University of Toledo seniors Kaayla McIntyre, Mikaela Boyd, and Sarah St-Fort are three key pieces remaining from the team’s trip to the NCAA tournament two seasons ago.
In their final go-round at Toledo, the senior trio is hoping their leadership and veteran know-how can vault the Rockets to another Mid-American Conference title and a trip back to the national tourney.
“They were a big part of that,” UT coach Tricia Cullop said. “They played a lot of minutes during that run. Sometimes when you’ve gotten over the hurdle and you’ve done something, it’s not as steep of a mountain to want to get back and you understand what it takes.
“It’s always hard. It’s never easy to win the tournament and advance to the NCAA tournament. But at least you have some kids that can say, ‘I’ve been there. Here’s what it takes and here’s how we do it.’”
The Rockets were picked to finish in second place in the MAC West Division behind Central Michigan in the preseason coaches poll.
WATCH: UT’s Kaayla McIntyre talks about upcoming Rockets season
With fairly lofty expectations, Boyd said the team does not shy away from talking about its NCAA tournament experience and what it might take to get back.
“Knowing what it took to get to there, we know we have to push our teammates that haven’t been there even harder to reach the standards that we know it takes to get there,” Boyd said.
A college basketball season is a long grind and things have to break right along the way. But St-Fort said if the Rockets place a heavy emphasis on the day-to-day details, a return trip to the tournament could be the result.
“Every day we try to put ourselves in a place where we can go back to it,” St-Fort said. “We know what to expect and we try to share that with the young people so they know what to expect and we will maybe be able to go back there.”
McIntyre is one of the top returning players in the conference and was selected to the preseason All-MAC West team by the conference’s coaches. The Notre Dame Academy graduate led Toledo in scoring last season at 16.0 points per game and topped the conference in field-goal percentage at a 63.2 percent.
Boyd is coming off of two consecutive third-team All-MAC seasons and was third on the team at 12.1 points behind McIntyre and graduated senior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott. Boyd stands out in her ability to rebound from the guard position and she ranked sixth in the MAC last season in that statistic at 8.0 per game.
St-Fort is known for doing all the little things for the Rockets, and Cullop said her energy is electric and inspires her teammates. Cullop said St-Fort has been working hard to improve her shot. Last season, she averaged 2.6 points and 3.1 rebounds..
The trio has developed a close bond in their time as teammates, and the Rockets are looking for one more chance to return to previous glory.
“Mikaela Boyd, Sarah St-Fort, and I, we’ve definitely grown together,” McIntyre said. “We’ve been here the longest together. Just having those two alongside me to go through this last year with is a great chance for me to grow as a player and a leader. I think we all complement each other very well. What one of us lacks, the other one picks up in.”
The Rockets finished in fourth place in a competitive MAC West in 2017-18 with a conference record of 8-10 and an overall mark of 18-15. Toledo qualified for the WNIT and bowed out in the second round with a close loss at Michigan State.
Two seasons ago, after winning the MAC tournament, the Rockets were blown out in the first round of the NCAAs by Creighton.
Cullop thinks the next step is not only making the NCAA tournament but winning some games. Last season, MAC foes Central Michigan and Buffalo provided a blueprint for that as both advanced to the Sweet 16 in one of the best years ever for the conference.
“We had two teams in our league last year make a statement,” Cullop said. “We’d like to be one of those teams. Now that those teams have a taste of what this is about, we are all going to fight that much harder because we all want it. I think it will be an exciting season.”
First Published November 4, 2018, 6:00 p.m.
