Women's Basketball set to host Malone in exhibition contest Saturday

November 02 | Women's Basketball

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Malone (0-0) at Akron (0-0)

Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 • 2:00 p.m. ET
Akron, Ohio
James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500)

Television: None.

Webcast/Live Statistics: Available at GoZips.com – webcast and live statistics free of charge.

Radio: SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship), for free at SportsRadio1350.com and on iHeartRadio. Bill Morgan will have the call beginning at 1:45 p.m. ET.

Akron Coach Jodi Kest (Slippery Rock, 1984): Kest is in her seventh season at Akron, posting a 74-110 (.402) mark. She is 300-263 (.533) in 20 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Kest was named the 2010 Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year, and has guided the Zips to Cleveland for the conference tournament for the past three consecutive seasons.

Malone Coach Jason Mishler (Malone, 2005): Mishler enters his second season at the helm after leading the Pioneers to a 12-15 mark in 2011-12. Mishler, a three-year starting point guard during his time at Malone, was an assistant for two seasons at Tiffin University prior to becoming the head coach at his alma mater.

The Series: The Zips are 7-3 all time against Malone.

Akron Opens Season with Exhibition Contest
The Zips begin the 39th season of Akron women's basketball with an exhibition contest at home against Malone University.

Storylines
• Akron returns six letterwinners that played quality minutes last season from a team that finished 14-18 overall and 7-9 in MAC play, en route to their third consecutive trip to Cleveland for the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The sixth-seeded Zips bowed out of the tournament in the second round with a one-point loss to No. 7 Northern Illinois, 61-60.
• Forward Rachel Tecca, a two-time All-MAC selection, was named to the Preseason All-MAC squad for the second straight year. The Zips were picked to finish third in the East behind Miami (Ohio) and Bowling Green, which received 16 and 13 first place votes, respectively.
• Head Coach Jodi Kest, now in her seventh season at the helm of the program, needs just six wins to become the winningest coach in Akron women's basketball history. She has amassed 300 wins over 20 seasons as a head coach. At Akron, Kest has posted a 74-110 record (.402).
• The exhibition game against Malone will serve as an early test for the Zips before they officially kick off the 2012-13 season, a campaign that features contests with nine different opponents that played in postseason tournaments last year.

A Look at Malone
The Pioneers were recently picked seventh in the South division of the GLIAC preseason poll as they embark on their first season as a provisional member of the conference. Malone returns its leading scorer from last year in sophomore Lindsy Snyder, who started all 27 games for the Pioneers. As a freshman, Snyder averaged 13.8 points and shot 57.3 percent from the field. She also led the team in rebounding, pulling down nine boards a game.

In 2011-12, the Pioneers finished 12-15 overall as a Division II Independent. They return eight letterwinners and all five starters from last year's team. Redshirt junior guard Lauren Myers also averaged double figures offensively last year for Malone with 13.1 points, followed by junior guard Sydnee Penn with 9.9 points per game.

Preseason Predictions
For the second consecutive season, the Zips were picked third in the MAC East Division behind Miami (Ohio) and last year's regular season champion, Bowling Green. Last season, Akron finished third in the East and sixth in the conference overall with a 7-9 record. Sina King earned All-MAC Second Team honors and Taylor Ruper received Honorable Mention.

Also for the second straight year, Rachel Tecca was one of five players in each division selected to the Preseason All-MAC team. An All-MAC selection in each of her two full seasons at Akron, Tecca was averaging 17.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 2011-12 before her season was cut short due to injury.

Chasing 1,000 Points
Entering this season, Rachel Tecca has tallied 979 career points through 72 games and needs just 21 to join the 1,000-point club. As a sophomore in 2010-11 she scored 475 points, the fifth most in a season in program history.

Record Watch
Senior guard Taylor Ruper netted 89 3-pointers last season, topping her previous mark for the second most in a season in program history, and bringing her career total to 184. Ruper is now Akron's all-time leading 3-point shooter with one season left to play, surpassing Michelle Chavanne who made 183 3-pointers from 1993-97.

Junior point guard Kacie Cassell is expected to quickly climb the ranks of Akron's career assist leaders this season, as she needs just 14 crack the top-10.

Rachel Tecca is also likely to move into the top 10 in career rebounds this season, as she has recorded 558 so far and only needs 46 to claim 10th place on the all-time list. She already holds the record for the third most rebounds in a season in program history, when she pulled down 288 in 2010-11.

Kest Reaches 300 Wins
Head Coach Jodi Kest picked up win No. 300 of her 20 year career as a collegiate head coach when the Zips defeated Buffalo for the third time last season in the opening round of the MAC Tournament. She now needs just six more victories to become the winningest coach in Akron women's basketball history.

Bridging the Gap
Akron fields a unique roster this year with six experienced upperclassmen and pool of six newcomers that includes five freshmen. Coach Kest has maintained that the team will only be as good as the freshmen are able to play, as a big key to the Zips' success this year will be finding a balance between the abilities of the returners and newcomers.

Tecca and the 2013 WNBA Mock Draft
Rachel Tecca was projected to be selected 27th overall in the 2013 WNBA Mock Draft recently released by DraftSite.com. Tecca was anticipated to be taken with the third pick in the third round by the Tulsa Shock. She was one of just two MAC players to be included in the mock draft, along with Miami (Ohio) guard Courtney Osborn who was slated to be selected right before Tecca with the 26th overall pick. In addition to Tecca, the Shock was predicted to take Delaware's Elena Delle Donne as well as Brittany Chambers out of Kansas State.

Leading Scorers
The 2011-12 team was the most prolific scoring team in Akron women's basketball history, amassing 2,361 total points and averaging 73.8 per game. The season marked the first time in 13 years that the Zips averaged over 70 points per game.

Zips Go Costal
The University of Akron women's basketball team started 2012-13 off with a foreign tour to Costa Rica. The team spent eight days touring the country and participating in teambuilding activities like ziplining and white water rafting. They also hosted a youth basketball clinic and played two games against the Costa Rican national team. The NCAA allows a program to participate in an international trip once every four years should they choose to do so, and grants the team an additional 10 offseason practice days in preparation.

MAC Standings
Akron finished last season at or near the top of several big statistical categories in the Mid-American Conference. The Zips' 73.8 points per game ranked first in scoring offense among all MAC teams. UA also led the league in 3-pointers made (7.0) and assists (15.3). The team was second in the conference in free throw percentage (.740), field goal percentage (.421) and 3-point percentage (.344). Individually, Taylor Ruper finished second in 3-pointers made, averaging 2.8, and Sina King was 10th in scoring with 12.4 points per game.

Newcomer Notes
• Cari Guyton - Jr., C, 6-2, Akron, Ohio/Pratt JC/Firestone HS: Led her team to 31 wins in two seasons en route to earning All-Jayhawk Conference recognition in the Western Division ... averaged 14.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game as a freshman, and 12.0 points and 8.6 rebounds as a sophomore ... tallied 47 career blocks... Earned All-City Honorable Mention as a junior and Second Team All-City as a senior in 2009-10 at Firestone HS.
• Megan Barilla - Fr., G, 5-11, Fairview Park, Ohio/Magnificat HS: As a senior, averaged 10.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.7 steals per game ... three-time Honorable Mention All-District ... received the Coach's Award in each of her last two seasons ... in 2011-12, led her team to the district championship title and a 20-5 record.
• Anita Brown- Fr., G, 5-8, Warren, Ohio/Warren Harding HS: The only player in school history with 1,000 career points and rebounds ... holds the single game scoring record with 45 points ... averaged 26.5 points and 13.9 rebounds per game as a senior ... averaged 15.8 points and 11.7 rebounds per game as a junior ... two-time All-State honoree ... conference player of the year in 2012 ... first team All-District as a senior ... MVP of the Trumbull County and North-South All Star Game.
• DiAndra Gibson - Fr., G/F, 5-11, Ravenna, Ohio/Ravenna HS: Two-time conference player of the year and four-time all-conference honoree ... first team All-Ohio as a junior and second team All-Ohio as a senior ... finished as just the second girls basketball player in school history with more than 1,000 career points ... broke the school rebounding record ... averaged double figures in scoring all four years.
• Katie Nunan - Fr., F, 6-0, Fairmont, W.Va./Fairmont Senior HS: Four-time first team all-conference selection ... named third team all-state as a junior and second team all-state as a senior ... finished her career with 1,040 points ... averaged double figures in scoring all four years, including over 13 points per game her last two seasons ... averaged over 10 rebounds per game each of the last three years ... as a senior, led her team to a sectional championship title and a 19-4 overall record.
• Jasmine Wood - Fr., C, 6-1, Lansing, Mich./Lansing Waverly HS: Two-time all-area honoree ... averaged over 10 points per game in each of her four seasons ... led her AAU team to a state championship in 2008.

Kest Announces Staff Changes
Head coach Jodi Kest announced several changes to her staff in the offseason. Melissa Jackson was promoted to associate head coach entering her fifth year with the program, after spending the previous four seasons as an assistant coach. Jackson serves as the program's recruiting coordinator and offensive coordinator, working primarily with the guards.

Kest also announced the addition of assistant coach Glenn Box to replace Sam Dixon who is now an assistant at Northwestern. Box brings multiple seasons of junior college head coaching experience and several years of Division I assistant coaching experience to the Akron bench. He will primarily work with the program's post players and serve as the team's defensive coordinator. Box will also oversee junior college recruiting, scheduling, and be the liaison for strength and conditioning.

Box spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Saint Louis University in the Atlantic 10. He had previously spent two seasons as an assistant at Mid-American Conference foe Western Michigan.

2011-12 Postseason Recap
Akron finished third in the East and earned the No. 6 seed in the MAC Tournament. No. 11 Buffalo came to the JAR for a first round match-up, and the Zips defeated the Bulls for the second straight game and the third time that season, 96-82.

Advancing to Cleveland for the third consecutive season, UA went on to face seventh-seeded Northern Illinois in the second round at Quicken Loans Arena. The Zips dropped a close contest to NIU, losing by one, 61-60.

Sina King (Second Team) and Taylor Ruper (Honorable Mention) picked up All-MAC accolades for their performances over the course of the 2011-12 season. King and Ruper were also named to the All-MAC Academic squad for their work in the classroom.