The University of Akron Athletics
Miami Comes to Town for Saturday Afternoon Showdown
January 14 | Women's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio - Coming off a tough loss at Bowling Green, the University of Akron women's basketball team (8-7, 1-2) will play host to the Miami RedHawks (9-7, 1-2) on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m. ET. Both teams are looking for their second Mid-American Conference victory of the season, and the Zips hope to continue a three-game winning streak over MU.
Game #16: Akron Zips (8-7, 1-2) vs. Miami RedHawks (9-7,
1-2)
Rhodes Arena | Akron, Ohio | Sat., Jan. 15, 2010 | 2:00 p.m.
ET
Radio: SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF). | Audio Stream: Zips Zone - Bill
Morgan (Play-by-Play) | Live Stats: GoZips.com
Zips Reset
• The University of Akron women's basketball team gave the
six-time defending conference champion all it could handle on the
road Wednesday night but fell to a hot-shooting Bowling Green team
90-72.
• Akron had four Zips in double figures, led by sophomore Rachel Tecca with 16 points and 10 boards, her sixth double-double of the season and ninth of her career. Sophomore Taylor Ruper had a huge second half, scoring all of her 15 points in the final period of play to lead the Zips' charge. Behind 4-for-7 from 3-point range, freshman Carly Young finished with 14 points after a big first half. Senior Kara Murphy added 10 points on 4-for-5 from the floor and three assists.
• Reigning conference player of the year Lauren Prochaska led all players with 28 points on 11-for-16 shooting. As a team, BGSU shot 58.8 percent (30-for-51) for the game and 10-for-17 (.588) from long range. The Zips held their own, finishing 28-for-58 (.483), including 10-for-19 (.526) from deep. Akron won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding the Falcons 32-25.
About Miami
• Miami is coming off its first conference win of the season
at home over Buffalo in a high-scoring affair, 94-89. Prior to
that, the RedHawks had dropped their first two MAC games to Kent
State and Bowling Green. During non-conference play, they garnered
wins over the likes of Marshall, Wright State, Indiana, and
Cincinnati.
• Sophomore guard Courtney Osborn leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.3 points per game, while sophomore forward Kirsten Olowinski handles the action down low, grabbing 10.9 rebounds per contest to go along with 10.3 point per game. Maggie Boyer, a junior guard, is the only other MU player averaging in double digits, adding 13.5 points per game.
Series Side Notes
Akron trails the series with Miami 8-28, dating back to 1981-82.
Last season, the Zips swept both meetings with the RedHawks,
winning on the road 55-40 and hanging on at home 72-65. UA's last
loss to Miami came on Jan. 7, 2009 at Rhodes Arena.
Did You Know?
• Against BGSU on 1/12/11, the Zips knocked down 10 treys,
just one shy of their season-high 11 against Georgia Southern.
Freshman Carly
Young got things going by hitting her first four long-range
attempts, and sophomore Taylor
Ruper continued the hot hand by pouring in three in the second
half to help Akron shoot better than .500 from behind the arc for
the second time this year. The Zips rank fourth in the league with
6.07 3-pointers made per game.
• Akron performs both on and off the court, as the women's basketball team placed 10 student-athletes on the Dean's List for Fall 2010. For the Fall, the team posted an overall GPA of 3.40. They also have an impressive cumulative GPA of 3.45. Making the list were senior Kara Murphy, juniors Denver McLean and Natasha Williams, sophomores Taylor Ruper and Rachel Tecca, and freshmen Kacie Cassell, Sina King, Hanna Luburgh, Brianna Moyes, and Carly Young.
• The Zips have only defeated Bowling Green twice in their history: Feb. 26, 1999 in the MAC Tournament and Feb. 10, 2001 at home. Both wins came under former head coach Roxanne Allen and were not even close, with Akron winning by an average of 21.5 points. Last season, Rachel Tecca averaged 19.3 points per game in three meetings with the Falcons. After falling on the road 90-72 this year but putting up a good fight, history says the Zips stand a better chance at home on Feb. 22.
• For the first time since Nov. 23, 2010 against Robert Morris, the Zips' starting five had a new face in freshman Sina King. Coach Kest had used the same starting lineup for nine games before making the switch against Buffalo on 1/5/11. It was the first career start for King and only the fourth different lineup used by Akron this season.
• With non-conference play in the books, Akron began the second half of the season with Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 2. Last year, UA amassed a school-record 11 league wins to only five losses and a trip to the MAC Tournament Semifinals.
• Sophomore Rachel Tecca recorded her sixth double-double of the season against Bowling Green, already the ninth of her young career.
• Tecca has also scored in double figures in all but two games this season, when she only recorded six points against Duquesne (12/1/10) and four against Buffalo (1/5/11). She has led the team in scoring 10 times in 14 games.
• Senior forward Kara Murphy currently stands second on the Zips' all-time scoring list with 1,633 points, just 79 points behind Akron great Cheryl Bowles.
• Murphy is also close to appearing on the career games played list, as she currently stands at 108 games played and two former Zips are tied for ninth all-time with 109 games played. Cheryl Bowles holds the record with 115, which Murphy is likely to break in her final season.
• The Zips stand third in the league in field goal percentage, knocking down shots at a clip of 43.1 percent on the season. The team also ranks fifth in scoring offense with 69.9 points per game. Sophomore Rachel Tecca contributes to both categories, as she ranks fourth in the league with 17.3 points per game and ninth with a field goal percentage of 49.5 percent.
• Sophomore guard Taylor Ruper is not shy from behind the arc and it pays off for the Zips, as she is tied for second in the league with 2.67 3-pointers made per game. She also converts at a high rate, standing fourth in 3-point field goal percentage at just under 40 percent. Against Georgia Southern, Ruper exploded for a career-high 26 points in a thrilling overtime victory. In the win over Cleveland State, Ruper knocked down six three-pointers, a career high.
• Freshman guard Kacie Cassell has made her presence known on the floor this season with her unselfish play. The newcomer stands ninth in the league with 4.2 assists per game and fifth with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.40. She has already notched three performances of eight assists or more in a game this year. Akron is tied for third in the league in assists per game (15.00), largely due to the play of Cassell at the point.
A Look Ahead
The Zips will make the short trip down the road to visit rival Kent
State (12-3, 3-0) on Wednesday, Jan. 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 7
p.m. ET.
