The University of Akron Athletics
Women's Basketball hosts (16/16) Dayton on the front end of Tuesday's doubleheader
December 17 | Women's Basketball
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(16/16) Dayton (10-0) at Akron (8-2)
Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 • 5:30 p.m. ET
Akron, Ohio
Rhodes Arena (5,500)
Television: None.
Live Statistics and Video Stream: Available at GoZips.com free of charge.
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network – SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship), and for free at SportsRadio1350.com and iHeartRadio. Bill Morgan (play-by-play) (1:45 p.m. ET airtime).
Akron Coach Jodi Kest (Slippery Rock, 1984): Kest is in her seventh season at Akron, posting a 82-112 (.423) mark. She is 308-265 (.538) 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.
Dayton Coach Jim Jabir (Nazareth College, 1984): In his 10th season at UD, Jabir is Dayton's all-time winningest coach with a 169-122 mark. He has led the Flyers to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons, as well as an Atlantic 10 Championship in 2012.
The Series: Akron is looking for its first win in the series against Dayton, entering Tuesday trailing 0-6. The last time they met on Dec. 2, 2007, the Zips dropped an 85-64 decision on the road.
Akron Hosts Nationally Ranked Opponent
The Zips welcome (16/16) Dayton to Rhodes Arena Tuesday, the first ranked team to visit the JAR since 2007.
Storylines
• Akron took care of Cincinnati in dominating fashion Saturday, defeating the Bearcats 67-54 at Rhodes Arena.
• The victory is UA's second over a Big East team this season, adding to its dramatic come-from-behind road win at Providence from Nov. 24.
• Sina King posted a new career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season.
• Rachel Tecca also had a double-double, leading both teams with 26 points to go with 10 boards. Tecca has scored in double figures in all 10 games, scoring 20 or more on seven occasions.
• The Akron women's basketball team continued to receive votes in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. With the men's program ranked No. 19 in the poll, Akron is one of 15 schools in the country (and the only one in the MAC) to see both its men's and women's teams either ranked or receiving votes.
• Point guard Kacie Cassell has recorded seven or more assists in eight out of the first 10 games. She ranks second in the nation with 7.5 assists per game.
• In its 39 seasons, Akron is 93-115 all time against non-conference opponents from the state of Ohio.
• (16/16) Dayton will be the first nationally ranked team to visit Rhodes Arena since Jan. 3, 2007, when the Zips hosted (24/19) Bowling Green. The Falcons won that meeting, 61-32.
• Akron is outscoring opponents by an average of 20.2 points on its home floor.
• Senior Taylor Ruper will be lacing up for her 100th career game in a Zips uniform Tuesday night against Dayton.
• The Zips' 2012-13 schedule features contests with nine different opponents that played in postseason tournaments last year, one of them being Dayton. The Flyers were 2012 Atlantic 10 champions, advancing to the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season.
A Look at the Flyers
Dayton comes to Akron as the No. 16 team in the country with a 10-0 record. UD has been nationally ranked since the third week of the season, already with two victories over Top 25 teams on its resume. The Flyers enter Tuesday's contest on 10 days' rest, most recently knocking off then-unbeaten Michigan State, 60-53.
UD was picked to finish at the top of the Atlantic 10 Conference with seven first-place votes, despite losing seven seniors from last year's championship squad. Dayton's 2012 freshman class was ranked first in the country for a non-BCS school.
UD has maintained a +20.0 scoring margin over its opponents in its first 10 games of the season. Four Flyers are averaging double figure scoring, with Ally Malott leading the way at 13.8 ppg, and Andrea Hoover and Sam MacKay hovering around 11.0 ppg. Malott is also the team's leading rebounder with 7.2 per game.
Last Time Against Dayton
Akron is looking for its first win in the series against Dayton, entering Tuesday trailing 0-6. The last time they met on Dec. 2, 2007, the Zips dropped an 85-64 decision on the road.
Cincinnati at Akron Recap
Cincinnati had no remedy for the one-two punch of Sina King and Rachel Tecca Saturday afternoon as the Akron tandem combined for 51 points and pounded out a pair of double-doubles en route to a 67-54 victory at Rhodes Arena.
As a team the Zips shot a season-low 13 free throws, but they connected on 12 of them for the best percentage from the line to date at .923.
Akron never trailed and led by as many as 26 points early in the second half, after establishing its dominance early in the game with a 15-2 run over the course of the first five minutes of play. UC's leading scorer Dayeesha Hollins returned to the floor after missing the last two games, and the Zips' defense was able to limit her to just six first half points.
The Zips out-rebounded their opponent for the fifth time on the year, 44-38, against a UC lineup that had three of its five starters listed at 6-0 or taller. Defensively, Akron held Cincinnati scoreless for nearly a six minute stretch midway through the opening period, a contributing factor to the Bearcats' season-low 19 first half points.
King Tabbed MAC East Player of the Week
Akron forward Sina King has been named the Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
This is the second time in her career King has earned this distinction, and she is the third Zip this season to receive the weekly award.
King put up a new career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds against Cincinnati for her sixth double-double of the year.
Taking Care of the Ball
Akron is averaging nine less turnovers than its opponent this season in games played at Rhodes Arena, carrying a 1.4 assist/turnover ratio at home. In two games against Canisius and Wright State, the Zips recorded a staggeringly low 11 combined turnovers — three times less than their opponents' 33 — with an assist/turnover ratio of 3.2. In the second half of those games, the numbers look even better, as Akron only had three second half turnovers to 18 assists.
Mid-Major Favor
The Akron women's basketball team once again received votes in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. With the men's program ranked No. 19 in the poll, Akron is one of 15 schools in the country (and the only one in the MAC) to see both its men's and women's teams either ranked or receiving votes.
How Can I Assist You?
The Zips have had no problem sharing the wealth this year, coming up 16th in the national rankings for assists per game as a team. Akron averages 17.4 dimes a contest, five more than the national average. UA's 1.1 assist/turnover ration is No. 18 out of 345 Division I teams.
The Great State of Ohio
In its 39 seasons, Akron is 93-115 all time against non-conference opponents from the state of Ohio.
Check the Scoreboard
Dayton is the first team that Akron has faced this year that holds a higher scoring percentage. The Flyers are averaging just three more points per game than the Zips (81.0 to 78.0).
Ruper Hits Century Mark
Senior guard Taylor Ruper will be playing in her 100th career game in an Akron uniform Tuesday night when the Zips take the floor against Dayton.
Hats Off to the Grad
Rachel Tecca had a big day Saturday - not only did she score a game high 26 points and grab 10 rebounds against Cincinnati for her fourth double-double, the morning of the game she also graduated with her bachelor's degree in marketing management.
Getting Buckets
The Zips have ranked in the nation's top-20 in scoring offense for the last three weeks (as high as sixth), averaging 78.0 ppg, 16 points higher than the national average (62.2). Just over 25 percent of that offense comes from behind the 3-point arc.
Triple Threat
It is no secret where Akron gets its offensive prowess from this season. The Zips' top three scorers in Rachel Tecca, Hanna Luburgh and Sina King combine for over 60 percent of Akron's total points per game, and all are averaging in double figure scoring. The three starters are ranked one through three among all juniors in the MAC in scoring.
Akron RPI
Akron's RPI jumped nearly 30 points with the win over Cincinnati, from 153 to 126. The Zips have the second-best RPI in the MAC East and the fourth-best in the conference overall. Toledo has the lowest RPI in the league at 29, followed by Bowling Green (40) and Central Michigan (42).
Building A Legacy
With Akron's win over Canisius on Dec. 1, head coach Jodi Kest surpassed former UA coach John Street for the most wins as a head coach in the history of Akron women's basketball. Street coached the Zips from 1982-89 and was the only male coach to ever lead the program. Now in her seventh season, Kest continues to develop the program that posted the greatest single-season win total in the history of the program in 2009-10.
Two in a Row
Akron fielded back-to-back MAC East Players of the Week the last two weeks in November in Rachel Tecca and Hanna Luburgh. The last time Akron had back-to-back conference Players of the Week was in 2007-08 when Sarah Tokodi received the nod two weeks in a row.
Top of the Crop
Rachel Tecca continues to lead the Mid-American Conference in scoring with 20.9 ppg., and is also first in field goal percentage at .583. Her biggest statistic though may be that she does not appear in the MAC's top-10 in minutes played, meaning that she is posting these numbers in less time on the court than the other top players in the conference. She is No. 1 in the nation in points per 40 minutes at 34.0.
King's Court
Junior Sina King is making her case for the MAC's most consistent player in the early part of the season. She has scored in double figures in nine out of the first 10 games, en route to posting six double-doubles. The forward is fluctuating between averaging a double-double, currently with 14.3 points and 9.9 rebounds, and currently grabs almost 25 percent of the team's total rebounds.
Cassell Dishes Her Way Into the Books
Akron point guard Kacie Cassell moved up one more spot to No. 6 on Akron's all time list for career assists with 291, surpassing current UA assistant coach Ayla Guzzardo in the record books. Cassell has recorded a career-high 10 assists twice this season, at home against Cincinnati on Dec. 15 and at St. Francis (Pa.) on Nov. 18. The junior has dished out seven or more assists in eight out of the first 10 games, and ranks second in the nation in assists per game.
Tecca Reaches 1,000
With two free throws at the 13:27 mark against Tennessee Tech, Rachel Tecca picked up points 999 and 1,000 of her career, becoming the first player to reach the milestone since Kara Murphy in 2008-09.
More of Tecca's Records
Rachel Tecca broke into the program's top-10 all time for career rebounds with 13 caroms at Saint Peter's. She has 82 rebounds on the year and 640 for her career nine games into her redshirt junior season, moving her to No. 7 on the all time list. Tecca already holds the record for the third most rebounds in a season in program history, when she pulled down 288 in 2010-11.
Strong Start
The Zips were 3-0 for the first time since their inaugural season in 1974-75. Their 8-2 record is the best start the team has had in 17 years, when it went 9-1 in 1995-96.
Ruper From Downtown
After becoming Akron's all-time leader in 3-pointers made at the end of last season, this year Taylor Ruper will see how far she can go in distancing herself at the top of the record books. Ruper has netted 21 three's so far this season, bringing her career total to 205. She is currently No. 12 all time in the MAC record books for career 3-point field goals made, needing 11 more to crack into the league's top-10.
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.
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. With the Zips' victory over Canisius on Dec. 1, Kest now stands alone as 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.
