University of Toledo women's basketball coach Tricia Cullop said she has made no major adjustments to the team's preparation for a Mid-American Conference tournament game against No. 1 seed Central Michigan on Wednesday in Cleveland.
This is despite the news that the MAC, in accordance with a recommendation of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, will be limiting spectators due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
According to a release from the MAC, the tournament will be closed to the public except for “credentialed institutional personnel, student-athlete family members, credentialed media, television and radio crews, and official team party members”.
The Rockets play at noon in the first quarterfinal of the tournament so they will be the first to play in front of no fans, but Cullop said it will have to be business as usual.
“I think we just do our same approach,” Cullop said prior to the announcement from the MAC. “Whether there are fans in the stands or not, I think we still just prepare to play the game.”
Toledo is coming off an a 63-59 win over Akron in the opening round of the tournament on Monday night. The Rockets got 17 points from Nakiah Black, 15 points from Tanaya Beacham, 12 from Sara Rokkanen, and 10 from Mariella Santucci.
With the win under their belt, the Rockets were able to stay close and make the short trip to Cleveland instead of driving all the way back to Toledo.
“At first we were a little disappointed we had to play on the road, but actually it probably turned out to be a good thing,” Cullop said. “We got to our hotel by 10:30 [Monday night] and were able to get a little more rest than we would've driving back to Toledo. Rest in between these games is a big thing.”
Central Michigan finished the regular season 23-6 overall and 16-2 in MAC play. One of the Chippewas' two conference losses was to Toledo, a 76-67 win for the Rockets at Savage Arena on March 4.
“To have a team that we played recently and the scouting report is familiar in your players’ minds is another good thing,” Cullop said. “However, they are a very good team and we had an exceptional effort the last time we played them. We are going to need another great effort, especially defensive effort, because they are such a potent offensive team. I thought on both ends of the floor our players played extremely well. We have to have another very focused effort.”
Central Michigan is led by MAC player of the year Micaela Kelly, who averages 21.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. Molly Davis and Kyra Bussell added 14.5 and 13.9 points per game respectively.
Toledo lost the first meeting in Mount Pleasant 73-66 on Jan. 25. The win at Savage Arena late in the season gave the Rockets confidence that if they are playing well they can beat the top seed.
But Cullop is focused on making sure her team is locked in, focused, and ready to put forth all-out effort when they take the court on Wednesday.
“It's a new season now,” Cullop said. “All you have to do is be hot for a weekend or a short 4-5 days in a row — just be on a hot streak. We've done that before. I think this team is figuring out how to play with who we have right now. We've won two of our last three and I think we are starting to click and it's a great time to hit that stride. You can't leave anything in the tank this time of year and we don't want to have any regrets. So I think the most important thing is that we play our tails off, we be relentless in our effort, and we leave it all out there.”
First Published March 11, 2020, 1:24 a.m.
