Coming into her own

Junior guard Ana Capotosto has been on an emotional roller coaster ever since she first stepped on the court as a member of the University of Toledo women’s basketball team.

As a freshman, Capotosto played alongside former Rocket Naama Shafir during the latter’s final season in Toledo. UT finished 29-4 and reached the Sweet 16 round of the WNIT.

During her sophomore campaign last year, Capotosto and the Rockets stumbled to a .500 finish, losing in the second round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

Needless to say, Capotosto has seen a lot in a very short time span.

“It has been exciting to grow up with players and become adults together and I think [Capotosto] has made an awesome transition,” said senior guard Inma Zanoguera. “She has become more mature on the court and gets better every day.”

On the court, Capotosto brings a lot of energy. She has averaged 9.1 ppg and 5.6 rpg this season and has become a fan favorite for her high-arching three-point shot.

But she was not always known for posting up from three-point land.

“In high school I was a driver,” Capotosto said. “That was the only thing I wanted to do and somehow I developed into this shooter role. It was what our team needed, so that was what I was going to do.

“That role was a big-time change for me because I didn’t shoot much until after I got to college.”

Over the past five games, Capotosto has been more physical on the boards than potent from beyond the arch. She averaged 7.6 rpg but only reached double-digit scoring figures twice over that span.

“I had been in a shooting drought, I wasn’t scoring much,” Capotosto said. “When you are not doing that, you have to find other ways to help your team and for me that was going hard on the glass and getting more physical.”

Leadership ability and a will to win earned Capotosto a spot as a team captain in her third season in Toledo. This from a player who came off the bench and played limited minutes just last season.

“As a leader it is amazing to see her speak up sometimes,” Zanoguera said. “Last year she was not a captain, but she was asked to take that role sometimes because there were only two of us and this year she has gotten out of her comfort zone and that’s good to see.”

Capotosto has had some impressive mentors in leadership, being one of the few players to have taken the court with both Shafir and Zanoguera.

“Naama was a tremendous leader by example,” Capotosto said. “She was the person everyone went to on and off the court and I was able to take so much from her.

“I was able to see Inma grow and she has developed into a leader that I can follow. I can feed off of the intensity that she brings every day.”

Zanoguera, for her part, has been impressed with Capotosto since day one.

“She has always been that type of player to bring hustle and [was] that little kid who kept everyone together,” Zanoguera said. “And on top of that she has improved all her skills, she is a big-time three-point shooter for us and I never hesitate to give her the ball when I see her open.”

Capotosto has earned that level of trust from all her teammates, even when she doesn’t have a basketball in her hands.

“Off the court it has been a transition,” she said. “As an upperclassman you are expected to lead as example on this team and that is something I feel like I have always done well. But as a leader I needed to become more vocal and say something when things need to be said.”

Next year, Capotosto will need to be a good leader and an even better basketball player. She has seen enough during her time as a Rocket to know there is always room for improvement, both as a team and as an individual.

“I need to improve on my ball-handling skills,” Capotosto said. “This year, the ball has been in Inma hands so much that she is that comfort person.

“Not saying I will be that next year but I will need to take a little bit of that responsibility, if not more of it.”