The University of Akron Athletics
Tecca, Murphy Lead Zips Past Bobcats, 54-45
January 08 | Women's Basketball
- Earning its first Mid-American Conference victory of the season, the University of Akron women's basketball team (8-6, 1-1) downed Ohio (4-11, 0-2) at Rhodes Arena, 54-45. The Zips were led by sophomore Rachel Tecca with 19 points and six rebounds, while senior Kara Murphy added 13 points, six boards, and three steals. Zips' 3-point specialist Taylor Ruper also chipped in nine points off three triples.
For the Bobcats, Alesia Howard and Ashley Fowler each recorded 10 points apiece, while leading scorer and Akron native Tenishia Benson was held to just nine. Ohio won the battle on the boards 41-30, helped by a pair of 'Cats grabbing eight boards and Benson hauling in seven. Akron held OU to only 45 points, matching the lowest point total by an opponent on the season.
Both teams struggled from the floor, as the Zips finished 23-for-59 (.390) and held Ohio to 16-for-49 (.327), but Akron's 24 points off 22 OU turnovers, along with a 32-12 scoring advantage in the paint, proved to be the difference in the contest. Ohio never led by more than two, as Akron controlled the run of play for most of the game.
The Bobcats got on the board first with a layup off an inbounds play, but sharp-shooting Ruper did one better by scoring Akron's first points with a triple. After several Ohio turnovers, back-to-back buckets from Murphy and Tecca gave the Zips a 9-4 lead five minutes into the contest. Out of the media timeout, Fowler knocked down the Bobcats' first 3-pointer of the game. The teams traded baskets on the next possessions, with Akron maintaining a two-point advantage.
After another timeout, Akron junior Natasha Williams drilled a 3, but Ohio answered with a jumper by Fowler to stay on the Zips' heels. Midway through the first half, Akron led 14-11. Minutes later, the Bobcats hit back-to-back jumpers to take their first lead of the game, 15-14. It did not last long, however, as Tecca answered with a basket in the paint. Both teams traded buckets again, and after a defensive stop for the Zips, Tecca hit a hook shot in the lane to push Akron's lead to three with 3:18 remaining in the period.
In the final minutes of the half, Murphy hit back-to-back jumpers in the lane and added a free throw for five-straight points, giving Akron a 25-20 advantage before Ruper nailed another 3-pointer to increase the lead to eight as the Zips closed the half strong, taking a 28-20 lead into the locker room.
Tecca paced the Zips with 10 points at the break, while Murphy added seven and Ruper six. The Bobcats did not have a player in double digits, and their 20 points was the lowest first-half total by an Akron opponent all season. UA forced 12 Ohio turnovers and gave up the ball just five times in the opening stanza.
A layup by Murphy marked the first points of the second half, but Ohio responded on the next possession with a 3 from Fowler. Both teams struggled to make shots until Jasmine Mushington knocked down a jumper to put the lead in double figures, 32-22, five minutes into the half. The Bobcats would not back down, though, as Benson drilled a 3 from the corner and Alesia Howard made a layup on consecutive possessions to cut into the deficit.
Ever the fighters, the Zips responded with layups from Tecca and Mushington to hang on to a 36-27 lead with 11:22 to play. Murphy added a jumper in the lane and Tecca buried a free throw to give the Zips a 10-point lead, forcing Ohio to call timeout with just under nine minutes remaining in the game. After the break, Ruper nailed her third trey of the day and Tecca banked in a runner to give the Zips their largest lead yet, 44-29.
A nifty pass from Kacie Cassell to Tecca under the basket widened the lead even further, but Ohio answered with two made free throws. Murphy came right back with a layup of her own to dash the Bobcats' hope at a run. A 3 by Shavon Robinson brought Ohio to within 11, but a made hook shot in the paint from Tecca and a driving layup from Cassell kept the Zips in front. The 'Cats kept clawing, hitting back-to-back 3's to draw within nine, but Mushington drove in for a layup as the shot clock expired to help Akron seal the victory, 54-45.
Next, the Zips will hit the road to take on Bowling Green (13-1, 1-0 MAC) on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. ET.
