A motivated Toledo women’s basketball team stomped into Savage Arena on Friday night and came away with a 61-51 win over Houston Baptist in the first round of the WNIT.

It’s not the tournament the Rockets aimed for, but it’s a destination that they’re now trying to seize. Step 1 was winning their first game. Now the fire has been reignited, with UT out to show that a 26-5 record in the regular season and 19-1 league record in the 11th-best conference in the country was deserving of an NCAA tournament bid.

“Twenty-seven now,” Toledo coach Tricia Cullop quipped.

Friday’s win, however, didn’t come as easy as expected. UT roared out to a 26-11 lead in the first quarter before Houston Baptist, the champion of the Southland Conference, outscored Toledo by 10 points over the middle quarters. The Huskies pulled within two points just before halftime but failed to score in the final 2 minutes, 34 seconds of the first half.

In the second and third quarters, N’Denasija Collins scored 13 points and only missed two shots. Toledo limited her to one shot attempt and zero points in the fourth quarter, as the Rockets outscored Houston Baptist 14-4 until the Huskies got three buckets in the final 40 seconds.

“We went out there and weren’t 100 percent sure,” Toledo sophomore forward Nan Garcia said. “She knocked down some shots. Heck of a player. We just had to adjust and figure out what we were doing wrong.”

Timia Jefferson, the Southland’s player of the year, had 12 points on just 4-of-14 shooting. Second-team All-Southland selections Julija Vujakovic and Kennedy Wilson combined for eight points. Wilson was 0 for 7 from the field.

Houston Baptist shot 33.3 percent.

“We have to realize the gifts that we have and make the most of it,” Cullop said.

The first 10 minutes played out like most people thought all 40 minutes would, with utter domination by the Rockets, who were 10 of 19 in the first quarter. Garcia had eight points off the bench, three fewer than Houston Baptist scored — and Garcia did it in four minutes, not 10.

But the Huskies went from 3 of 14 to 7 of 13 in the second quarter, putting a sizable dent into a one-time 16-point deficit. If not for Houston Baptist going cold to end the half, Toledo might have been trailing.

“Sometimes we forget to put our foot on the pedal and keep going,” Garcia said.

Toledo put the kibosh on any hopes Houston Baptist (16-11) had of rallying by making 5 of 6 free throws in the fourth quarter and playing lockdown defense.

The Rockets had four players finish in double figures, led by Jessica Cook’s 13 points. Garcia, Quinesha Lockett, and Khera Goss each scored 12 points. Sammi MIkonowicz finished with 13 rebounds. The team only shot 36.1 percent.

“It was tough to wait almost a week to play again. That was hard,” Cullop said. “Despite what I’m doing in practice to try and keep them ready, there is just nothing like a game.”

UT outrebounded Houston Baptist 49-34 and 10-2 on the offensive glass, which was responsible for a 13-0 advantage in second-chance points.

Last Friday, the mood in the Toledo locker room was far different after losing to Ball State in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament. There was mostly silence, with a few sounds coming from the cries of crestfallen players.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a loss that hit that hard,” Goss said. “I just remember feeling hopeless at first. I feel like I went through the stages of grief. Having this opportunity woke me up. I was like, ‘OK, we have to prove ourselves.”

The Rockets were the class of the MAC all season long and one of the best mid-major programs in America, cruising along to an inevitable berth in the NCAA tournament. But sometimes March happens. And it was a particular painful experience for UT.

“It’s an awful feeling when you get that far and that close, and you could smell it and taste it, and you couldn’t get it,” Cullop said.

Prove-it mode started at 7 p.m. Friday and will continue at 7 p.m. Monday when the Rockets welcome MAC foe Kent State to Savage Arena for the second round of the WNIT. They were crushed to not finish their top priority, something they worked at for months.

Cullop, however, instructed them to be grateful for a new day. It’s impossible to be bitter and grateful at the same time, she told her team. At least they’re still playing basketball games. It’s why she lauded their maturity, to take a devastating blow, dust themselves off, and be ready for Friday.

“We’re extremely blessed to be in this position,” Garcia said. “It’s not a position that every team gets to be in. We’re extremely grateful. Now we just have to prove ourselves after that loss in the [MAC] tournament. It hit us different. We have to use that as motivation every day.”

First Published March 19, 2022, 2:40 a.m.