Women's Basketball Opens Season at No. 2 Notre Dame in Preseason WNIT

November 09 | Women's Basketball

Buy Tickets | Women's Basketball Gameday Central | Women's Basketball Promotions

Game Notes (PDF Format)

Game Day Coverage:
Watch Free Live Video
Follow Free Live Statistics

Akron (0-0) at No. 2 Notre Dame (0-0)

Fri., Nov. 11, 2011 • 7 p.m. ET
Notre Dame, Ind.
Purcell Pavillion (9,149)

Television: None.

Live Streaming/Live Statistics:
Available at GoZips.com – free of charge.

Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network – SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship), 1420 WHK in Cleveland, 1440 WHKZ in Warren/Youngstown, and for free at SportsRadio1350.com. Bill Morgan (play-by-play) (6:30 p.m. ET airtime).

Akron Coach Jodi Kest (Slippery Rock, 1984):

Is in her sixth season at Akron, posting a 60-92 (.395) mark. Kest is 286-245 (.539) in 19 seasons as a collegiate head coach. She was named the MAC Coach of the Year in 2010 after leading UA to a school-record 18 wins.

ND Coach Muffet McGraw (Saint Joseph's (Pa.), 1977):

In her 24 seasons at Notre Dame, McGraw has amassed a 556-211 (.725) record while leading the Fighting Irish to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a national title in 2001 and a berth in the NCAA Championship game last season.

The Series: First Meeting.

Akron Kicks Off Regular Season at Notre Dame in Preseason WNIT

The Zips begin the 2011-12 campaign at preseason No. 2 Notre Dame as part of the Preseason WNIT. Akron is guaranteed to play at least two more games in the tournament, with the remaining schedule to be announced after the first round.

Storylines

• Akron returns 10 letterwinners and four starters from last year's team that finished 14-16 overall and 6-10 in MAC play, capped by a 73-65 loss in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals to Toledo, who went on to win the WNIT.

• The Zips are coming off a 97-43 exhibition win over Ohio Dominican on Nov. 5. Sophomore Hanna Luburgh scored a game-high 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range.

• Junior forward Rachel Tecca, a first team All-MAC selection after a tremendous sophomore campaign, was named to the Preseason All-MAC squad. The Zips were picked to finish third in the East behind Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio).

• Head Coach Jodi Kest, now in her sixth season at the helm of the program, needs just 14 wins to join the 300-club. She has amassed 286 wins over 19 seasons as a head coach. At Akron, Kest has posted a 60-92 record (.395) and needs 20 wins to become the winningest coach in Zips history.

• Notre Dame, the preseason No. 2 team in both major polls, is the fourth ranked team the Zips have played in program history. According to available records, Akron has played three ranked teams to date: No. 23 Xavier in 2008 and No. 20 Alabama and No. 1 Tennessee in 1997. UA lost all three of those games.

• This will mark the first meeting between the two programs. Akron has compiled a 4-30 record all-time against schools currently in the Big East.

• This is also UA's first appearance in the Preseason WNIT.

• Akron is 2-3 in season openers under Coach Kest.

A Look at Notre Dame

• Notre Dame was tabbed second in both preseason national polls and first in the Big East preseason poll, with junior guard Skylar Diggins selected as the Big East Preseason Player of the Year. In addition, senior guard Natalie Novosel and senior forward Devereaux Peters also joined Diggins on the Preseason All-Big East team.

• In 2010-11, the Fighting Irish finished 31-8 overall and 13-3 in the Big East, tied for second in the league. They suffered losses in the Big East Championship game at Connecticut and in the NCAA Championship game against Texas A&M. Notre Dame ended the season ranked ninth in the AP poll and second in the ESPN/USA Today poll.

Akron Opens Season with Exhibition Contest

The Zips began the 38th season of Akron women's basketball with an exhibition contest at home against Ohio Dominican University. Akron cruised over the Panthers, winning 97-43 as six Zips reached double figures, led by junior forward Rachel Tecca with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Sophomore Hanna Luburgh led all scorers with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range. Overall, UA finished 37-for-74 (.500) from the field and 8-for-23 (.348) from distance.

Preseason Predictions

The Zips were picked third in the MAC East division behind MAC Tournament champion Bowling Green and Miami (Ohio). Last season, the Zips finished fourth in the East with a 6-10 record. Junior forward Rachel Tecca was also one of five players in each division selected to the Preseason All-MAC team. Tecca was an All-MAC first team honoree last year after finishing eighth in the league in scoring (15.8 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (9.6 rpg).

Chasing 1,000 Points

Entering this season, Rachel Tecca has tallied 809 career points through 62 games and needs just 193 to join the 1,000-point club. Last season, she scored 475 points, the fifth most in a season in program history.

Record Watch

Junior guard Taylor Ruper netted 75 3-pointers last season, the second most in a season in program history, and currently stands eighth all-time with 95 career 3's. The program record is 183 by Michelle Chavanne. With just 45 more, Ruper would move into second place ahead of Leigh Burdette (139).

Rachel Tecca is likely to move into the top 10 in career rebounds this season, as she has recorded 482 so far and needs 123 to claim 10th place on the all-time list. Last season, she notched 288 boards, the third most in a season in program history.

Quest for 300

Head Coach Jodi Kest owns a career record of 286-245 (.539) through 19 seasons, needing just 14 more wins to total 300 for her career. In 2009-10, she guided the Zips to a school-record 18 wins and was named the MAC Coach of the Year.

Preseason WNIT

For the first time in program history, the Zips are one of 16 teams competing in the Preseason WNIT. Each team is guaranteed to play at least three games as part of the event. Akron's first round opponent is No. 2 Notre Dame. With a win, the Zips would advance to the second round in the Championship bracket. With a loss, Akron would drop down to the consolation bracket.

3-Point Prowess

Last season, the Zips finished fifth in the MAC in both 3-point percentage (.332) and 3-pointers made per game (5.6). Taylor Ruper led UA with a 38.3 3-point shooting percentage, good for fourth in the league, and 2.5 3's made per game, placing her second in the league. For her career, Ruper ranks fourth in Zips history in 3-point percentage (.352), eighth in 3-pointers made (95) and ninth in 3-point field goal attempts (270).

Scheduling Tough

This season, the Zips will face 12 teams that participated in postseason play last year. Four went to the NCAA Tournament, five to the WNIT and three to the Women's Basketball Invitational. In all, Akron will play at least 15 games against postseason participants from last year. There are also two ranked teams on the schedule, as UA will play at No. 2 Notre Dame to open the regular season, and No. 14/13 Florida State will visit the JAR on Dec. 10. Akron has not faced a ranked opponent since Dec. 5, 2008 at No. 23 Xavier, a game the Zips lost 69-44.

Strength in Numbers

Akron returns 10 letterwinners from last year's squad and four starters. Additionally, five players started at least 12 games last season. Rachel Tecca returns at forward as UA's leading scorer (15.8) and rebounder (9.6). Three other players also return that averaged over 7.0 ppg. In total, Akron returns 56.5 ppg, which is 85 percent of their 66.3 points per game last year.

Newcomer Notes

• Tatiana Haynes - Jr., G, 5-8, Pontiac, Mich./Jacksonville (Texas) JC: Averaged 13.5 ppg in her second year at Jacksonville College and was named to the All-Conference team...Two-time first team All-Conference player at Rochester HS.

• Candace Martino - Fr., G, 5-7, Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park HS: Averaged double figures in scoring all four years...Finiished with 1,130 career points...Named to All-Section and All-Conference teams.

• Brittani Thomas - Fr., G, 5-10, Columbus, Ohio/Africentric Early College: Two-time first team All-City league...Won state championship as a sophomore...Team won district championship all four years.

Road Warriors

Once the MAC season kicks off, the Zips will have to play six of their first nine league games on the road. This could be a good thing, as Akron fared better on the road than at home last season. UA posted a 2-6 league record at the JAR and a 4-4 mark on the road in 2010-11. The 4-4 road record matched the best ever for Akron in the MAC since 1999-2000.

Postseason Recap

Akron finished fourth in the East and earned the No. 8 seed in the MAC Tournament. Western Michigan came to the JAR for a first round match-up, which the Zips won 76-65 to advance to Cleveland. At Quicken Loans Arena, UA played top-seeded Toledo in the quarterfinals and nearly pulled off the upset, dropping a close 73-65 decision.

For their performances in 2010-11, four Zips earned postseason conference honors, led by Rachel Tecca becoming the third player in program history to make the first team All-MAC squad. Senior and all-time leading scorer Kara Murphy was named All-MAC honorable mention, while Carly Young was selected to the All-MAC Freshman team. Finally, Jasmine Mushington was named Co-Sixth Player of the Year after averaging 7.2 ppg and 2.5 rpg off the bench.

Academic Achievement

The Zips excelled not only on the court last year but in the classroom, as well. Rachel Tecca became the seventh Zip in program history to make the All-MAC Academic team and the first to be named to the Capital One Academic All-District squad. As a team, Akron was honored by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association for having the 14th-best team GPA in the country with a mark of 3.405.