Ginny Boggess era under way for Toledo women’s basketball

Wednesday afternoon brought a familiar sight to Savage Arena: the University of Toledo women’s basketball team practicing.

But something about the scene felt foreign — for the first time since the George W. Bush administration, Tricia Cullop was not leading drills.

A new era of Toledo women’s basketball officially dawned, as Ginny Boggess led the Rockets in their two-hour inauguration of her breakneck offense and grating defense. The head coach's name is different, Sophia Wiard and Quinesha Lockett are gone, and there are seven new freshmen and transfers.

The standard, however, is the same. And Boggess isn’t backing down, instead acknowledging the expectations and embracing the forecast.

“I feel a pressure to make sure these kids reach their potential,” she said. “There is a certain expectation for this program. You don’t come to Toledo to be average. I don’t think any of us are here for that. So I lean into that. I knew that when I was praying for this opportunity, and it’s something that I will happily carry the weight of. I don’t see that as a burden. I see that as a really big gift and a really awesome responsibility.”

Cullop was the winningest coach in program history, guiding Toledo to five Mid-American Conference championships — including the last three — two NCAA tournaments, and the 2011 WNIT championship. Her five MAC titles are the most in program history.

Boggess was 54-42 in three seasons at Monmouth. The Hawks advanced to the 2023 NCAA tournament after winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament as the 7 seed. She and the Rockets would like to return to that March paradise after each missed out last season.

“You don’t ever want to end on a loss,” senior forward Sammi Mikonowicz said. “Knowing that a bunch of us have gotten to the NCAA tournament, we know what that feels like and we all want to get back there. Yes, everything is new. But we still have the same goals of getting back to that tournament and just succeeding as well as we can.”

Mikonowicz, Khera Goss, Hannah Noveroske, Jessica Cook, Nan Garcia, Emmi Rinat, Cadence Dykstra, and Ella Weaver are part of a familiar cast of characters. Joining them are freshmen Kendall Braden, Destiny Robinson, Evalyse Cole, Faith Fedd-Robinson, Canadian twins Heidi and Courtney Smith, and transfer Kendall Carruthers.

“I don’t think it will ever feel the same,” Noveroske said. “I think it’s always going to feel different. Not in a bad way, but different in such a great way that we have different components on this team. We’re going to be playing different than we have been before, and that’s going to be something that the conference is not going to know from us.”

The usual suspects are projected to be near the top of the MAC standings — Toledo, Ball State, and Kent State. Bowling Green should also be a contender in the second season of the Fred Chmiel era.

UT's season-ticket renewal rate has remained steady, even with Cullop’s departure. Boggess did not waste time cultivating relationships and courting Toledo’s rabid women’s basketball fan base. Her buoyant personality and likability have drawn positive reviews.

Winning will boost her popularity even higher.

“It absolutely feels like the first day of school, in the best possible way,” Boggess said. “I said this the other night in front of some of our supporters — so often the players are worried about letting us down or disappointing us as coaches. I don’t think they know how much time I spend worrying about letting them down. We want to make sure that we’re as prepared as we can possibly be and that we put them in a position to continue to be successful at the level or beyond what they’ve been in the past.

“So, yeah, it’s a big day. It’s a big responsibility.”