The University of Akron Athletics
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Ohio Christian
Akron hits 10-0 following 97-62 win over Ohio Christian
December 20 | Women's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio - The Akron women's basketball team extended its season-opening win streak to 10 in a row on Saturday afternoon with a 97-62 victory over Ohio Christian (6-8) at the James A. Rhodes Arena, in the Zips' (10-0) final home game of the non-conference schedule.
The contest served as the We Back Pat game, which is designed to raise awareness of Alzheimer's disease and educating others on Pat Summitt's dedication to defeating it.
Junior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio) led all players in scoring for the fifth time this season, issuing a 10-of-12 performance from the field and 3-for-3 showing from the charity stripe for 23 points for the Zips. Seventeen of her points came in her 17 minutes of first-half action. Brown went coast-to-coast twice during her four-minute appearance in the second half as she ended the game with three steals.
Three other Zips joined Brown in double-figures. Sophomore Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) followed equaling a career-high scoring output with 18 points in her 24 minutes of play, connecting on 4-of-7 from long range.
Junior DiAndra Gibson (Ravenna, Ohio) finished one board shy of a double-double, as she helped the Zips win the rebounding battle 44-27, including 34-19 on the defensive glass, by posting nine rebounds, each coming on the defensive end to go with 12 points.
Senior Sina King (Waterford, Ohio) chipped in 12 points along with five boards to round out the double-figure scoring.
Freshman Kerri McMahan (Novi, Mich.) and junior Megan Barilla (Fairview Park, Ohio) helped Akron's offense, dishing out six assists apiece, while 12 different Zips posted points in the scoring column for 26 bench points.
Akron shot a season-best 58.5 percent from the field after connecting on 38 of its 65 attempts, while shooting 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from behind the arc.
Ohio Christian's Baylee Wallace led the Trailblazers' offensive effort with 15 points and five rebounds.
Redshirt junior Therany Dunnigan (Cleveland, Ohio) netted her first career points as a Zip on a lay-up with 2:16 left in the game, while sophomore Sophia Simone (Silver Lake, Ohio) cracked the scoring column for the first time this season with lay-up with 7:09 remaining in the game. Pulling down a career-high two rebounds was freshman Kaitlyn Flowers (Lompoc, Calif.)
The Zips opened the game struggling with ball control as the Trailblazers recorded three steals in the opening eight minutes of play. However, Akron used the initial portion of the opening period to gradually get out to a 16-8 lead following a pair of free throws from Brown.
After trading triples with the Trailblazers, Akron rode a 17-3 run beginning at the 10:22 mark to extend its lead to 36-14 with 3:23 remaining in the half. Six different Zips contributed points to the seven-minute run, while the Akron defense held Ohio Christian to just seven points throughout the final 10 minutes of the opening period.
The Zips led 44-18 at the intermission and shot 61.3 perfect from the field after connecting on 19-of-31 attempts to the Trailblazers' 23.3 percent showing from the field in the first half.
Gibson returned to the floor strong, posting five points in the opening minute as Akron maintained its comfortable lead throughout the second half.
Plybon connected on her third and fourth three-ball of the game, helping Akron to an 11-0 run that lifted the Zips to a game-high 41 point lead at 72-31 with 13:00 remaining. The Zips remained ahead by at least 30 points throughout the end of the game.
The Zips will take a short holiday break before returning to action at Youngstown State on Monday, Dec. 29 for a 7 p.m. tip.
