TOLEDO — Immediately after University of Toledo 5-foot-10 senior guard Sammi Mikonowicz, a Rossford product, was fouled by Bowling Green State University senior forward Olivia Hill, a buzz went through Savage Arena late in the game Saturday.

Unless you were in on what was happening, the sudden muting of 6,077 fans in attendance might have given you a prelude. If Mikonowicz made both free throws, she had become Toledo’s 33rd player to reach 1,000 career points.

Mikonowicz’s teammate, senior guard Quinesha Lockett, had enough faith in Mikonowicz that she congratulated her before she sunk the free throws.

“Before she even got her 1,000th point, I’m like, ‘Congratulations Sammi’ at the free throw line, and she’s like, ‘I’ve got to make the free throws,’” Lockett said.

“But I knew she was going to make them so, ‘Congratulations.’ I’m really proud of her because that’s an accomplishment.”

Meanwhile, another teammate, senior guard Sophia Wiard, was busy telling fans not to hold up signs celebrating Mikonowicz’s accomplishment just yet.

“I love Sammi, Man,” Wiard said. “She works so hard so it is good to see her reach a great milestone.

“But I was telling the fans, ‘You know, don’t put the signs up yet. You know she’s not there yet. You don’t want to add some more pressure,’ but she handled that pressure well and hit those free throws. I was really excited for her.”

Mikonowicz connected on both with 1:47 remaining in the game, giving Toledo a 79-68 lead, and the Rockets went on to defeat the Falcons, 82-70. Once she connected, the roar in Savage Arena was deafening.

“I think when you heard the cheers, you know how much this community appreciates her, and one of their own, right (locally grown)? So, we were thrilled,” Toledo coach Tricia Cullop said.

Mikonowicz is not only among leaders all-time in scoring at Toledo, she has cracked the top 10 in rebounds. In the win over the Falcons, she passed Jen Markwood (1996-2000) and Kaalya McIntyre (2015-19), moving into seventh place with 813 caroms.

However, after a standout All-Ohio prep career at Rossford playing for coach Toby Ledesma, not many other colleges were paying any real attention to her besides Cullop. Cullop’s investment paid off.

“Sammi came here because at the time she came here we didn’t have a scholarship,” Cullop said.

“Then, luckily for her, a kid transferred out and we gave that scholarship to her and it’s been smooth sailing for her ever since. She’s started every game she’s played for me and earned it,” Cullop continued.

“That kid works harder than anyone and doesn’t care if she gets any accolades. She’s the epitome of blue collar, gold standard of what we talk about.

“She’s so unselfish. She is a joy to coach. I’m thrilled for her that she finally reached 1,000 points. I’ve been wanting her to shoot more for a long time.”

‘Whatever It Takes’

In the win over the Falcons, Mikonowicz scored 10 points, had six rebounds, two assists, and she was 6-for-6 from the line, plus she was one of four Rockets to reach double figures.

“When we’re clicking and four or five of us are averaging in double figures, I think we’re going to be a tough team to beat,” Wiard said.

Toledo improved to 17-4 overall and 10-1 in the Mid-American Conference, but Mikonowicz admits she has had her ups and downs this season. For instance, there are good and bad shooting days.

“I try not to look at that too much, but of course it is frustrating when it is miss, miss, miss, but you just try to have a goldfish memory,” Mikonowicz said.

“You need to keep shooting and I know my team has all the confidence in me which means I have to just have confidence in myself.”

Last year, Mikonowicz helped lead Toledo to a 29-5 season, a second straight MAC title and an 80-73 win over Iowa State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Mikonowicz and Wiard were awarded Toledo’s “Whatever It Takes Award”, given to the player who does everything in their power to make the team better. Mikonowicz started all 34 games and ranked second on the team in minutes played, averaging 33.2 minutes per game.

The Rossford native averaged 10.1 points and 8.2 rebounds, the latter of which ranked fourth in the MAC. She tallied five double-doubles on the year and had nine games with double-digit rebounds.

Mikonowicz was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team, averaging 10.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in three tournament games, leading the Rockets to a championship.

This year, Mikonwicz is averaging 7.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and has 27 assists and 19 steals, starting all 20 games. She played nearly 37 minutes against the Falcons and her and Wiard again have logged the most minutes for the team.

Mikonowicz got her first double-double of the season on January 10, scoring 13 points with 10 rebounds in an 82-55 victory over Western Michigan at Savage Arena. The Rockets shot 68% from the floor, connecting on 15-of-22 shots while outscoring the Broncos 46-15 over the final 16:08 of the game.

“Yes, I’ve been needing to see that ball go through those hoops, so to see that, it was nice, and again that just picks up the energy even more,” Mikonowicz said.

“I had a couple and-ones, and of course that gets the team excited, that gets me excited. I like to see the ball go through the hoop for sure.”

On Dec. 6, 6he first regular season sell-out crowd in Toledo women’s basketball history witnessed the Rockets defeat Michigan for the second straight season, a 69-46 triumph at Savage Arena.

A raucous, regular-season record 7,082 fans packed the stands for the game, just the third sellout in program history. While Mikonowicz acknowledged the win was big, it was about not allowing heads to swell and move on to the next game from there.

“For sure, we talked about how that game is over. We celebrated it but it’s over,” Mikonowicz said. “In order to be great we need to build off of that game.

“We can’t be the team that just shows up for one big game. We have to show up for every single game, so we did talk about it, but we’re happy we won. It was great, but move on to the next game and keep building off each game.”

There was another challenge the Rockets faced early in the season — playing without Lockett, a starter who was injured. Lockett and Wiard were already members of the 1,000 point club at Toledo. Mikonowicz said she and her teammates had it covered.

“What makes our team so special is we’re not relying on one person,” Mikonowicz said. “We know each person needs to pick up a little.

“When we lose a person like that, each person needs to pick up an extra two, three, four points — so that just makes it a lot easier. That makes it easier, and I feel like we’ll find that groove.”