The University of Toledo women’s basketball season isn’t over yet.
The unseeded Rockets will host No. 2 seed Minnesota at 7 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the WBIT.
“I’m just excited for our team and our seniors and our fan base to get to celebrate this 2024-2025 team at least one more time,” Toledo coach Ginny Boggess said. “We didn’t want it to be over. We don't want this to end. This is just such a special group. So I’m beyond excited that the committee felt like our body of work was worthy of continuing to play in the WBIT.”
If the Rockets win, they will play Sunday against the winner of No. 3 seed Missouri State (25-8) and unseeded Oral Roberts (24-8). A game site would be announced Thursday evening or Friday.
The Golden Gophers — ranked 39th in the NET — are 20-11 and finished 8-10 in the Big Ten. They started the season 18-3 and were ranked in the top 25 before cratering down the stretch, losing eight of their final 10 games.
Minnesota hasn’t won since Feb. 19 at Purdue, and it was 2-9 against Big Ten opponents with a winning conference record.
The Gophers are the second Big Ten team to play at Toledo in as many seasons, as the Rockets beat Michigan 69-46 in December, 2023, at a sold-out Savage Arena.
“I have so much respect for the program,” Boggess said. “My boss [at Marquette] was a Minnesota native. Minnesota was my territory, so I’ve recruited there the last 10 years. I have so much respect for their history and their tradition of excellence.
“A lot of respect for their current head coach [Dawn Plitzuweit], who has built everywhere she’s been, from Northern Kentucky to [South] Dakota, West Virginia, and Minnesota. Toughness and excellence. She’s a great female leader. They have a great system.”
Plitzuweit has a career record 405-167, with four NCAA tournament berths. She’s 40-27 in two seasons at Minnesota. She won a Division II national championship at Grand Valley State and took South Dakota to the Sweet 16 in 2022.
Minnesota went to the 2004 Final Four with Pam Borton as head coach. Ironically, she was the featured speaker at Toledo’s preseason booster banquet in October.
The Rockets are 24-8 and lost to Ball State in the Mid-American Conference championship game. The 24 wins are one shy of Bill Fennelly and Mark Ehlen’s program record for most wins by a first-year coach.
This is UT’s second consecutive WBIT bid. Last season, Toledo advanced to the quarterfinals, defeating Cleveland State and St. John’s before a last-second loss at Washington State.
It’s the second year of the NCAA-owned WBIT, which replaced the WNIT in the postseason pecking order. The 32-team event features the first four teams out of the NCAA tournament, regular-season conference champions that did not win their conference titles, and at-large teams selected by a committee.
The semifinals (March 31) and championship game (April 2) will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
All WBIT games are broadcast on ESPN2, ESPNU, or ESPN+.
Amid the disappointment of Saturday’s loss to Ball State, Boggess said, “I’m so proud of our entire roster and how far we came as a team this year. I’m really excited that because of our work in the regular season, this won’t be the last time these two [Sammi Mikonowicz and Khera Goss] wear this jersey.”
Boggess was proven right, although she admitted some nervousness Sunday as she waited to see Toledo’s name flash across the TV screen. A low NET ranking — UT is No. 115 — was the biggest concern. But it was all for naught.
In the MAC championship game, Ball State seniors played all 200 minutes for the Cardinals. Ninety-five of Toledo’s 200 minutes were played by underclassmen, including 52 by true freshmen.
The WBIT is another opportunity for the future of the program to play in high-pressure games against quality competition.
“The goal is to play basketball for as long as you possibly can,” Boggess said. “I think it’s really valuable. We learned a lot about ourselves throughout the season, but especially in Cleveland — who we are and what we're about. When that’s put to the fire, our team has shown up every single night. So to get another opportunity to see what we’re made of is really, really exciting.”
First Published March 17, 2025, 1:20 a.m.
