The University of Akron Athletics
Women's Basketball sails to fourth-straight victory at Toledo, 82-62
January 30 | Women's Basketball
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TOLEDO, Ohio -- Akron turned its defense into offense and used a balanced scoring effort to cruise to its fourth-straight victory, taking down Toledo on the road, 82-62, Thursday night.
The win is Akron's first over Toledo in nearly five years to the day, since UA defeated the Rockets on Jan. 31, 2009, 64-62 at James A. Rhodes Arena. The last time Akron won at Savage Arena was Feb. 8, 2006, in the form of a 69-66 victory.
UA improved to 11-8 on the season and 5-3 in the Mid-American Conference, while UT fell to 9-10 overall and 4-4 in the conference.
Four Zips scored in double figures on the night, led by Hanna Luburgh with 23 points, including a perfect 6-of-6 showing at the free throw line. Rachel Tecca locked up her second-straight double-double with 17 points and 11 boards, also adding a career-best six assists.
Carly Young and Anita Brown came up big for UA off the bench, putting up 15 and 10 points, respectively, and grabbing seven rebounds apiece. Kacie Cassell posted seven points and six assists, playing all but the final minute of the contest.
Toledo was paced by 13 points from Inma Zanoguera's and 11 from Brianna Jones.
The Zips were firing on all cylinders to start the game, sprinting out to a 10-2 lead over the first three minutes before Toledo called a timeout to try and slow the tempo. Akron could not be stopped coming out of the huddle, continuing to surge ahead and extending its lead to 21-5 by the 12:19 mark after a jumper from Young.
Akron's defense held Toledo to just 28.9 percent shooting in the first half and forced UT into nine turnovers, which turned into 18 points for the Zips on the other end. UA also held Andola Dortch, Toledo's leading scorer heading into the game, to just two points and zero field goals in the first 20 minutes.
Luburgh scored 13 of her points in the first period to fuel Akron's 19-of-36 effort from the floor, helping the Zips to a 48-26 advantage at the half.
The Rockets came out of the locker room after the break and picked up some momentum, scoring five straight points, but the Zips quickly found their footing, answering with a 12-0 run of their own.
Tecca converted a 3-point play two minutes into the half, and Luburgh capped the run with a pair of free throws at the 14:05 mark to give Akron its largest lead of the night at 60-31.
UA kept its distance for the rest of the game, leading by 20 points or more for the remainder of the contest. Through its last four games, the Zips have not trailed an opponent in 160 minutes on the court.
Akron returns to the court on Sunday, Feb. 2, when it plays host to Buffalo. Tip-off between the Zips and the Bulls is set for 2 p.m. at Rhodes Arena.
