The University of Akron Athletics
No. 8 Zips Face No. 1 Toledo in MAC Quarterfinals
March 08 | Women's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio - For the second consecutive season, the University of Akron women's basketball team will play in the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. After their first round victory, the No. 8 seed Zips will take on top-seeded Toledo on Wednesday, March 9 at 5:00 p.m. ET. The Rockets claimed the only regular season meeting between the two squads by a score of 58-49 on Feb. 2 at Rhodes Arena.
Game #30: No. 8 Akron Zips (14-15, 6-10) vs. No. 1
Toledo Rockets (22-7, 14-2)
Quicken Loans Arena | Cleveland, Ohio | Wednesday, March 9, 2011 |
5:00 p.m. ET
Radio: Akron Sports Network from IMG College: 1350 AM - Bill Morgan
(Play-by-Play) | Live Stats: GoZips.com
Zips Reset
• The University of Akron women's basketball team advanced to
the quarterfinals of the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference
Tournament with a 76-65 win over Western Michigan on Saturday
afternoon at James A. Rhodes Arena. The Zips, the No. 8 seed,
snapped a three-game losing streak and earned their second win of
the season over the Broncos, the No. 9 seed.
• Recording her fourth consecutive double-double and 16th of the season, sophomore forward Rachel Tecca led the Zips with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high four blocks. Senior Kara Murphy, playing in her final game at the JAR, added 18 points and five boards, including a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Jasmine Mushington and Sina King rounded out four Zips in double figures with 10 points apiece.
• Senior Ebony Cleary led all players with 23 points and 12 rebounds for Western Michigan, while junior Miame Giden totaled 20. The Zips finished 22-for-57 from the floor (38.6 percent), slightly behind the Broncos who went 25-for-63 (39.7 percent). Akron won the battle on the boards, however, out-rebounding WMU 44-36. The Zips also managed to make 26-of-30 free throws (86.7 percent) to help pull out the win down the stretch.
About Toledo
• Toledo has all but dominated the league this season, winning
10 of its last 11 games and earning the top seed in the conference
tournament. Its only MAC losses were by a combined eight points,
coming against Central Michigan on the road, 78-74, and Northern
Illinois on the road, 57-53.
• Senior guard Naama Shafir leads the team with 14.4 ppg and 5.17 apg, followed by fellow senior Melissa Goodall who adds 13.4 ppg and 7.0 rpg at center. Shooter Jessica Williams, who averages 9.3 ppg, is third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage, hitting triples at a rate of 38.9 percent.
• The Rockets rank second in the MAC in scoring defense (58.7) and field goal percentage defense (.382), but also stand 11th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.348) and last in free throw percentage (.657).
Series Side Notes
Akron trails the series with the Rockets 7-36, dating back to
1974-75. Last season, Toledo earned a 74-68 victory at home that
snapped the Zips' five-game winning streak. Akron has prevailed the
last two times Toledo has visited Rhodes Arena. UA is 0-3 all-time
in the MAC Tournament against Toledo.
On Feb. 2, Toledo came into Rhodes Arena and defeated the Zips 58-49. Kara Murphy recorded a game-high 18 points in the loss.
Did You Know?
• It's that time of year again, and the No. 8 seed Zips have
advanced to the quarterfinals for the second straight season after
their first round win over Western Michigan, marking the third time
Akron has made it to this round since the tournament expanded to 12
teams in 2000 (2001, 2010, 2011). The winner of Akron/Toledo will
move on to face the winner of No. 4 Kent State and No. 5 Eastern
Michigan on Friday, March 11.
• Last season, the Zips made it to the semifinals of the tournament for just the second time in program history after securing a first-round bye and taking down Eastern Michigan in the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Bowling Green in the semis.
• Rachel Tecca's 470 points and 277 rebounds both rank fifth on the all-time season list. Teammate Kara Murphy holds the season points record (580) from the 2008-09 season and Kathleen Sullivan set the season rebounds mark (290) in 1980-81. Tecca needs just 14 boards to surpass Sullivan.
• The MAC announced the season awards on March 8 and the Zips were well-represented with four players garnering recognition. Only Central Michigan had more players honored with five. Rachel Tecca became the third Zip in program history to make the All-MAC First Team, while Kara Murphy joins Cheryl Bowles as the only two Zips to earn league honors all four years of their career. Carly Young became the third Zip ever to make the All-Freshman squad, and Jasmine Mushington won Co-Sixth Player of the Year, shared with CMU's Taylor Johnson, a season after Tecca won the award.
• Toledo's Tricia Cullop was named MAC Coach of the Year, and Wednesday's match-up will pit last season's Coach of the Year in Akron's Jodi Kest against the new winner of the award.
• The Zips celebrated Senior Night on March 2 by honoring the stellar career of lone senior Kara Murphy. This season, Murphy became UA's all-time leader in scoring, games played, and games started, and she also holds program records for points in a season, free throws made, free throw attempts, and field goal attempts.
• Sophomore Rachel Tecca recorded her 16th double-double of the season and fourth in a row against Western Michigan (Mar. 5), already the 19th of her young career. According to available data, Tecca now holds the program record for double-doubles in a season. The career record is 34, held by Pam Arnold Davis.
• 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 20 times in 29 games.
• She currently ranks sixth in the league in field goal percentage (.496), seventh in scoring (16.2), and fourth in rebounding (9.6). In league play, she is averaging a double-double with 14.7 ppg and 10.3 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.
• Sophomore guard Taylor Ruper broke the program record for 3-pointers made in a game, going 8-for-10 from beyond the arc against Ball State on Feb. 12. The previous mark was seven, set back in 1993 and equaled in 1996 and 1997. Nationally, her eight triples are the second-most made in Division I this season, as nine players have hit nine in a single contest.
• Ruper currently leads the league in 3s made per game (2.45) and is tied for the most 3s made this season (71). Her 71 triples are the second-most in a season in program history. The all-time record is 91 by Keyla Snowden in 2007-08.
• In league play, the Zips have fared better on the road than at home, going 4-4 away from the JAR and only 2-6 at home. UA had a three-game road winning streak snapped at Miami and ended the regular season at home against arch rival Kent State.
• Against Bowling Green, a strong offensive team, the Zips allowed a season-low 13 field goals and five assists. The Falcons hit just three triples, as UA held BG to 14.3 percent from long range and 23.6 percent from the floor. Akron stands 33rd in the country in 3-point percentage defense, allowing the opposition to hit just 28.3 percent from beyond the arc.
• 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. After falling on the road 90-72 on Jan. 12, the Zips lost a heartbreaker at home on Feb. 22 when Lauren Prochaska hit a last second 3-pointer to steal a two-point victory for the Falcons.
• Senior forward Kara Murphy became Akron's all-time leading scorer at Buffalo on Feb. 16, breaking Akron great Cheryl Bowles' all-time scoring record by sinking two free throws with 20 seconds to play that gave Akron a three-point lead. Murphy has amassed 1,763 total points over her career.
• On Feb. 12 against Ball State, Murphy broke Bowles' record for career games played. Impressively, she has started every game of her career.
• In two consecutive road games at Buffalo and at Ohio, Akron trailed with five minutes to play and pulled off victories both times. The two-point win over Ohio (Feb. 19) was UA's narrowest margin of victory this season.
• The Zips had not managed a win at the Convo since Dec. 30, 1987, a streak of 15 consecutive games, until Feb. 19 when Akron staged a furious comeback in the final three minutes to earn a 59-57 victory and preserve UA's four-game winning streak.
• The Zips are third in the league in field goal percentage, knocking down shots at a clip of 42.0 percent on the season. They have shot .500 or better from the field three times this year.
• Four times this season, Akron has shot .500 or better from 3-point land, going a season-best 11-for-16 (.688) from long range against Ball State on Feb. 12. The 11 triples tied UA's season high and marked the third game that the Zips hit at least 10 3-pointers.
• Playing a key role in the box score, turnovers appear to be a strong indicator of the game result for UA. In games where Akron has fewer turnovers than its opponent, the Zips are 10-2, but when Akron gives up the ball more than the opposition, they are only 4-13.
• In league play, the Zips are averaging 3.5 blocks per contest after swatting a season-high eight against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 22 and denying seven at Northern Illinois on Feb. 5.
• 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. UA is also coming off a 26-for-30 (86.7 percent) effort from the charity stripe in its first round game against WMU, the most freebies the Zips have made in a game this season.
• 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.
Potential Next Game
No. 8 Akron vs. No. 4 Kent State/No. 5 Eastern Michigan, Friday,
March 11, 2:30 p.m. ET
