TOLEDO WEARS THE 2011 WNIT CROWN

Toledo, OH - The post season has been a magical journey for the MAC Champion Toledo Rockets and the team reached the top of the mountain with a well-earned 76-68 final victory over the Trojans of Southern California on Saturday.

The win, in front of another tremendous crowd at Savage Arena, was powered by a 40-point performance from junior point guard Naama Shafir, named the tournament MVP, but there were plenty of accolades to go around for her supporting cast.

Anyone casually driving through the campus early this afternoon couldn't be blamed if they thought this was a football Saturday, what with scads of folks firing up their grills and enjoying some serious tailgating. A quick query would have told them, however, that these were basketball people enjoying the day until Savage Arena opened its doors to admit the 7,301 fanatics who witnessed a great game by two excellent teams.

Southern Cal found its way to Toledo by first winning a postseason contest at home against UC Santa Barbara, then taking their show on the road to record consecutive wins over Nevada, BYU, Colorado, and Illinois State. So the Women of Troy – WOT - as they are known in California weren't all that awed with playing a championship game on the floor of a mid-major opponent. They were just never prepared for Shafir, along with  Toledo’s “Sixth Man” and the noise factor that was generated by the golden multitude.

After the opening tip Toledo got on the board first with Shafir going to the basket for a layup. The Trojans are tall, however- very tall – and they used their height advantage, along with some early offensive punch from 6-1 junior guard Briana Gilbreath to break out to a 13-6 lead with 14:20 remaining in the half.

Enter junior Haylie Linn who came off Toledo’s bench to rejuvenate the Midnight Blue and Gold with a pair of triples and some key rebounds to close the margin to 16-15. Following Linn’s example, senior Melissa Goodall dropped back behind the arc and hit a trey to give the Rockets their first lead since very early in the game.

Southern Cal quickly regained the lead again, however, and maintained it, until Shafir took over with 96 seconds remaining. First a pair of free throws knotted the score at 30. Then with under a minute to play, she drove through the WOT team to reach the hoop and give UT a 33-32. And just to show the Trojans that she meant business, she duplicated her feat as time ran out in the half to put the Rockets on top, 35-32.

Shafir had 12 points at the break to lead both teams in scoring. Each team recorded 13 field goals in the opening period with Toledo hitting one more basket from behind the arc, 4-3. A surprising statistic was UT’s early dominance on the boards, 25-19. If Toledo could be faulted, it was the in the free-throw department where they were just 5-of-13 (38.5%) in conversions.

When play resumed in the second half, Shafir took center stage and put on a dazzling display of offense not seen on Nichols Court in some time. Setting up on the perimeter and patting the top of her head while dribbling the ball, she let it be known that she would be taking the rock to the hoop. The players knew it; the fans knew it; the ushers knew it; even the maintenance man who was busy refilling the towel racks in the rest rooms knew it; and still the visitors seemed unable to stop her. The only person slowing her down was Shafir herself who got past defenders on several occasions only to miss the shot.

With Toledo down by a deuce, 47-45 at the 12:04 mark, Shafir went on a personal 9-0 run that included two of those head-tap layups, a jump shot,  and a triple that she calmly launched with time about to expire on the shot clock, giving the Rockets a 54-47 lead. Linn quickly followed up with her third 3-pointer of the game to make it a 10-point margin that took the noise factor up a few more decibels.

Goodall made it a 14-point game, 67-53 when she dialed long distance for the second time in the game and it looked as if UT would be able to coast to their first national championship.

But the Women of Troy weren't about to give up the ghost just quite yet as they kept taking the ball to the basket and drawing a number of “and ones” in the final minutes of the game. Southern Cal cut the margin to four points, 70-66, with 40 seconds to play, but then had to resort to fouling the player with the ball. and that player was Shafir. Six times in the final 25 seconds she stepped to the free throw line, and six times she converted those shots to ensure that it would be Toledo celebrating the win.

When the final buzzer sounded and the scoreboard read 76-68, the students in both end zones rushed onto the floor to mob the Toledo players, while gold and blue confetti rained down on them from the cat walks above. It was a scene of pandemonium, but no one was complaining.

In a gesture of sportsmanship those folks in the stands gave a big round of applause to the Trojans when they accepted the runner-up trophy during the ceremonies on the floor.

In the post game media conference, Southern Cal coach Michael Cooper was generous in his praise of Toledo and its fans when he said, “A hardy hurrah to the University of Toledo. It was a team that was committed and you saw that as they went through the WNIT. Our team played extremely well; we fought and fought, but some times it’s hard to fight against 8,000 or 9,000 people (actually 7,301). Both teams were getting tired but Toledo got that extra boost from its fans. This was a well-played basketball game. We hung in there when we thought this was going to get away from us, but I want to congratulate them (UT) for being the 2011 WNIT Champions.”

Southern Cal put several different players on Shafir in an attempt to slow her down and give her some different looks. One of those players was Galbreath who finished the game tied with two other Trojans in scoring. In talking about attempting to guard Shafir she said, “She’s quick. Some times you make defensive mistakes and good players take advantage of that. That’s exactly what she did today.”

Cooper further added, “Shafir has that unorthodox international style of play and it’s difficult to guard her. She reminds me of Manu Genobli of the San Antonio Spurs.” When asked if anyone else beside Shafir had put up forty points on Southern Cal this year, his response was a surprised, “She had forty? Wow!”

Shafir was just marvelous in recording a career high 40 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Goodall also played a strong game with 12 points and nine rebounds. Linn was the sparkplug off the bench for Toledo, finishing with 10 points and eight rebounds in 26 minute on the floor.

And there is much to be said for the play of freshman guard Andola Dortch. In additional to scoring five points and corralling nine rebounds Dortch had three assists, three steals and mercilessly hounded the Trojan guards on defense the entire time she was on the court.

Southern Cal placed five players in double figures with Gilbreath, freshman Cassie Harberts, and senior Jacki Gemelos each netting 14 points. Junior Ashley Corral had 12 points, and senior Kari LaPlante finished with 10 markers.

The final tally of the battle of the boards was a draw with each team claiming 44 rebounds. The Trojans had the edge on the offensive side: 13-6. Following their dismal first-half effort at the free throw line, the Rockets were 12-of-17 from the charity stripe in the final period.

Toledo’s two seniors, Jessica Williams and Melissa Goodall finished their careers on a high note with this championship. Both players can also boast of participating in 131 games as Rockets, a career record.

“What more could I ask for? This is absolutely amazing. It’s been a tremendous ride,” said Goodall in speaking of her career and the WNIT run. “It’s just a great day to be a Rocket.”

In commenting on Shafir’s performance Goodall said, "She is a special player and you can't doubt that for one minute, especially when you see her have a game like she did today. She has been the little engine that could and she's been our heartbeat, non-stop, all the way from the start of the season until now.”

“I’m incredibly proud of our team,” said a happy Tricia Cullop. ”Not only in this game but when you look at the string of wins we’ve had in this tournament, and even when you look back at the season, where we started to where we are right now. The resiliency, the heart, the desire, and the willingness to be coached, words can’t describe how I feel right now. I’m just so proud of them.”

The All-Tournament Team was announced following the game and Toledo placed two players on the squad: Naama Shafir (the MVP) and Yolanda Richardson. Also receiving all-tournament honors were Briana Gilbreath and Ashley Corroll, USC; Shannon McCallum, UNC-Charlotte; and Emily Hanley, Illinois State.

And so ends a successful season with an incredible finish for these Rocket women. Perhaps Cullop said it best when she said “There are only two teams that can finish their season with a win, and we’re one of them.”

All hail to the champs! The Toledo Rockets