Ingersoll to represent UT in 3-point competition

Ingersoll

Guard Courtney Ingersoll hit 96 3-pointers in her senior season to tie a UT record.

One by one Courtney Ingersoll fired away 3-pointers as teammates and coaches stood nearby tallying her makes and informing her where she stood against the clock.

This was Ingersoll's final practice run at Savage Arena before she boarded a flight to New Orleans this week for the State Farm Women's Three-Point Championship on Thursday. Ingersoll, the University of Toledo's standout guard and the nation's leading 3-point shooter, will compete against six other women's players as part of a series of festivities leading up to this weekend's NCAA men's Final Four. The event, which includes a men's slam dunk contest, will be aired from 9-11 p.m. on ESPN.

Ingersoll, whose career came to a heartbreaking end Saturday in a quarterfinal loss to Syracuse in the Women's National Invitational Tournament, was at Savage Arena on Tuesday making her rounds from one ball rack to the next.

"I just have to get through the fatigue and stay consistent in my shot," she said.

Ingersoll said an Internet search revealed some of her competitors have practiced for two weeks. She practiced two days, as her team's journey in the WNIT precluded her from thinking about shooting competitions.

"Considering what they've been doing, I'm maybe not taking it as seriously," Ingersoll said. "But I am serious about representing our university and our team well."

The format is the same as any 3-point competition. Ingersoll will have 60 seconds to shoot 25 balls, each contained in one of five ball racks lined along the 3-point line. Sinking the final ball in a rack nets two points. All other shots are worth one.

Ingersoll, who will don UT's blue road jersey, will compete against St. Bonaventure's Jessica Jenkins, Louisville's Becky Burke, Michigan State's Taylor Alton, Purdue's Brittany Rayburn, South Carolina's Markeshia Grant, and Southern California's Ashley Corral. The champion will advance to face the winner of the men's field.

Ingersoll

The nation's leading 3-point shooter at 44.2 percent, Ingersoll nailed two 3s against Syracuse to tie Kelly Savage's UT record for a season with 96. A made 3 in the previous round against Virginia Commonwealth was wiped away after video replay showed Ingersoll's foot was on the line.

"Kelly has been an influence on my life during my career," Ingersoll said. "Ever since my freshman year I kidded with her telling her I was going to knock her off."

Ingersoll's work in New Orleans won't be done when the shooting ends. The communications major plans to "use my personality" to network with TV executives and marketing folks in hopes of landing a job after she graduates in May.

"I think right now my head is telling me to go to grad school and get my Master's in marketing and sales," Ingersoll said. "Maybe I'll meet someone and they'll influence me otherwise. We'll see."

Contact Ryan Autullo at: rautullo@theblade.com, 419-724-6160, or on Twitter @RyanAutullo.