KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — By the end, it wasn’t just the Tennessee fans who rained down the cheers Monday night.
It was the Toledo faithful, too, a midnight blue and gold isle of appreciation in a booming sea of orange.
As the buzzer sounded on the Rockets women’s basketball team’s 94-47 loss to fourth-seeded Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA tournament — and “Rocky Top” blasted through Thompson-Boling Arena — the section of supporters behind the visiting bench stood and roared above the din, feting one of the great seasons in program history.
Moments later, Tricia Cullop and her players joined them in the stands, smiling through tears, the team and its fans telling each other the same thing.