The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Ball State
Zips suffer 77-73 home setback versus Ball State
January 21 | Women's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio - After battling down to the wire, the Akron women's basketball team was unable to capitalize on its final possessions as the Zips (14-3, 4-2 MAC) were held without a field goal for the closing three minutes, while Mid-American Conference Western Division leader Ball State (9-8, 5-1 MAC) ended the game on a 10-3 run to defeat Akron, 77-73 Wednesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The Zips fought through eight ties and five lead changes and led the Cardinals four times throughout the second half, but never by more than two points. Neither team led by more than eight points throughout the contest.
Freshman Kerri McMahan (Novi, Mich.) gave the Zips their first lead of the game since the five-minute mark of the first half with a lay-up at the 6:17 mark for a 61-60 advantage.
Ball State posted five-straight points in response, which the Zips countered with a 7-0 run with McMahan again putting the Zips ahead with a long jumper, this time for a 68-66 lead with 4:04 remaining. Unfortunately, Akron connected on only one more field goal until the end of the game, which allowed the Cardinals to take control, and collect the victory.
Senior Sina King (Waterford, Ohio) led all players in scoring equaling a career high with 29 points, while pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds to register her team-leading ninth double-double of the season. The senior dished out four assists, while issuing a perfect 6-of-6 performance from the line. King cracked double digits by the 11:13 mark of the first half.
Junior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio) followed, posting 17 points with a team-high four steals, while McMahan tallied 11 points after shooting 5-of-9 from the field.
Junior DiAndra Gibson (Ravenna, Ohio) finished two points shy of a double-double with an eight-point, 11-rebound effort, while junior Megan Barilla (Fairview Park, Ohio) dished out a game-high six assists.
Akron edged Ball State in the rebounding battle, 33-32, while both teams struggled with ball control. The Zips forced the Cardinals into 23 turnovers, while posting 19 giveaways of their own.
Ball State garnered a 27-0 advantage in bench points in the affair.
As the Zips struggling to find the bottom of the net to open the game, Akron forced four Ball State turnovers on the Cardinals' first five possessions to keep the Ball State offense at bay. King registered nine points by the 12:20 mark as the Zips found a rhythm to lead 15-11 following a brief 9-1 run.
Akron worked its way around the Ball State offense and led by as many as eight in the first half, dishing it inside the paint for 18 of their first 25 points to lead the Cardinals, 25-20, at the 8:20 mark.
Akron's offense suffered from turnovers and 1-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half as Ball State went on to tie the game at 27-all at the 5:04 mark after back-to-back layups. Nathalie Fontaine, who missed her first six shots of the game, hit three in a row for the Cardinals, giving Ball State its first lead of the game.
The teams traded buckets and knotted the game in a tie four more times until Ball State closed the half with a layup and a jumper for a 37-33 advantage at the intermission.
The Cardinals used three lay-ups to open the second half as King fought them off, sinking the first two Akron buckets of the period which sparked a 7-0 Akron run when sophomore Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) connected on just the second triple of the game and Brown followed, taking it to the rim herself to come within one of Ball State, 43-42, with 14:53 to play.
A pair of Ball State triples put the Cardinals up by seven at 58-51 with 9:15 remaining, but the Zips battled back when Brown and McMahan each snatched the ball and layed it in, allowing Akron to chip away at the deficit and make it a one-point game before McMahan struck again and put Akron in the lead to set up the closing possessions.
The Zips return to action on Saturday, Jan. 24, when they travel to take on Central Michigan for a 1 p.m. contest set to air on ESPN3.
