The University of Akron Athletics
Women's Hoops Downs CMU for Fourth Straight Win
February 05 | Women's Basketball
A strong defensive effort and a 15-4 run to start the second
half led the University of Akron women's basketball team to its
fourth straight win in a 62-55 decision against Central Michigan at
Rhodes Arena Thursday night.
With the victory, the Zips improved to 13-9 overall and 7-2 in
Mid-American Conference play, matching its best league record after
nine games in 11 years, while handing the Chippewas (8-12, 5-3)
just their second loss in their last seven games.
Akron, which is tied with Kent State for second place in the MAC
East Division, also matched the third-highest win total in league
play (7) in program history.
Akron junior Kara Murphy led all scorers
with 17 points and Jolene Tamboue added her
fourth double-double of the year with 11 points, 10 rebounds and a
career-high four blocked shots. Jasmine Mushington joined
Murphy and Tamboue in double figures with 10 points off the
bench.
"I am very proud of the way we played defense tonight," said UA
head coach Jodi Kest. "Central Michigan
is a very good team and it says a lot about our players and how
hard they have worked all year to hold such a good offensive team
like CMU to less than 60 points.
"We had three players in double-figures and Jolene Tamboue was
tremendous with her energy. It was a tough game and the first 10
minutes in the second half ended up being the difference."
UA, which leads the MAC in defense, held Central Michigan to just
30.0 shooting (18-for-60) for the game and a season-low 55 points.
This was a significant feat considering that CMU scored 96 points
in its last game against Miami and entered play averaging 72.1
points per contest.
On the flip side, Akron was efficient on offense, connecting on
46.3 percent (25-for-54) attempts from the floor, and recording 19
assists on 25 field goals. Ayla Guzzardo led all players with five
assists to go with nine points - on 4-for-5 shooting - and two
rebounds in 31 minutes.
An offensive rebound and put-back by Jasmine Mushington capped an
8-0 UA run that was sparked by a 3-pointer by Amber
Witt late in the first half to give the Zips a 26-16 lead. But
the Chippewas bounced back with a lay-up by Shonda Long and a three
ball by Stefanie Mauk to trim the lead in half and trailed by
three, 28-25, at the break.
Akron was paced by seven first-half points from Witt, who also
added a pair of assists, while Laura Baker and Kaihla Szunko each
added five points apiece for the Chippewas. The Zips led from the
opening tip, shooting 41.4 percent (12-for-29) for the period,
while holding CMU to 26.7 percent (8-for-30) from the floor.
Kyle Baumgartner got things
going for the Zips after the break with a mid-range jumper and
Tamboue followed with a jumper of her own as UA started to pull
away. Following a pair of CMU free throws, Akron scored on its next
three possessions, including back-to-back buckets by Tamboue to
push out to an 11-point margin, 38-27, with 14:44 to play.
Central Michigan's Skylar Miller came back with a jump shot, but
another lay-in by Tamboue and a three ball from Murphy pushed UA
out to a 43-29 lead and essentially closed the books on the
Chippewas.
The Zips will next host Northern Illinois Saturday afternoon at 2
p.m. (EST) at Rhodes Arena.
Zips Notebook: With the win, Akron surpassed its league
win total of last year with seven games remaining. The school
record for most conference wins in a season is 10, set in 1998-99
... UA improved to 8-1 at home this season and is 11-2 in its last
13 games at Rhodes Arena dating back to last season.
