The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Youngstown State
Akron suffers 75-62 setback at Youngstown State
December 29 | Women's Basketball
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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A 13-2 second-half scoring run proved to be the deciding factor which lifted Youngstown State (11-1) to a 75-62 women's basketball triumph over Akron (10-1) on Monday (Dec. 29) in front of 1,606 fans at the Beeghley Center.
The loss was the first of the season for the Zips, snapping their 10-game winning streak to open the campaign.
Junior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio) led Akron with a team-high 24 points, including 16 in the second half, while finishing one rebound shy of recording her third double-double of the year. Senior Sina King (Waterford, Ohio) notched her team-leading seventh double-double of the season with an 18-point, 12-rebound effort.
Junior Katie Nunan (Fairmont, W. Va.) added nine points and four rebounds for the Zips off the bench.
The Penguins benefited from a pair of 25-point games courtesy of Heidi Schlegel and Latisha Walker. The Youngstown State' duo also collected 15 and 11 rebounds, respectively.
Akron finished the tilt connecting on nearly 39 percent (.389) of its attempts from the floor, while the Penguins sparked by a 47.8 percent shooting mark in the second half, shot the ball at a 42.4 percent clip for the game.
The Zips outrebounded Youngstown State, 41-40, including 15-12 on the offensive glass. Youngstown State though capitalized on its offensive rebounds posting an 18-12 margin in second-chance points on the evening.
One of its strengths all season has been shooting from beyond the arc and Akron struggled on the night making only one of its three-point attempts.
The two sides started the game exchanging the contest's first 12 points before a three-pointer by Schlegel gave the Penguins a 9-6 lead at the 16:38 mark. A jumper by King cut the deficit to 9-8 with 16:24 remaining in the half.
Youngstown State scored seven unanswered tallies to assume a 16-8 lead at the first media timeout. (15:14).
The Zips held the Penguins without a field goal for more than four minutes (4:22), but were only able to get jumpers by sophomore Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) and Nunan to bring Akron to within four points, 16-12.
After back-to-back baskets by the Penguins, the Zips scored six of the next eight points to close the gap to 22-18 on a jumper by freshman Kerri McMahan (Novi, Mich.) at the 8:16 mark.
Following a three-pointer and pair of free throws from Schlegel, Akron saw its deficit pushed to 27-20.
The Zips answered scoring nine of the next 11 points to square the game at 29, on jumper by King at the 3:42 mark.
The two teams exchanged the next two baskets before Schlegel converted a basket and a free throw with nine seconds left in the initial stanza to send Youngstown State into the intermission leading 34-31.
Akron connected on nearly 52 percent (.517) of its attempts from the field in the first half, while limiting the Penguins to a 38.9 percent shooting mark. The Zips outrebounded Youngstown State, 18-17, including 14-9 on the defensive glass.
The Penguins found their mark in the initial stanza with offensive rebounds as Youngstown State used an 8-4 advantage on the offensive glass to garner a 16-4 margin in second-chance points.
Brown scored the first seven points of the second half for the Zips to even the affair at 38 on a jumper at the 17:14 mark.
A lay-up and a free throw by Nunan with 15:54 remaining gave Akron its first and ultimately only lead of the game, 43-42.
The Penguins scored 13 on the next 15 points, including a 9-0 run, to assume a 55-45 lead with nine minutes left. A jumper by King at the 8:14 mark ended Youngstown State's 13-2 scoring run.
Plybon delivered Akron's lone three-pointer of the contest with 7:29 left in the affair.
The Penguins hit their free throws down the stretch to exit the game with a 75-62 victory.
The Zips return to action on Saturday, Jan. 3, opening their Mid-American Conference slate with a 2 p.m. tilt at Western Michigan.
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