A thoroughly dominating performance in front of a boisterous sea of gold has propelled the University of Toledo into the championship game of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.

The Rockets led from start to finish, building a 23-point advantage in the first 19 minutes, and rolled to an 83-60 victory over UNC-Charlotte Wednesday night in front of a sold-out crowd of 7,020 at Savage Arena in the WNIT semifinals.

"We came out right off the bat playing strong and hard, and it's great feeling to know we didn't let down the whole game," said UT sophomore center Yolanda Richardson, who had 14 points to finish in double figures for the fourth time during UT's WNIT run.

"We were pumped up, on top of [the energy from] the crowd. The crowd always gives us that extra little boost, but we knew what we had to do to come out here and win."

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UT (28-8) next takes on Southern Cal, which won 63-36 at Illinois State Wednesday night, at 3 p.m. Saturday at Savage Arena for the chance to claim its first national postseason tournament title in school history.

"I don't think I understand it yet," said junior guard Naama Shafir, who led the Rockets with 16 points and nine assists.

"We're just really happy. It's great, and our fans are so good. They helped us a lot."

Bolstered by the raucous crowd, which arrived early and filled in almost every nook and cranny of the building, Toledo grabbed a 7-0 run and forced Charlotte into a timeout just 2:08 into the contest.

By the first media timeout at the 15:46 mark, the Rockets' lead had swelled to 12-4.

And the situation continued to worsen for the 49ers (27-10) from there.

With 9:52 remaining in the first half, Charlotte had nearly as many turnovers (seven) as field goal attempts (nine), and the Rockets led 29-12 thanks in part to 13 points off the 49ers' miscues.

"I thought [the crowd] played a huge part," Charlotte coach Karen Aston said. "We've had the ability to come back on teams when they've jumped on us but we lost our composure. A lot of that had to do with the atmosphere."

After Toledo took its largest lead of the first half with 51.8 seconds remaining before halftime on a pair of free throws from Haylie Linn that made it 43-20, Charlotte's Kendria Holmes launched a rainbow 3-pointer from the left arc that swished through the net at the buzzer.

But the damage was done. The 49ers had already committed 14 turnovers, and UT turned those mistakes into 20 points.

"I may frame this box sheet," UT coach Tricia Cullop said.

The 49ers weren't able to gain any momentum in the second half either, converting on just 4-of-15 field goal attempts in the first 9:28 of the period while allowing the Rockets to hit on 10-of-16 from the field.

Richardson's bucket with 10:31 remaining capped a 10-0 run and gave UT a commanding 65-34 advantage.

By the 5:20 mark, the Rockets led by 34 -- their largest lead of the contest.

"I'm not disappointed we lost," Aston said. "I disappointed we weren't more competitive."

UT senior guard Jessica Williams nailed five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points, while redshirt freshman guard Andola Dortch, generously listed at 5-foot-7, nearly posted a triple-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Senior forward Melissa Goodall added 11 points.

Holmes was the lone scorer in double figures for Charlotte with 14 points.

"I want our players to really enjoy this moment," Cullop said. "I think sometimes we as coaches get too caught up in things and we don't let them enjoy it. I want them to savor every second of this."

In the waning minutes after the Rockets' starters had already left the floor, Cullop turned to Goodall and Williams and demonstrated just how much this postseason run means to this team.

"I asked them, 'What do you think about playing in a championship game for the last game of your career? How amazing is that?'" Cullop repeated in her opening remarks to the media after the game.

"It's just so exciting that our players really came out of the gate and set the tone in this game and really, I thought, handled the pressure of everything."

Both Cullop and her players said they've been able to maintain a loose demeanor and not allow nerves or pressure to alter their play, even with a program and MAC women's basketball record crowd on hand Wednesday night, because of two reasons.

"One, we're the underdog. No one expected us to get to this point, and we've kind of enjoyed that role," Cullop said. "And the second thing would be, we played a difficult schedule.

"We had to go and play at the likes of Purdue. We went into an environment where there was 8,000 people and we hung until the very end. I think experiences like that really aided us.

"We're going to give our best shot and see what happens."

NOTE: Tickets for the WNIT championship game go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday at the UT box office.

All seats are reserved for this contest.

Contact Zach Silka at: zsilka@theblade.com or 419-724-6084.

First Published March 31, 2011, 5:14 a.m.