The University of Akron Athletics
No. 13 Women's Basketball challenges No. 4 Purdue in NCAA Tournament debut
March 21 | Women's Basketball
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(13) Akron (23-9) at (4) Purdue (21-8)
NCAA Tournament First Round
Saturday, March 22, 2014 • 1:30 p.m. ET
West Lafayette, Ind.
Mackey Arena (14,264)
Television: ESPN2. Melissa Lee (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst).
Radio: SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship), for free at SportsRadio1350.com and on iHeartRadio. Bill Morgan will have the call beginning at approximately 1:00 p.m.
Akron Coach Jodi Kest (Slippery Rock, 1984): Kest is in her eighth season at Akron, posting a 120-129 (.482) mark. She is 346-282 (.551) in 21+ seasons as a collegiate head coach. In the last two years, Kest has guided Akron to back-to-back 20-win seasons, two consecutive postseason berths (NCAA 2014, WNIT 2013) and the program's first Mid-American Conference championship in school history.
Series Notes: Saturday's game will be the first ever meeting between Akron and Purdue.
Akron's First Dance
UA is set to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance in the program's 40-year history when it takes on Purdue Saturday.
News, Notes and Storylines
• Akron captured its first Mid-American Conference title on Saturday, as the third-seeded Zips defeated fifth-seeded Ball State, 79-68, in the championship game at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
• Rachel Tecca was named MAC Tournament MVP after scoring 30 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the title game. The senior is the first Akron player ever to receive the honor. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Kacie Cassell and Hanna Luburgh, marking the most All-Tournament selections for UA in one season.
• Akron's appearance in the MAC title game was its second in as many years. The Zips advanced to the league championship for the first time in 2013, falling to Central Michigan 86-68.
• UA is just the third No. 3 seed to win the MAC Tournament in the 33-year history of the tournament.
• The Zips won three games in three days to earn the MAC crown, out-scoring their opponents by an average of 13.7 points per game in the process.
• The women's basketball program is the second Akron squad to reach the NCAA Tournament this season in their respective sport (men's soccer, second round).
• The Zips have won 16 of their last 17 games, their only loss being a one-point setback to Bowling Green two weeks ago.
• Eighth-year head coach Jodi Kest will be making her first appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a Division I head coach. She has successfully turned the program around at UA, guiding the Zips to 46 victories over the last two seasons after the team won just 24 games in the six years combined prior to her arrival in Akron.
• Akron is riding a seven-game winning streak on the road, the longest in program history.
• UA boasts four 1,000-point scorers on its roster (three active) - Sina King, Hanna Luburgh, Rachel Tecca and Carly Young.
A Look at Purdue
Purdue enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-8 overall record that includes an 11-5 mark in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers, ranked No. 17/19 in the country in the latest AP Top 25/USA Today Coaches Poll, earned the fourth seed in the conference tournament, falling in the second round to fifth-seeded Iowa, 87-80. They earned an at-large bid to the tournament after finishing tied for fourth in the conference standings.
Purdue will be making its 27th trip to the NCAA Tournament and its fourth in the last four years under head coach Sharon Versyp. The Boilermakers are 45-22 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
Boasting an 11-2 record on its home floor in 2013-14, Purdue is led offensively by four players in double figures - Courtney Moses (15.7 ppg), KK Houser (15.2 ppg), Whitney Bays (11.5 ppg) and April Wilson (10.1 ppg). Bays is also the team's leading rebounder, corraling 7.6 boards per contest. Houser runs the show at the point, dishing out 5.0 assists per game.
The Series
Saturday's game will be the first ever meeting between Akron and Purdue.
Zips vs. B1G
Akron is 2-12 all-time against current Big Ten teams, with its only wins coming against Indiana and Michigan. The victory over Michigan was during the Kest era, on Nov. 17, 2008 - a 58-49 triumph at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Purdue vs. the MAC
UA is not the first Mid-American Conference team that Purdue has faced this season. The Boilermakers went head-to-head against four other MAC teams this year, escaping with narrow victories over Ball State (63-57), Toledo (81-79), Bowling Green (57-48) and Central Michigan (109-97).
Akron vs. Ball State Recap
The third-seeded University of Akron women's basketball team won its first Mid-American Conference championship in program history Saturday afternoon, defeating fifth-seeded Ball State, 79-68, at Quicken Loans Arena.
Tournament MVP Rachel Tecca led all scorers with 30 points and 12 rebounds for her 12th double-double of the season. She poured in 20 of her points before halftime to help UA secure a comfortable 11-point lead at the break.
Tecca was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Hanna Luburgh and Kacie Cassell.
Luburgh was limited to six points but pulled down 12 rebounds, as the Zips handily out-rebounded Ball State, 46-30. Carly Young scored 15 points and grabbed five rebounds off the bench, surpassing 1,000 career points in the process.
Ball State was led by 23 points from Brittany Carter.
Dynamic Duo
Rachel Tecca and Hanna Luburgh are not only the top two scorers in the Mid-American Conference, but they make up the top scoring duo in the country. The two combine to score an average of 44.9 points per game, and each ranks in the top-15 in scoring nationally.
First Chance to Dance
Akron is making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the 40-year history of the women's basketball program. The Zips won their first ever Mid-American Conference title last weekend, making their second consecutive trip to the league title game. Head coach Jodi Kest, in her eighth year at Akron and her 22nd year overall as a collegiate head coach, will be making her debut in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level as well.
What's At Stake
A win on Saturday over Purdue would be Akron's first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent, set a new school record for victories in a single season (24), and mark the Zips' first ever postseason victory.
RPI Watch
Three victories in the MAC Tournament bumped Akron's RPI up to 76, its first time breaking into the top-100 since the early weeks of the season. A victory over Purdue (RPI: 9) would be UA's second win over an RPI top-50 team this year (Central Michigan, 40).
MVP, MVP
Rachel Tecca was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2014 Mid-American Conference Tournament after scoring 30 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in the league title game against Ball State, marking the first time an Akron women's basketball player has ever received MAC Tournament MVP status. Tecca was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Hanna Luburgh for the second consecutive season, as well as Kacie Cassell, marking the most honorees that Akron has had in a single season.
Tecca, Luburgh and Plybon Named All-MAC
Three Zips were named to the All-MAC teams prior to the conference tournament last week for their performances during the 2013-14 season - Rachel Tecca earned First Team honors for the third time in her career, and was joined by Hanna Luburgh. Hannah Plybon was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team. She is the first Akron player to be named to the league's all-rookie squad since Carly Young in 2011.
Tecca Earns Academic All-America First Team
Rachel Tecca was named to the Capital One Academic All-America First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Tecca is UA's first women's basketball player ever to receive first team honors, after being named to the second team a year ago. Tecca maintains a 3.89 graduate GPA, as she is on track to complete her MBA this spring. The fifth-year senior received a bachelor's degree in marketing management from Akron in December of 2012.
A Streak to Write Home About
The Zips recorded the longest winning streak in program history earlier this season, winning 13-straight games from Jan. 18 to March 5. During the last week of the regular season, it was one of 10 active double-digit winning streaks in Division I. UA shot 45.8 percent from the field and outscored its opponents by an average of 16.5 points per game during that span.
Balanced Attack
Akron has enjoyed a balanced offensive attack for much of the latter part of the season. Eight of UA's 13 available players have scored in double figures at least once this year, five of them eclipsing double figures on 10 or more occasions.
Photo Finish
For the last two seasons, the Zips have saved their best basketball for last. In 2012-13, Akron won nine of its last 10 regular season games, propelling the Zips to their first ever appearance in the MAC championship game. Akron followed suit this year, entering the NCAA Tournament having won 16 of its last 17 games, including the impressive 13-game winning streak.
Fantastic February
The month of February has been kind to Akron women's basketball over the last two years. The Zips are a combined 13-1 in games played in February over the last two seasons.
Tecca's Career Day
Tecca's 43-point and 22-rebound outburst against Eastern Michigan on Jan. 26 broke all kinds of school and facility records. The individual output is the greatest scoring and rebounding combination by a Division I player this season, earning her NCAA Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors - the first recognition of its kind for an Akron player. Tecca's 43 points and 22 boards also broke EMU's Convocation Center records for single-game scoring and rebounding totals.
Getting to the Line
Senior Rachel Tecca earns more trips to the free throw line than any other player in the Mid-American Conference. She ranks ninth in the league in free throw percentage at .783, but she has connected on more free throws than any other conference player has even attempted. Her 202 made free throws this year set a new single-season record for the program.
Super Senior Class
The 2013-14 senior class marks the first full recruiting class for recruiting coordinator/Associate Head Coach Melissa Jackson at Akron, and it is a class that has torn down nearly every record that has stood in their way for the past three seasons. With 74 wins over the last three and a half seasons, the group has become the winningest class in school history.
