MAC Tournament Quarterfinals: Adversity Fuels the Rockets

Photo by: Curt Lydy

Written By: Mark Mackowiak

Date: 3/13/26

Toledo Rockets women’s basketball team has faced their fair share of struggles and adversity this season, losing four of their last six games, and doing so without star guard, Faith Fedd-Robinson. However, the MAC tournament is an opportunity for teams to leave their regular season struggles at the door and embrace the chaos that is March college basketball.

As the six seed, the Rockets were slated to face the three seeded UMass Minutewomen, whom they’d beaten already this season.

The difference: the stage was bigger, the lights were brighter, and the game simply meant more.

From the jump, Toledo showed a hustle and a fire that hadn’t been lit all year.

Toledo opened the game on a 12-2 run in the first four minutes, pushing the tempo and applying pressure that UMass just couldn’t keep up with. The early leaders for the Rockets were the pair of junior guards, Kendall Carruthers and Cadence Dykstra, who were showing great chemistry in transition and hustling on the defensive end.

After a timeout, UMass was able to go on a 10-2 run of their own, by pressing and forcing Toledo to slow down their offensive tempo. As has been the story of the season, the Rockets turned the ball over six times in the first quarter.

However, all momentum was gained back at the end of the quarter when junior guard, Ella Weaver, knocked down a huge three-pointer to put the Rockets on top 21-12 to close out the first quarter.

The second quarter saw the same intensity as the first, with multiple players hitting the deck and Carruthers diving on the court for every loose ball she could find. Toledo continued to rain down threes with Weaver getting another and Carruthers knocking down a pair.

Toledo ended the half pumped up, and rightfully so. They led UMass 36-24, shooting 5/10 from three-point range. Carruthers was the leading scorer at the half with 13 points and shooting 100% from three, followed by Weaver, who had 10 points of her own.

As the second half began, it was clear who the Rockets would lean on down the stretch. Graduate student, Patricia Anumgba, converted an and-one opportunity that got her going after a slow start to the half offensively.

Despite the and-one, the third quarter was all UMass, forcing six more Rocket turnovers and getting eight points off of those turnovers. The Minutewomen had cut the lead down to six and were down 44-38 as the final quarter was on the horizon.

UMass was able to keep their momentum going, getting their faithful along with their men’s basketball team on their feet. Within the first minute of the quarter, the Minutewomen had tied the game up and gotten Carruthers to earn her fourth foul, taking her out of the game.

When all signs were pointing to yet another Rocket’s late-game collapse, head coach Ginny Boggess called a timeout to try and stop the bleeding. This timeout proved to be crucial for the late game success that was about to ensue.

Anumgba came right out of the timeout with a tough layup in transition, finishing through contact to put the Rockets back on top. She also tallied a steal and score that would end up putting the team up seven.

Despite a valiant effort from UMass, the Rocket’s momentum was too much to overcome, as they went 7/8 from the field to close out the game.

Anumgba finished the game with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists to propel the Rocket’s into the semifinals for the fifth straight season.

During the postgame press conference, I asked coach Boggess about Anumgba’s performance and what she said to Patricia before the game.

“Do you want to put the jersey on again or not?”

It was evident that Anumgba took these words to heart just based on her stat-line, but the message seemed to reach more than just the graduate guard.

Carruthers finished the game with 16 points and four assists, along with Weaver, who had 16 points and finished the game with four three-pointers made.

But the unsung hero of this game was sophomore forward, Miriam Diala, who had her first double-digit point game in nearly a month. Diala scored ten points and grabbed eight rebounds, to go with her stellar defense.

Coach Boggess had praise for her as well, stating, “I thought she did a tremendous job”.

There was no doubt that this win was monumental for the team and the Rocket faithful as they seek their second MAC Championship in four seasons, and their first in the Boggess era.