The University of Akron Athletics
Women's Basketball Claims Overtime Win Over Georgia Southern
November 27 | Women's Basketball
After letting a big second-half lead slip away, The University of Akron women's basketball team bounced back to out score Georgia Southern 24-11 in overtime to claim a 94-81 win in the first game of the SMU Hoops for the Cure Thanksgiving Tournament.
Four UA players scored in double digits, including career high outputs from Taylor Ruper and Carly Young, and Rachel Tecca recorded her second straight double double.
With the scored knotted at 70 at the end of regulation, Akron scored 15 of the first 17 points in overtime, 10 coming from Kara Murphy to regain control of the game.
Ruper led off the game with a trey and kept connecting the entire first half, leading Akron to a 37-23 halftime lead. The sophomore guard bested her career-high in the period, going for 19 points with five three-pointers.
A 16-2 run in the first half, capped by a Ruper trey, blew the game open for UA, giving the Zips a 29-13 advantage with 5:16 remaining in the stanza.
The Akron lead stayed in the double digits until late in the second half when a GSU three-ball cut the lead to 62-54 with just over two minutes to go in the game. GSU cut the lead to 67-66 on a Krista Tate lay-up with 52 seconds to go, before Young hit a three-pointer to put the Zips up four with 27 seconds to go. GSU then answered with two straight buckets down the stretch to force overtime.
Ruper led all scorers with 26, while Young also knocked down five triples and totaled 17 points for the game. Tecca finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Murphy ended the game with 12 points. Freshman point guard Kacie Cassell dished out six assists.
UA shot an excellent 49% from the field and 47% from behind the arc.
The Zips will now face the winner of Southern Methodist and Arkansas State tomorrow at 6 p.m.
