The University of Akron Athletics
Women's Basketball set to host first ever Akron Classic this weekend
November 13 | Women's Basketball
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Akron Classic Game Notes in PDF Format
2014 Akron Classic
Friday, Nov. 14
3:30 p.m. ET -- Delaware State vs. Northern Kentucky | Live stats
6:00 p.m. ET -- Binghamton at Akron | Live stats | Audio
Saturday, Nov. 15
1:00 p.m. ET -- Delaware State vs. Binghamton | Live stats
3:30 p.m. ET -- Northern Kentucky at Akron | Live stats | Audio | Video
(second team listed is home team)
Game Day Coverage:
Listen to Free Audio Stream
Follow Free Live Statistics - Binghamton game; Northern Kentucky game
Live Statistics: Binghamton game; Northern Kentucky game
Video Stream: Binghamton game - none; Northern Kentucky game
Note: Due to scheduling conflicts with the 2014 Mid-American Conference Men's Soccer Championship, there will be no video stream for Akron basketball games on Friday, Nov. 14.
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) (5:45 p.m. ET airtime on Friday, 3:15 p.m. ET airtime on Saturday).
Akron Coach Jodi Kest (Slippery Rock, 1984): Kest is in her ninth season at Akron, posting a 120-130 (.480) mark. She is 346-283 (.550) in 22 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Kest guided Akron to its second-straight 23-win season in 2013-14, capped off by the Zips' first-ever Mid-American Conference Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in the 40-year history of the program.
Series Notes: The Zips are 1-0 all time against Binghamton. Akron defeated BU 55-44 on Nov. 18, 2006, as part of a tournament at Florida Atlantic.
UA is 0-1 all time against Northern Kentucky. The Zips fell 89-84, on the road in overtime to the Norse on Dec. 10, 1982, when both programs competed at the Division II level.
Zips Open Regular Season at Akron Classic
The Zips begin the 41st season of Akron women's basketball when they host the first ever Akron Classic at James A. Rhodes Arena. UA will play two games in two days, opening the season against Binghamton on Friday and challenging Northern Kentucky on Saturday.
News, Notes and Storylines
• Akron will begin the 2014-15 season as the defending Mid-American Conference champions, picked to finish third in the MAC East Division this year in the preseason poll by the league's head coaches.
• UA returns two starters and eight letterwinners from last year's squad, and welcomes five freshmen to the team this year. In their second-straight 23-win season last year, the Zips posted the best conference record in the history of the program at 14-4.
• The Zips made their third postseason appearance in the last five years, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. The thirteenth-seeded Zips ended their postseason run with an 84-55 loss to fourth-seeded Purdue in the first round of the tournament at Mackey Arena.
• Senior forward Sina King returns to the basketball court for a fifth year this season after sitting out her true senior year to undergo treatment for blood clots. King was named to the All-MAC East Preseason Team. She was a third team All-MAC selection in 2012-13, after putting up 14 double-doubles, averaging 15.0 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game.
• Head Coach Jodi Kest, now in her ninth season at the helm of the program, has collected the most wins of any Akron women's basketball head coach in the history of the program.
• Akron defeated Ursuline College in its only exhibition game on Saturday, Nov. 8, by a 100-62 margin. Four players scored in double figures, led by King who posted 19 points in 20 minutes of action.
A Look at Binghamton
Binghamton posted a 5-25 overall record in 2013-14, with a 2-14 mark in the America East Conference. Sherae Swinson is one of two juniors on the team, and was the only player to average double figures offensively (10.1 ppg). Swinson was also BU's leading rebounder a season ago, pulling down 5.0 boards per contest. The Bearcats are led by first-year head coach Linda Cimino.
A Look at Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky compiled an 18-13 overall record last season, including 13-5 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Norse fell to College of Charleston, 60-54, in the second round of the 2014 Women's Basketball Invitational (WBI) to conclude its postseason run. As a team, NKU averaged 64.7 ppg, led by now senior Melody Doss (15.1 ppg). Northern Kentucky is coached by Dawn Plitzuweit, in her third year.
Akron vs. Ursuline Recap
Four players scored in double figures to spark the Akron women's basketball team to a 100-62 exhibition victory past Ursuline College on Saturday at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Playing in her first game in two seasons after missing all of the 2013-14 campaign while undergoing treatment for blood clots, senior Sina King turned in a 19-point, nine-rebound performance to lead the Zips in scoring.
Junior Anita Brown added a 13-point, 13-rebound effort, including pulling down nine offensive rebounds.
Akron also benefitted from 12- and 11-point outputs, respectively, from Katie Nunan andHannah Plybon.
Preseason Predictions
The Zips were picked to finish third in the MAC East Division this year in the conference preseason poll voted on by the league's head coaches. UA was projected to finish behind Buffalo and Bowling Green in the East after capturing its first-ever conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth a year ago. Buffalo was picked to win the East Division, receiving eight first place votes out of a possible 12. BGSU received three first place votes. Ohio, Miami (Ohio) and Kent State were picked fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
In the West Division, Central Michigan was chosen as the favorite, earning 11 of the 12 first place votes. Ball State was selected second with one first place vote, followed by Western Michigan, Toledo, Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois.
CMU was also predicted to win the 2015 MAC Tournament, March 9-14 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Poll Party
Akron received 26 votes in the first CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top-25 poll of the season. Other MAC schools showing up in the poll were Bowling Green (No. 9), Central Michigan (No. 22) and Buffalo (40 votes).
The King is Back
Sina King, the lone senior on Akron's roster, is prepared to make her return to the basketball court for a fifth year in 2014-15, after a medical issue sidelined her a year ago. King underwent treatment for blood clots during what would have been her true senior year last season, serving as a student assistant coach to help her teammates capture the first Mid-American Conference championship in school history.
King was a third-team All-MAC selection two years ago in 2012-13, after putting up 14 double-doubles, averaging 15.0 points and a team-high 8.7 rebounds per game. She shot 84.9 percent from the free throw line that year, ranking No. 32 in the nation. The 288 rebounds she pulled down as a junior are the fourth-most for a single season in program history.
Sophomore Status
Sophomore Hannah Plybon is one of two starters returning from last year's squad. The 2014 All-MAC Freshman Team selection established herself as a prominent offensive threat on the Zips' roster last season, starting all but one game as a rookie on a senior-laden team. The Orrville, Ohio native scored in double figures on 11 occasions, averaging 25.3 minutes per game and 7.1 ppg (8.2 ppg in MAC play).
Anita Buckets
Junior Anita Brown is in contention for a starting spot this year after playing some of her best basketball near the end of the 2013-14 campaign. She was fourth on the team in scoring and rebounding last year as the first guard off the bench (7.5 ppg and 4.4 rpg). Brown averaged 10.7 ppg over the course of the 2014 MAC Tournament, including a 16-point effort in 25 minutes in the semifinal game against Central Michigan.
Leading Scorers
For the third-straight season, the Zips set a new school record for most points scored in 2013-14. Akron's signature high-octane offense averaged 82.0 points per game, which ranked 11th in the nation in scoring offense. UA was also seventh in the country in assists per game at 18.5, fueled by the graduated Kacie Cassell, the school's all-time career assists leader (688).
Zips in the Pros
Following graduation in 2014, seniors Hanna Luburgh and Rachel Tecca signed contracts to play professionally overseas. Luburgh went on to play for AZS UMCS in Lublin, Poland, for the 2014-15 season, while Tecca traveled to Iceland to compete for U.M.F. Grindavik out of the Dominos League. The pair were two of the most prolific scorers to come through Akron, as Tecca left as the career scoring leader and Luburgh holds the single-season record.
Newcomer Notes
• Alli Ball - Fr., F, 6-1, Saint Louis, Mo./Principia Upper School: Set the school record for career points (1,360), points in a single season (553), blocks in a single season (122) and career blocks (255) ... two-time Missouri Basketball Coaches Association all-state selection ... two-time first team all-district ... named MBCA Class 3 as well as Metro League Player of the Year as a senior ... averaged 19.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game as a senior ... led her team to two conference, district and sectional championships in her four years ... was a cross country state qualifier as a freshman and a track & field state qualifier as a sophomore.
• Greta Burry - Fr., F, 6-1, Lakewood, Ohio/St. Joseph Academy: Four-year letterwinner ... averaged 9.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.0assists and 2.0 steals as a senior ... recognized by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as a top-25 player to watch, player of the week and postseason honorable mention ... recipient of the coaches award as a senior.
• Kaitlyn Flowers - Fr., G, 5-5, Lompoc, Ca./St. Joseph HS: Scored 1,448 points over the course of her prep career ... as a senior, averaged 17.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 4.8 steals per game ... shot 41 percent from the field for her career ... three-time team captain ... four-time scholar-athlete ... all-division first team as a senior and second team as a junior ... led her squad to two league championship titles in four years and one California Interscholastic Federation Division 3 state championship ... two-time all-league first team defensive MVP ... was also an all-league performer in track & field (hurdles).
• Lauren Hung - Fr., G, 5-8, Waterford, Mich./Waterford Mott HS: Earned all-state recognition as a senior ... scored 1,315 points for her career ... averaged 15.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a senior ... two-time state free throw champion ... shot 82 percent from the charity stripe during her senior season ... four-time team MVP.
• Kerri McMahan - Fr., G, 5-10, Novi, Mich./Novi HS: Graduated as the only girls' basketball player in school history to surpass 1,000 points, finishing with 1,069 points for her career ... set the school single-game scoring record (32 points) ... led her team to four division championship titles ... four-time all-conference selection ... Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) all-state first team as a junior and senior ... two-time All-Oakland County first team selection ... three-time all-area Player of the Year ... received BCAM academic-all state recognition as a junior and senior ... averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 4.0 steals during her senior season ... was also an all-state cross country runner as a freshman and the fifth-fastest freshman in the state of Michigan ... three-time all-state runner in the 4x400 meter relay ... four-time all-state high jumper ... only student-athlete in school history to earn all-state honors in three different sports.
• Megan Sefcik - Fr., G, 5-10, Austintown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch HS: Graduated as the school's second all-time leading scorer ... averaged 19.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game as a senior ... named the conference Player of the Year as a senior ... shot 53.0 percent from the field and 89.0 percent from the free throw line during her senior season ... three-time first team all-conference selection ... All-Ohio Special Mention.
Akron Signs Two for 2015-16
Lilli Piper (Norton, Ohio) and Fredniqua "Shaq" Walker (Cleveland, Ohio) have signed national letters of intent to join the program for the 2015-16 season.
Piper, a 5-10 guard from nearby Walsh Jesuit High School, averaged 12.3 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists per game last season. She earned All-Ohio Special Mention recognition as a junior, and was also named first team all-district. A multi-sport athlete, Piper was tabbed the 2014 softball player of the year by Cleveland.com, and maintains a 3.6 GPA.
Walker a 6-1 post player out of Shaw High School in Cleveland, averaged a double-double a year ago with 12.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. She earned all-district recognition following her junior campaign in 2013-14. Walker boasts a 4.3 GPA and ranks No. 1 in her class.
Reid Promoted, Pierce Joins Akron Staff
Head coach Jodi Kest made a few changes in her staff during the offseason, promoting former graduate assistant Preston Reid to assistant coach, and hiring Sam Pierce as an assistant coach.
Reid served as a graduate assistant on Kest's staff for the last two seasons, after one year as the assistant video coordinator at Florida State.
Pierce comes to Akron from the state of Pennsylvania, where he founded a basketball development program called PA Pride located in Altoona, Pa. He coached boys and girls for the last six years as a part of the program.
2013-14 Postseason Recap
In Coach Kest's eighth year at the helm, the University of Akron women's basketball team captured its second-consecutive 23-win season in 2013-14, finishing the year with a 23-10 overall record and a 14-4 mark in Mid-American Conference play.
Akron used the strength of a school-record 13-game winning streak to earn the No. 3 seed in the MAC Tournament for the second-straight season. During the last week of the regular season, it was one of 10 active double-digit winning streaks in Division I.
Along with several team and individual school records, the Zips secured their first Mid-American Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth in the 40-year history of the program. The Zips were selected as the No. 13 seed in the South Bend region and traveled to No. 4 seed Purdue to play the Boilermakers on their home court at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.
UA kept it close in the first half, trailing 46-34 at the break, but would fall 84-55 as the historic season came to a close.
Akron ended the season with four 1,000 point scorers on its roster - Hanna Luburgh, Sina King, Rachel Tecca and Carly Young. Tecca became just the second player in MAC history to surpass 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.
