The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Slides Past Miami, 77-75
February 22 | Women's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio - Senior captain
Jessie Crooks
(Independence, Ohio/Independence) established a career high with 28
points as the Zips squeezed past the RedHawks, 77-75 Wednesday
night at Rhodes Arena.
The win puts Akron at 10-16 overall, 3-11 MAC and is just the
fifth win over Miami in 30 appearances between the two schools.
Miami falls to 12-15 overall, 6-8 MAC.
UA trailed 71-59 with 6:33 to play before starting a comeback that
cut the lead to 75-73 with 1:54 left in the game and tied the score
seconds later on a layup from
Sarah Tokodi (Marietta,
Ohio/Parkersburg[W.Va.] Catholic) layup. Crooks put the Zips on top
for good with 1:02 remaining and from then on, the Zips' defense
shut out Miami.
"This was a great comeback by our kids," said head coach
Jodi Kest. "We didn't do a
great job stopping their guards, but down the stretch when we
needed to make the stops, we did."
Three other Zips joined Crooks with double-figures on the night.
Tokodi deposited 18 points, while
Niki McCoy (Sylvania,
Ohio/Northview) had 14 points and
Riana Miller (Sylvania,
Ohio/Northview) contributed 10 of her own. Prior to the game,
Crooks was honored having scored her 1,000th career point at Kent
State last Saturday.
Miami came out in the second half attacking first, but the Zips
quickly answered with a Miller layup. At the 18:25 mark the score
was tied 40-40, but the RedHawks slowly developed a 67-57 lead with
7:59 remaining.
The Zips finished the game shooting nearly 50 percent from the
floor (24-49, .489), making 8 of 19 three-point tries. The RedHawks
shot 39 percent (24-61) and just 7-of-21 from behind the arc.
"Scoring 77 points is a lot for us," Kest said. "I thought all of
the kids played well and I couldn't be more proud of their
effort."
Akron started the game out strong with a pair of free throws and a
three-pointer from the corner from Crooks, paving the way to a
17-10 lead. The RedHawks clawed back to regain the lead at the 3:55
for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.
For the last four minutes of the half, both teams traded buckets
as the midway score was 36-34 with the edge going to Miami. Miami's
leading was Amanda Jackson with 28 points - 11 coming in the first
half, while Ashley Hawkins contributed with 22 points from the
bench on the night.
The Zips went into the locker room having more than half their
points scored by Crooks. She led the team with 18 points and shot a
perfect 6-of-6 from the floor with four of those from long
range.
Both teams shot well in the first half with the RedHawks shooting
41 percent and the Zips bettering that, shooting 44 percent while
also going 5-of-9 as a team from behind the arc.
The Zips will play their final home game of the season this
Saturday against the Buffalo Bulls. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. at
Rhodes Arena. Prior to the game, Crooks and fellow senior
Mandy Holzer (Jordan,
Minn./Jordan) will be honored for their contributions to the
program.
