During her career with the University of Toledo, senior guard Mikaela Boyd has proven she can be a consistent scorer.
She had a career-high 27 points in the biggest game of her career — the Mid-American Conference tournament championship game her sophomore season, when the Rockets defeated Northern Illinois.
She recently reached the 1,000-point milestone in her career, just the 29th player in program history to do so.
“It was a really cool milestone to reach,” Boyd said. “I definitely wouldn’t have made it without my teammates. To be among those people who have made it in the past is really a great honor.”
But what has made Boyd such a valuable player in her Rockets career is her ability to do a bit of everything on the court and to impact the game when she might not be scoring.
“Being able to do multiple things has definitely helped me greatly here, especially when scoring isn’t coming easy to me,” Boyd said. “I know I can affect the game in other ways. I can bring more for my teammates even if I’m not scoring.”
Toledo coach Tricia Cullop raves about Boyd’s rebounding skills for a guard, her passing ability, and her defensive pressure on the ball.
Cullop also can rattle off the ways Boyd impacts the game that might not stand out to the casual observer — getting in passing lanes on defense, stopping the ball in transition, pushing the ball up-court on offense, and using ball screens to her advantage to name a few.
“She’s worked extremely hard, and she’s a very unselfish player,” Cullop said. “She didn’t come here set out to score 1,000 points. She came here just to help us win, and that’s just a byproduct. The one thing I always appreciate about her is that she gives us everything she has.
She does all the little things that don’t show up in the stat sheet and she’s a big part of everything we do. She’s a great rebounding guard. She’s not afraid to make the extra pass in transition. If she gets loose, she’s quick and she hustles on defense.”
In the past two seasons, Boyd earned third-team All-MAC honors. She averaged 12.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore, and 12.1 points and 8.0 rebounds as a junior.
With some added offensive firepower this season from Kaayla McIntyre, Mariella Santucci, and Nakiah Black, Boyd has seen her scoring go down to 8.9 points, but she is second on the team in rebounding (5.4), assists (3.9), and steals (1.1).
Cullop isn’t worried about the dip in offensive output.
“I still rely on Mikaela every year for the same things,” Cullop said. “I think what’s helped her is that we’ve been able to surround her with more scoring threats. The burden is lessened, but that doesn’t mean I want her to take a back seat to anyone. I still want her to continue to look for her opportunities and to continue to lead our team.”
Boyd said her No. 1 goal as a senior is to get another MAC championship ring, but she also wants to leave the program in a good place with the young players that are coming through.
She said the MAC championship and NCAA tournament appearance as a sophomore helped her learn what it takes to compete at the highest level. She hopes no matter what happens this season, she can relay that to the current crop of young players.
“At this point, my main goal is to do as much as I can to get us a ring and to help some of the younger players,” Boyd said. “This is my last couple months here and I want to make sure our future guards are going to be doing the right thing.”
Cullop remembers her first time watching Boyd at Proviso West High School in Hillside, Ill., and said she was blown away by what she could do on the court.
“I just remember coming away from the first opportunity to see her and I was so impressed with her athleticism,” Cullop said. “Not many people can do the things that she can do, and she’s a tough matchup because of that.”
Even as a senior, Boyd says she continues to evolve as a leader on and off the court as she approaches the end of her Toledo career.
“I think I’ve become a better leader over the years,” Boyd said. “I’m still growing at it even now. The game has slowed down a lot for me, and I can help my teammates with things on the court and off the court. The game has come a little bit easier for me now.
“It’s definitely flown by. I’m just enjoying the ride right now.”
First Published January 17, 2019, 10:40 p.m.
