The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Travels to Northern Illinois for Saturday Match-Up
February 04 | Women's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio - Going for its first-ever win at Northern Illinois, the University of Akron women's basketball team will face off with the Huskies on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 4 p.m. ET. The Zips (9-12, 2-7 MAC) are 0-8 all-time in DeKalb, Ill. and have dropped two league contests in a row. NIU (9-13, 3-6 MAC) is coming off a last-minute home loss to defending MAC champion Bowling Green but has won three of its last four games. With her next appearance, senior Kara Murphy will tie Cheryl Bowles for the career games played record. Murphy has started all 114 games of her career.
Game #22: Akron Zips (9-12, 2-7) vs. Northern Illinois
Huskies (9-13, 3-6)
Convocation Center | DeKalb, Ill. | Sat., Feb. 5, 2011 | 4:00 p.m.
ET
Radio: Akron Sports Network from IMG College: 1350 AM - Bill Morgan
(Play-by-Play) | Webcast available through subscription | Live
Stats: GoZips.com
Zips Reset
• Despite a one-point lead at halftime, the University of
Akron women's basketball team could not topple Mid-American
Conference overall leader Toledo on Wednesday night, falling 58-49
at Rhodes Arena.
• Akron senior Kara Murphy recorded a game-high 18 points in her 114th career start, tying for the second-most career games in program history.
• Sophomore Rachel Tecca notched her 10th double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 boards, but the Zips gave up a halftime lead for just the third time this year and could not pull off the upset. Junior Jasmine Mushington added eight points for Akron, who out-shot and out-rebounded the Rockets.
• Toledo did not shoot well from the floor but survived by scoring half of its points at the free throw line, making an overwhelming 26-of-34 attempts, while Akron finished 12-of-14. UT had three players with 12 points apiece and four in double figures overall.
About Northern Illinois
• NIU is coming off a close home loss to Bowling Green, 67-64,
in which the Huskies gave up a three-point lead with less than a
minute to play. Their MAC victories have come over Ball State,
Miami, and Ohio, and they have won three of their last four
games.
• NIU leads the league in 3-point percentage (.404) and rebounding defense (33.4) but ranks near the bottom in scoring offense (59.2) and last in blocks (1.55), assists (10.32), and steals (6.73).
• Senior guard Marke Freeman paces the Huskies' offense with 17.0 ppg, fifth in the MAC. Fellow senior Ebony Ellis crashes the boards at center with 8.0 rpg, good for sixth in the league. Freeman also nabs 2.59 steals per contest, placing her third in the MAC.
Series Side Notes
Akron trails the series with the Huskies 6-16, dating back to
1988-89. Last season, the Zips earned a decisive 57-39 victory over
NIU at Rhodes Arena. UA is 0-8 all-time playing at Northern
Illinois. Coach Kest is 2-3 agaisnt NIU during her tenure at
Akron.
Did You Know?
• Senior forward Kara
Murphy currently stands second on the Zips' all-time scoring
list with 1,683 points, just 29 points behind Akron great Cheryl
Bowles. She is also just 13 rebounds shy of moving into the top 10
on the career rebounds list.
• On Feb. 2 against Toledo, Murphy moved into a tie for second place with Ashley Veal on the career games played list with 114. Akron great Cheryl Bowles holds the record with 115. With her next appearance, Murphy will tie Bowles for the all-time record.
• Akron is winless at Northern Illinois, going 0-8 all-time in DeKalb. All six of the Zips' victories over the Huskies have come inside the friendly confines of Rhodes Arena.
• In MAC play, the Zips have stepped up their defense, standing fourth in the league in field goal percentage defense (.385) and third in 3-point percentage defense (.299). Over nine conference games, Akron has held opponents to four triples or fewer on four occasions.
• Sophomore Rachel Tecca recorded her 10th double-double of the season against Toledo (Feb. 2), already the 13th of her young career. Half of those 10 this season have come in MAC contests.
• Tecca has 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 15 times in 21 games.
• Tecca currently ranks fourth in the league in field goal percentage (.512), fourth in scoring (17.1), and fourth in rebounding (9.1), one of only two players to rank in the top-five in all three categories. In league play, she is averaging 15.4 ppg and 9.9 rpg.
• Off the court, Tecca recently became the first Akron women's basketball player to be named to the Capital One Academic All-District Team presented by CoSIDA. Tecca was named to the Third Team in District 4.
• For the third time this season, Akron shot .500 or better from 3-point land, going 8-for-16 at Central Michigan (Jan. 29). The Zips also held the Chippewas to just 2-for-17 from long range, part of why they rank third in the league in 3-point percentage defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 29.1 percent from behind the arc.
• Despite its season average, Akron excelled at the charity stripe on Jan. 26 at Western Michigan, knocking down 21-of-22 (.955) free throws, its best performance at the line this season. In conference play, the Zips rank sixth in free-throw percentage with a mark of 71 percent.
• Akron shot 53.1 percent from the floor at Western Michigan (Jan. 26), its best shooting percentage of the season and just the second time UA has shot .500 or better. The 77 points scored in that game are the most the Zips have recorded in MAC play this year and the most since Dec. 19 against Ursuline College.
• The Zips took on all three Michigan-based conference teams in a row when they played host to Eastern Michigan on Jan. 22, starting their MAC West swing. Akron defeated Western Michigan on Jan. 26 and fell at Central Michigan on Jan. 29 to complete a two-game road stint.
• The Zips stand second in the league in field goal percentage, knocking down shots at a clip of 42.1 percent on the season.
• Prior to Jan. 19, the Zips had made at least three buckets from long range in every game of the season and had knocked down 10 or more on two occasions. For a two-game stretch, they made just two triples combined, but on Jan. 26 at Western Michigan, Akron returned to form and hit four 3-pointers on its way to the best shooting performance of the season.
• In league play, the Zips are averaging 3.2 blocks per contest after swatting a season-high eight against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 22.
• Sophomore guard Taylor Ruper is fourth in the MAC for 3-pointers made per game, averaging 2.33 buckets per contest from long range. She also stands fifth in the league in 3-point percentage at 35.5 percent. Ruper has knocked down a triple in all but five games this season and has made as many as six in a single contest.
• 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.
A Look Ahead
The Zips have a week off before returning to the court on Saturday,
Feb. 12 for their annual PinkZone game. Akron will play host to
Ball State in their last cross-divisional matchup of the season as
part of a double-header with men's basketball that will be
televised on SportsTime Ohio. Tip-off for the women's game is set
for 5 p.m. ET with the men's game to follow.
