BSU’s Salenbien, senior center Tessa Towers and freshman guard Aniss Tagayi all ended the game with four fouls.
“The crew we had, I’d take them in every game for the rest of my career,” Sallee said.
Ball State exploded in the second half of the first quarter, blazing on a 13-2 run over three minutes to jump ahead 17-6, closing the first 10 minutes with a 19-10 lead.
“I thought today Ball State was the tougher team for the first four or six minutes,” Boggess said.
However, Toledo responded in a major way, going on an 11-0 run over the last five minutes and 13-3 run over the final seven, taking a 30-29 lead into halftime.
“I think our respoonse to that first hit was the biggest thing. We could have folded,” Boggess said. “We looked winded. We kind of looked on our heels. That’s when you got to really take a gut check and look in the mirror.”
The Rockets carried over the momentum out the locker room, flying on a 10-0 run to take a 42-35 lead halfway through the third quarter, entering the final 10 minutes ahead by three points, 52-49.
Although Ball State battled the entire fourth quarter, senior center Towers and Tagayi missed five straight game-tying shots over the final three minutes.
“We missed some layups we usually don’t. Sometimes that’s what this time of year does to you a little bit,” Sallee said.
Towers struggled, scoring just four points on 2-for-13 shooting.
“Tessa is the reason that we have 26 wins and we expected to come up here and win it. So, you know, Tessa’s been great all year. She’s had a heck of a year, and we’re so proud of her and certainly thrilled with who she is, where she is and what she’s done,” Sallee said. “18 to-20-year-olds are allowed to not be great all the time.”
After a series of back-and-forth possessions, Anumgba made two free throws, sealing the four-point win for the Rockets.
“I felt like I was going to knock down these shots and go to the championship,” Anumgba said on the pressure of the situation.
Toledo, the sixth seed, will face Miami (OH), the top seed, in the conference championship game Saturday at 11 a.m. Falcon Media Sports Network’s Lucas Kleimeyer, Adam Duffin and Trey Kennedy will have the radio broadcast on Falcon Radio, streaming on bgfalconmedia.com.
“Job’s not finished,” Boggess said.
