The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Bryant
Women's Basketball improves to 3-0 with 78-56 win over Bryant
November 16 | Women's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio – Rachel Tecca had 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Akron women's basketball team to 78-56 victory over Bryant on Friday night at Rhodes Arena. The Zips have started a season 3-0 for the first time since the program's inception in 1974-75.
Tecca, who before the contest was presented a game ball to commemorate the scoring of her 1000th career point in the Zips' win at Tennessee Tech on Tuesday, finished three points shy of tying her single-game career high and notched her second double-double of the week. She shot 10-of-13 from the field and made 7-of-10 attempts from the free throw line in 20 minutes.
Hanna Luburgh joined Tecca in double figures, with 16 points and eight rebounds. She made 6-of-14 field goals and 4-of-6 tries from the charity stripe. Seven of her rebounds were off the defensive glass.
Point guard Kacie Cassell dished out seven assists on the night, which was enough for her to break into the top-10 in program history for career assists. She now has 234 early in her third season of play.
Bryant (0-3) never threatened and UA led by 35 points on three occasions down the stretch, after holding a 41-20 margin at the half. The Bulldogs used a 10-0 run with under four minutes to play to pull to within 74-47 with 2:30 left.
Akron shot 39.4 percent (28-of-71) from the floor for the game, held a 47-45 edge on the boards and had 16 turnovers compared to Bryant's 27. The Zips were also credited with 14 steals. The Bulldogs made 34.4 percent (21-of-61) of their shot attempts.
Akron jumped out to a 16-0 lead with 15:37 on the clock. Luburgh and Tecca accounted for seven and six points, respectively, in the opening spurt. Bryant cut the margin to 24-13 at 9:10 thanks to a 3-pointer by Katie Whittington, but was unable to score again until 4:43. The Zips took a 36-13 lead, their biggest advantage of the half, when Anita Brown converted a pair of attempts from the line at the 4:56 mark.
Tecca finished the first half with 19 points on the strength of an 8-for-10 shooting performance from the field, had six rebounds and two assists. Luburgh had 11 points and five boards in the opening stanza when the Zips shot 41.5 percent (17-of-41) from the floor and had seven steals.
The Zips return to action on Sunday when they visit St. Francis (Pa.) (2-0) for a 2 p.m. ET contest.
