The University of Akron Athletics
Women's Basketball to End 2008 at Sam Houston State
December 30 | Women's Basketball
Johnson Coliseum (6,100) • Huntsville, Texas • Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008 • 3 p.m. (EST)
The Opening Tip
The University of Akron women's basketball team will close out
the 2008 calendar year when it plays at Sam Houston State on New
Year's Eve Wednesday night at Johnson Coliseum.
On The Dial
No radio.
On The Web
Fans can listen to all the play-by-play action via
streaming audio on www.GoZips.com. Rob Gidel, who is in his first
season with the Zips, will have the call.
Series Breakdown
Series: Akron trails 0-1 since 1994-95.
UA Series Streak: L1
Last 10 Meetings: 0-1
Last Meeting: L, 52-57 on Dec. 29, 1994.
Notes: Akron and Sam Houston State will meet for just the second
time in school history and the first time at the Johnson Coliseum
Wednesday ... The Bearkats defeated the Zips, 57-52, in the only
previous meeting at the Louisville Tournament in Louisville, Ky. on
Dec. 29, 1994.
Coaches
• Jodi Kest (Slippery Rock, '84) is in her third
season at Akron where she is 20-50 (.286). Kest has a career mark
of 246-204 (.547), spanning more than 16 seasons as a head coach
overall. Kest led the Zips to a 7-24 record, including 2-14 in the
MAC, last winter.
• Brenda Welch-Nichols (Sam Houston State,
'88) is in her third season at Sam Houston State, where she is 8-61
(.116). Welch-Nichols has a career mark of 140-209 (.401), spanning
14 seasons as a head coach overall. Welch-Nichols' Bearkats were
1-28 a year ago overall and 0-16 in the Southland Conference.
Up Next
The Zips will ring in the New Year with a three-game
homestand starting Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. when Lehigh makes its
second all-time appearance at Rhodes Arena.
Zips Reset
Sophomore Kara Murphy led all scorers with 29 points
but it wasn't enough as the Zips fell 74-59 to Houston Sunday
afternoon at the Hofheinz Pavilion.
Trailing by as many as 12 points in the second half, the Zips (3-8)
cut the lead to five on two occasions but could no closer.
Houston (8-3) won despite shooting just 35.3 percent (24-for-68)
because of a 58-41 rebounding edge, including 25 offensive boards
that led to 17 second-chance points. The Cougars scored 34 of their
74 points in the paint.
The Zips' struggles from the free throw line on the road continued
as UA converted just 41.2 percent (10-for-17) from the charity
stripe while shooting 37.7 percent (23-for-63) overall from the
field.
Murphy, who has scored 20 or more points 12 times during her Akron
career, also pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. Freshman Jasmine
Mushington recorded nine points in 23 minutes off the bench for
the Zips.
Courtney Taylor led four Houston players in double figures with 16
points. Cobilyn Hill followed with 15 while Roxana Button and
Brittany Scott chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Murphy paced the Zips with 11 points in what was a closely
contested first half before a late 14-0 Houston run gave the home
team a 33-22 at the break.
About Sam Houston State
Sam Houston State stands 2-9 after an 83-41 loss at Oral
Roberts Monday night. The Kats had their poorest shooting night of
the season, going 13-of-58 from the field (.224) and 0-for-16 from
3-point range.
Wednesday will be the first home game in 39 days for the Bearkats,
whose last home game was November 21. Since then, Sam Houston State
has played eight consecutive road games against teams like Alabama,
Auburn, TCU and SMU.
Sam Houston State returns four starters and eight letterwinners
from last season's squad that went 1-28 overall and as it finished
12th in the Southland Conference with a 0-16 record. The Bearkats
are led offensively by junior guard Brittany Brooks, who is
averaging 8.1 points per game.
Murphy Tabbed Player of the Week
Sophomore Kara Murphy was named Mid-American
Conference East Division Player of the Week for the second time,
the league office announced Monday.
Murphy, who also earned MAC POTW honors last month, recorded the
11th-highest scoring game in UA history with 29 points in a losing
effort at Houston Sunday afternoon. The forward connected on 54.5
percent (12-for-22) of her attempts from the field, including a
trio of 3-pointers, while also grabbing eight rebounds in 37
minutes. Her field goals made and field goals attempted were career
highs.
Murphy, who has led the Zips in scoring 20 times in 42 career
contests, has posted 20 or more points 12 times in an Akron
uniform, including six times in 11 games this season. Her scoring
average of 18.5 points per game is ranked second in the MAC and
33rd in the country.
More on Murphy
Although just a sophomore, Murphy – who has started
every game of her college career – has already put her stamp
on the Akron basketball program. In 42 games, the physical forward
has registered three of the top 11 single-game scoring performances
in Zips' history, including Sunday's 29-point outburst.
The all-conference standout scored 32 points against St.
Bonaventure (Nov. 22) earlier this season, which was fourth on the
exclusive list, and tallied 31 against Miami (Ohio) last March,
which ranks sixth. She was also named MAC East Division Player of
the Week last November.
Sue Davis, who played two seasons at UA (1974-75 and 1975-76), owns
the top two slots on the singe-game scoring list. Davis scored 38
points against Slippery Rock on Dec. 28, 1976 and struck for 33
versus Youngstown State on Feb. 21, 1976.
Kest Back in the Lone Star State
Wednesday's game will be UA head coach Jodi
Kest's second in Texas since guiding the Texas A&M-Corpus
Christi program to a 73-40 (.646) mark in four years from 2002-03
to 2005-06. She was named Independent Coach of the Year three times
(2003, 2004, 2005) while at the helm of the Islanders.
Akron was defeated by Houston, 74-59, last Sunday.
Road Woes Continue
Akron, which is 2-3 at Rhodes Arena this season, has
struggled away from its home court with a 1-5 mark on the road
(including the Zips' 58-52 victory versus Troy on a neutral court).
UA has dropped its last four games on the road, where it is
averaging nine fewer points per game (63.0-54.0).
The biggest difference however has been at the free throw line
where the Zips are shooting 26.4 percent lower on the road (52.8
percent) than in games at Rhodes Arena (79.2 percent).
Akron has played six of its first 11 games on the road this
season.
