The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
3-4
UCF
3-5
Barilla's Triple-Double Sparks Akron to 74-54 Victory Over UCF
December 05 | Women's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio - University of Akron women's basketball seniors Megan Barilla (Fairview Park, Ohio), Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio) and DiAndra Gibson (Ravenna, Ohio) each registered record-setting performances to lift the Zips (3-4) to a 74-54 victory over the University of Central Florida (3-5) on Saturday, December 5, at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Barilla had arguably the biggest afternoon for Akron registering a triple-double with a 10-point, 10-rebound and 10-assist performance.
Brown hit a career milestone surpassing 1,000 points for her career as a Zip in the second half en route to netting a game-high 20 points. Gibson recorded a career-high 15 points and dished out three assists, pulled down three rebounds and rejected a pair of shots. Junior Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) added 14 points to go along with three assists and two rebounds.
Leading the Knight's offense was Makenzi Reasor with a team-best 16-point and 11-rebound outing. Joslyn Massey also posted a double-double scoring 14 points, while corralling 10 rebounds.
The Zips shot well beyond the arc shooting 13-of-33 for 39.4 percent, while limiting UCF to a 1-of-16 (6.3 percent) effort from distance.
Akron scored 28 of its points in the paint shooting 30-of-63 (47.6 percent) from the field.
The Knights connected on 23 of their 67 attempts (34.3 percent) from the floor, scoring 30 points in the paint. The Knights had 22 offensive rebounds that led to scoring 22 second-chance points.
UCF outrebounded Akron in the affair, 46-31, including 22-9 on the offensive glass
The Zips fell behind 4-0 to begin the game before Gibson sparked the Zips' offense with a shot beyond the arc, putting Akron down by one, 4-3. A layup by sophomore Greta Burry (Lakewood, Ohio) at the 7:53 mark of the first quarter started a 15-0 Akron run on the Knights. UCF ended the Zips' momentum with a Jamesha Paul layup to close the gap to 15-6 at the 2:11 mark.
Akron went 4-of-8 (50.0 percent) from distance in the initial stanza and 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from the field.
Defense was key in the first quarter for the Zips, who forced nine UCF turnovers and converted those miscues into five points.
Going into the second quarter Akron led 20-10. The Knights edged the Zips in rebounds 11-4 in the final 10 minutes of the half pulling in eight second-chance points. UCF's Nyala Shuler hit a layup to bring the Knights within six, 22-16, with 6:44 left in the half.
Plybon and Gibson contributed to the Zips' ensuing 19-0 run scoring three, three pointers each. Gibson also recorded all of her career-high 15 points in the opening half.
Barilla opened up the third quarter hitting two consecutive three pointers to continue the Zips' first-half momentum.
Ashley Polacek scored the Knight's first three of the game in the third quarter giving UCF an offensive spark. The Knights continued their momentum in the third by cutting Akron's 30-point lead to 20 with 14-second chance points. The Knights outscored Akron 22-19 in third, but the Zips still maintained a 60-38 lead going into the fourth.
At the 6:54 mark of the fourth quarter, Brown shot a three pointer to put her over 1,000 career points. The Zips continued to lead the Knights throughout the fourth en route to a 74-54 victory of the Knights.
Akron returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 9, as the Zips travel to Valparaiso, Ind., for an 8 p.m. ET tilt at Valparaiso.
