The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Kent State
Women's Basketball Beats Rival Kent State, 68-62
January 14 | Women's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron women's basketball team claimed a back-and-forth battle with rival Kent State Saturday, 68-62, at James A. Rhodes Arena.
UA (8-10, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) overcame slow starts in both halves and shot 40.3-percent (25-of-62) from the field in the game. The Zips had a below average shooting night from distance, making just 5-of-23 (.217) threes. Akron did convert 19 KSU turnovers into 19 points.
The game featured four ties and seven lead changes, as Kent State (2-12, 1-3) led by as much as 10 and UA found themselves up nine on a pair of occasions.
Four Zips scored double figures, led by seniors Jasmine Mushington and Ti'eshia Stubbs who scored 15 points each. Sina King and Carly Young each added 13. Kacie Cassell dished out a season-high tying 8 assists, while King and Stubbs each pulled down six rebounds. Diamon Beckford's 21 points led Kent State.
KSU began the game on an 8-0 run, with a Ti'eshia Stubbs bucket finally putting Akron on the board 5:25 into the game. A pair of Beckford free throws increased KSU's advantage to 13-4, but the Zips rattled off the next 14 points to take a 18-13 lead. King started the run with a baseline jumper, and later added an old-fashioned 3-point play. Hanna Luburgh also contributed five points, on a lay-up and a trey, to the run. Stubbs then capped a 20-2 Akron run with back-to-back lay-ups to make the score 20-15 with 6:50 remaining in the opening period.
The Golden Flashes answered right back with a 16-5 run that gave them a 31-29 lead on Itsiar Llobet's jumper with 2:17 to play in the half. The Zips would regain the edge, 34-32, on a Luburgh jumper and a corner three from King, but Tamzin Barroilhet's lay-up once agained knotted the game, 34-34, just before halftime. King led UA with 10 first-half points and four rebounds, as Akron shot 14-of-33 (.424) in the period.
The second half had a similar start to the first half, with Kent St. scoring the first ten points after halftime to take a 44-34 lead. King got the Zips' second half going with a 3-pointer from the left wing with 14:13 to play. UA then went to the full-court press, forcing four KSU turnovers in the next two minutes and making a 10-0 run to tie the game at 47-47. After a Beckford trey once again gave KSU the lead, five straight points from Young placed Akron on top for the first time in the second half, 52-50, with 7:09 to play.
A 3-point play by Mushington extended the Zip lead to five, but Beckford would find a response. Beckford scored three straight inside buckets, the third collecting a foul, to push Kent State back ahead 57-55, with 4:31 to play. KSU then went up three, 59-56, on Jamie Hutcheson's lay-up.
Mushington fired right back, scoring on back-to-back drives to put Akron ahead 60-59. Young then moved UA ahead by five, 64-59, with her deep three with 1:04 remaining. UA sealed the win with five makes from the stripe.
The Zips look to win their third straight at Ohio on Thursday. Game-time in Athens is at 7 p.m.
Zips Notebook: Kacie Cassell recorded eight assists for the third time this season. She came into tonight's game averaging 6.0 assists in MAC play, which was tops in the league ... The win snapped a three game losing streak to Kent State ... The game was played as part of the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge – a year-long, all-sports competition between the local rivals.
