The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Northern Illinois
Women's Basketball comes from behind to top Northern Illinois, 71-67
February 05 | Women's Basketball
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DeKALB, Ill. – Trailing by three with 28 seconds to play and no timeouts, Akron pulled off an unthinkable 5-point play to regain the lead and take down Northern Illinois, 71-67, on the road Wednesday night.
The victory extended UA's winning streak to six games, improving its record to 13-8 overall and 7-3 in Mid-American Conference play.
With both teams in the double-bonus, NIU hit two free throws to take a 67-64 lead with 28 seconds left in the game. Hanna Luburgh drained a triple just as Carly Young drew a foul off the ball to earn a trip to the free throw line. The 3-pointer counted, and Young put in her two shots to give the Zips five points in one possession, a two-point lead and 18 seconds to go.
Rachel Tecca came up with a steal on the other end and was fouled, sinking her free throws as well, to give Akron a four-point advantage it was able to hold on to for the final eight seconds of the contest.
Tecca led all scorers with 23 points and eight boards, officially becoming the second player in MAC history to surpass 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.
Young was the difference maker for UA in the second half, scoring 17 of her 19 points in the second 20 minutes. The senior also pulled down 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Luburgh was the third Zip to score in double figures, finishing the night with 17 points.
NIU (8-12, 4-6 MAC) placed four players in double digits, led by Jenna Thorp's 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Zips battled a rocky first half, struggling to find the bottom of the net as NIU held them to 25.8 percent shooting from the field, and they missed the mark on all six long ball attempts. UA was able to combat its early offensive woes with a solid defensive effort, keeping the score low and the Huskies off the boards for much of the first period.
The two teams played to a scoreless tie for almost the first three minutes until they traded layups near the 17:00 mark. The difference hovered at four points or less until Akron captured its first lead of the night at 12-10 on a 3-point play from Hannah Plybon with 11:12 on the clock.
NIU strung together seven-straight points to go ahead by six (19-13) and force an Akron timeout. The Zips got it back down to one on a Tecca free throw with 3:24 left in the half, but that is the last time Akron would score before the break. Northern closed the first period on a 10-0 run to take a 31-20 lead by halftime.
Down by its largest margin of 13 points at the 15:06 mark of the second half, Akron sparked what would become a 13-2 run that featured 11 unanswered points. Contributions from Tecca, Luburgh, and Katie Nunan highlighted the stretch, but it was a sequence from Young and Anita Brown that spurred the momentum.
Young put in two free throws and Brown jumped out of the gym for a monster block on NIU's ensuing possession, coming up with the ball and finding Young for layup in transition, resulting in a Northern timeout.
Two free throws from Luburgh with 3:10 remaining tied the game at 58-all, but the Huskies answered with six-straight points in exactly a minute before the wild finish unfolded. As a team, Akron limited itself to just two turnovers in the second half, while forcing the Huskies into 10 miscues.
Akron returns home on Saturday, Feb. 8, when it hosts Western Michigan at 2 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena. The contest will serve as UA's Play 4Kay game, as the team will wear pink jerseys in support of breast cancer research.
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