The University of Akron Athletics
Women's Basketball Defeated by Utah, 71-60
November 24 | Women's Basketball
The University of Akron women's basketball team took a six-point
lead into halftime but couldn't hold on to defeat Utah, 71-60, at
the Oahu Hoop ‘N Surf Classic Friday afternoon at McKinley
High School.
Sophomore Riana Miller (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview) had a
strong second half with 11 points for the Zips (2-3), who trailed
by just one point, 61-60, with little more than two minutes
remaining. But the Utes (2-2) scored the last 10 points of the
contest to complete the come-from-behind victory.
"I thought we played a great 37 minutes," said UA head coach Jodi
Kest. "The last three minutes of the game, we made some mental
mistakes, we turned the ball over and we weren't getting loose
balls. When you're playing a great team like Utah, you have to play
a full 40 minutes."
In all, the Zips – who put together arguably their best first
half of the young year – had four players in double-figures
led by freshman Kara Murphy (Hartville, Ohio/St. Vincent-St.
Mary), who checked in with 15. Keyla
Snowden (Lexington, Ky./Lexington Catholic) had 14 points,
followed by Miller (13) and Sarah
Tokodi (12).
Utah's Leilani Mitchell led all scorers with 24 points.
Akron used a stingy defense and a hot hand from Snowden to build a
24-16 lead 12 minutes into the game. Snowden hit her first of four
first-half three pointers to put UA up 3-0 as the Zips jumped out
to a 10-6 advantage. Utah clawed its way back to a 16-all tie
before back-to-back threes by Snowden and a lay in by Tokodi gave
UA a 24-16 lead at the 7:30 mark. A three ball by Murphy five
minutes later pushed Akron to its largest lead of the half,
29-22.
Akron was deadly from three-point land – connecting on seven
of 14 attempts – and forced 12 Utah turnovers in the first
half and took a 36-30 lead into the break. Snowden finished the
opening period with four threes-pointers on five attempts and 12
points. Murphy led all scorers with 13 first-half points.
The pace of the game slowed dramatically early in the second half
as neither team was able to establish a consistent rhythm
offensively. Utah took the upper hand however with just its second
lead of the contest with a pair of free throws that put the Utes up
42-40. The game was tied four more times after that point before
Utah finally pulled away in the last two minutes with its last
eight points coming from the free throw line.
The Zips will have an off-day Saturday before concluding the Oahu
Classic Sunday with a match-up against Nebraska. Tip time is
scheduled for 5 p.m. (EST)
Zips Notebook: Utah was a WNIT participant last
season and advanced to the NCAA's Elite Eight in 2006 ... free
throws were at a premium in the first half as the teams combined
for five attempts, with UA shooting just twice ... Lauren
Stephenson (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Pickerington) led the Zips with
a game-high eight rebounds, including four off the offensive glass
in just 26 minutes ... after catching fire in the first half from
three-point range, UA connected on just one of five attempts after
the break.
