The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
4-5
Northern Iowa
4-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | 3 | 11 | 16 | 21 | 51 |
| UNI | 17 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 59 |
Late Rally Comes up Short as Akron Drops 59-51 Decision Versus Northern Iowa
December 13 | Women's Basketball
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MOLINE, Ill. – A furious second-half rally for the University of Akron women's basketball team fell just short on Sunday, Dec. 13, at the iWireless Center, as Northern Iowa (4-5) registered a 59-51 victory over the Zips (4-5).
Senior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio) directed Akron's efforts in the affair registering a team-high 23 points, marking her seventh scoring performance of 20 or more points this season. She also pulled down six rebounds.
Senior DiAndra Gibson (Ravenna, Ohio) added a seven-point and team-best nine rebound effort, while sophomore Greta Burry (Lakewood, Ohio) pulled down eight rebounds to go along with her seven-point outing. Freshman Lilli Piper (Norton, Ohio) netted four points, including a three pointer, off the bench.
A 25-point performance from Amber Sorenson, including nailing six of the Panthers' 11 triples, paced the Northern Iowa offensive attack. Joining her in double figures was Madison Weekly with 11 points.
Akron finished the contest shooting 31 percent from the field, while limiting Northern Iowa's attack to a 26.5 percent shooting mark, including just 18.8 percent in the second half.
The Zips won the rebounding battle, 47-46, including a 35-30 advantage on the defensive glass. The Panthers forced 15 Akron turnovers and converted those miscues into a 14-0 margin in points off turnovers, while bettering the Zips in second-chance points, 15-7.
Senior Megan Barilla (Fairview Park, Ohio) dished out a team-high five assists to go along with recording six rebounds for Akron.
Brown brought the Zips to within two in the opening minutes of the tilt, 5-3, with a jumper at the 6:02 mark.
The field goal marked Akron only field goal in the quarter as the Zips struggled to knock down shots despite good looks and went 1-of-11 from the field in the stanza. The Panthers connected on only 6-of-20 attempts in the initial quarter, but held a 17-3 lead.
Northern Iowa raced to a 28-3 advantage sparked by eight points from Sorenson and five from Jen Keitel during a 23-0 first-half run.
During the run, the Zips were 0-of-17 from the field before redshirt freshman Megan Sefcik (Austintown, Ohio) broke the scoring drought with a pair of free throws at the 4:28 mark of the second quarter.
Akron closed the half with an 11-5 run of its own fueled by six points from Brown and a triple by Gibson to enter the intermission trailing 33-14.
Akron shot 14.8 percent from the floor in the first half, while Northern Iowa made 12-of-36 attempts to attack the hoop at a 33.3-percent clip.
The Zips opened the second half with an 8-2 run capped by a jumper from Brown at the 3:57 mark of the third quarter to cut the Panthers' lead to 13, 35-22.
Northern Iowa struggled offensively in the stanza as it failed to connect on its first 11 attempts in the stanza en route to shooting 2-of-16 in the quarter.
The Zips went 4-of-6 from the field to close the period sparked by seven points from Burry and entered the fourth quarter trailing the Panthers, 41-30.
Akron opened the final period with an 8-0 run making its first three shots, including three pointers from junior Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) and Piper, to cut the deficit to 41-38 at the 7:55 mark.
The Zips fought all the way back to square the contest at 45 on a jumper by Brown with 3:40 remaining in the affair.
Back-to-back-to-back triples from Northern Iowa, including a pair from Sorenson, stretched the Panthers' margin to nine, 54-45, with 2:01 to play.
Brown delivered a pair of baskets down the stretch, but it was not enough as the Zips dropped a 59-51 decision to Northern Iowa.
Akron will have the week off for finals before resuming action traveling to Northern Kentucky for a 4:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Dec. 19.
