When Ginny Boggess left Monmouth University to become the Toledo women’s basketball coach in April 2024, Evalyse Cole elected to switch her college commitment and follow Boggess to Ohio.

A season and a half into her college career, Cole has developed into a rock in Boggess’ rotation.

Cole, an Easton High School graduate, went into Tuesday’s matchup against Eastern Michigan having started every game for Toledo (8-7, 3-2 Mid-American Conference). The sophomore forward was averaging 8.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 26.4 minutes per game.

Cole’s jump in production and playing time have come after she backed up one of the best players in Toledo history, Sammi Mikonowicz, last season. Mikonowicz was part of a senior class that won three straight MAC regular-season championships and at least 24 games in four straight seasons.

The departure of Mikonowicz and five other seniors left Toledo’s current roster feeling its way through the season’s early stages. The Rockets have played better over the last month, going 5-2 in their last seven games.

“Coming back with kind of a younger team, the start of our season was a little rough,” Cole said by phone Monday. “We were trying to find our roles and how we play together. But I think as each game goes on, we’re getting a lot better and playing much more together and being more connected and confident on the floor.”

Cole’s personal confidence has grown between her freshman and sophomore seasons, allowing her to become a rotation mainstay. She focused her offseason training on becoming stronger and improving as a rebounder. Her 4.9 boards per game rank second on the Rockets.

Cole has found a good balance between a demanding major — she is enrolled in Toledo’s nursing program — and the demands of Division I basketball. Boggess sees Cole as a player capable of consistently scoring and rebounding in double figures.

“She’s made great strides,” Boggess said. “She’s in the best shape of her life. She’s getting in a ton of extra work. She’s got a nice little rhythm with her process as far as coming in in the morning two days a week and getting extra shots.

“She’s just operating like a Division I college basketball player in Year 2, and it’s so fun to see.”

Year 3 of college promises change for Cole. She will jump into her clinical work with Toledo’s nursing program next fall. She said she will need to find a new balance then, though she’s looking forward to the challenge.

For now, she wants to help Toledo continue the program’s recent run of success. The Rockets were picked to finish second in the MAC in the league’s preseason poll. They began the week in sixth place but still have 11 conference games left.

How high can the Rockets rise? Cole said it depends on whether they can follow Boggess’ mantra of focusing on the next play and one minute 40 times in a game.

“I feel like it’s true, because you can only do so much in that one minute, but you can give your all for one minute 40 times or however much you’re on the court,” Cole said. “But it’s definitely about being connected, competitive, and confident with ourselves on the team.”

Challenges ahead: The Moravian men (11-4 overall, 5-3 Landmark Conference) carry a three-game winning streak into this week after beating Juniata on Saturday.

The next three weeks are critical for the Greyhounds as they look to qualify for the six-team Landmark Conference tournament next month.

Moravian sits in fourth place in the conference standings, one game behind Drew and one game ahead of Wilkes, Elizabethtown and Susquehanna. Those are the next four teams on the Greyhounds’ schedule.

Moravian follows that stretch by visiting the Landmark Conference’s co-leaders, Scranton and Catholic, to start February. The Greyhounds lost to Scranton by 16 points and Catholic by 10 in the first half of conference play.

Moravian needs to improve its defense to make a run at the conference title. The Greyhounds have allowed opponents to shoot 49.1 percent during conference play, which ranks last in the 10-team Landmark.

Tip-ins: The Kutztown women (10-6 overall, 6-3 PSAC) have won three straight games to move into a tie with Lock Haven atop the PSAC East. East Stroudsburg (11-6, 6-4) is a half-game back. … The Moravian women have also won three straight. The Greyhounds (6-9 overall, 4-4 Landmark Conference) have moved into a fifth-place tie in the Landmark Conference. The top six teams qualify for the conference tournament.