More than four months ago, the Toledo women's basketball team lost two of its three games in the Preseason WNIT to open its non-conference schedule. But Saturday afternoon, the Rockets accomplished something no other Mid-American Conference school had ever done: winning a WNIT title.
Toledo (29-8) defeated visiting USC by a score of 76-68 to claim its first WNIT title. Paving the way was junior point guard Naama Shafir, who poured in a career-high 40 points. She led the team in scoring in each of the final four tournament games.
The Rockets hosted all six games en route to the championship, beating Delaware, Auburn, Alabama, Syracuse, Charlotte and USC along the way.
The crowd of 7,301 broke women's basketball attendance records for Toledo and the MAC, according to WTVG in Toledo.
The win also extended the Rockets' home winning streak to 18 games. Their last loss at Savage Arena came against Missouri State Nov. 20 during the Preseason WNIT.
Toledo coach Tricia Cullop was named MAC Coach of the Year last month.
