Unlike several key contributors for the University of Toledo women’s basketball team, sophomore junior college transfer Nakiah Black has not experienced the Mid-American Conference tournament in Cleveland.
In the opening round of the tournament for Toledo on Monday at Savage Arena, Black made sure she and her team will play at Quicken Loans Arena this season as she scored seven points in the final minute to give the Rockets a 67-63 win against Ball State and a spot in the quarterfinal round Wednesday against third-seeded Miami.
The Rockets had seen a 14-point first-half lead dwindle to just two at 59-57 with 1:14 remaining, when Ball State’s Oshlynn Brown made a jumper in the paint.
Black followed with a crucial play in the game when she drove to her right and absorbed some contact, made a layup, and completed a three-point play with 54 seconds left.
VIDEO: UT coach Tricia Cullop and guard Nakiah Black
Two possessions later with Toledo clinging to a 63-60 lead, Sara Rokkanen found Black for a wide open layup, then Black sealed the win with two late free throws.
“I think the most memorable for me was when she drove and got the three-point play,” Toledo coach Tricia Cullop said. “I thought a play or two before that she had the same opportunity but they didn’t give it to her, so I was glad to see her convert that when she did.”
Black finished with 16 points, while Kaayla McIntyre led Toledo (20-10) with 19 despite picking up her fourth foul midway through the fourth quarter. Mariella Santucci added 12 points and six assists for the Rockets.
“I was very determined [to make sure this wasn’t the last game for Toledo],” Black said. “My seniors deserve it, our team deserves it, and our coaching staff deserves it. We’re just coming out here and taking it one step at a time and taking out whoever is in front of us.”
Maliah Howard-Bass led Ball State (8-23) with 12 points, Brown added 11 points, and Jasmin Samz chipped in with 10.
With the game tied at 4 early, Toledo went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-4 lead and by the end of the first quarter, the Rockets had a 21-8 advantage.
Toledo pushed that lead to 14, when Black hit her only 3-pointer of the game to give the Rockets a 26-12 lead with 7:51 left in the second. Toledo took a 33-23 lead into halftime.
McIntyre scored 10 points in the third quarter and while Ball State cut the Toledo lead to five at one point, the Rockets took a 49-40 lead into the fourth.
Ball State cut the lead to three on two different occasions in the fourth before the Brown layup set up the final sequence.
“I didn’t think we defended well during a stretch in the game,” Cullop said. “I thought we were getting driven and opening up our hips and letting them get to the rim and kind of letting them have what they wanted. Then when they started getting that and we did rotate in, they started hitting 3s. Give credit to them, they continued to fight. I’m proud of our kids to hang in there and find a way to win.”
Before losing in the first round of the tournament at home last year, Toledo went on a memorable run in winning the MAC tournament and gaining an NCAA tournament berth in 2016-17. Black has been hearing about what that was like from the upperclassmen, but now she will get to experience Cleveland for herself.
“I’m excited,” Black said. “Everybody talks about how fun it is. I got the whole rundown of the first round, second round, all the way up to the championship and all the way up to the NCAA. That’s where we are trying to get."
The RedHawks have beaten the Rockets twice this season. Cullop said Toledo will need to slow down guard Lauren Dickerson, who had a big game at Savage Arena in a 65-56 Miami win Feb. 20.
“It’s really hard to beat a good team three times,” Black said. “We have a chip on our shoulder — a different chip than we had the first 20 or so games — and we’re ready.”
First Published March 12, 2019, 1:06 a.m.
