The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Northern Illinois
Women's Basketball Falls at Northern Illinois, 62-56
February 07 | Women's Basketball
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DeKALB, Ill. – The Akron women's basketball team gave up a 15-point second-half lead and fell at Northern Illinois, 62-56, in Mid-American Conference action at the Convocation Center on Saturday evening.
The loss snapped the Zips' three-game winning streak. Akron stands 17-5 overall and 7-4 in MAC play, while the Huskies, who won their fourth consecutive contest, improved to 10-10 overall and 6-4 in the MAC.
"We're disappointed with the loss," head coach Jodi Kest said. "We didn't know how to finish the game. We were up by 15 with eight minutes to go. We should know how to win. We will learn from this and go back to work on Monday."
In the first half, the Huskies jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead. The Zips then went on an 8-2 run to come within two, 10-8. Senior Sina King (Waterford, Ohio) and sophomore Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) each connected on three pointers.
The teams battled back and forth for the rest of the half. Akron tied the game at 20-20 on a lay-up b Plybon. The Zips' largest lead was three points following a pair of free throws from King and a lay-up by freshman Kerri McMahan (Novi, Mich.). Akron closed the stanza with a one-point edge, taking a 27-26 lead into the locker room.
The Zips came out of the locker room on fire and jumped ahead with a 10-0 run to lead by nine, 37-28, with 16:04 to go. With 8:36 remaining, Akron had its largest lead of the game, 51-36, before Northern Illinois started chipping away. The Huskies' Amanda Corral was unstoppable. She scored 14 of their last 18 points down the stretch. With the score tied at 56-56 with 1:19 to play, Corral nailed a three and four free throws for the win.
King led the Zips with 17 points and six rebounds. Plybon followed with 16 points, including four treys, and six boards. Junior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio), who was held scoreless in the first half, finished with eight points and seven rebounds. Brown also distributed a game-high four assists.
Corral led Northern Illinois with 31 points, including three treys and 10-of-11 shooting from the free throw line. Kelly Smith added 12 points, and Ally Lehman had 10.
Overall, Akron out-shot the Huskies, 37 percent (22-of-59) to 35 percent (22-of-62). The Zips also shot better at the charity stripe, 86 percent (6-of-7) to 72 percent (13-18). Akron out-rebounded the Huskies, 41-38. The difference was turnovers. The Zips committed 15 turnovers while forcing just eight. Freshman Alli Ball (St. Louis, Mo.) equaled a career high pulling down seven rebounds.
Akron returns home to host Buffalo on Student Appreciation Night on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Starting on Monday, Feb. 9, students can tweet using the hashtag #ZipsBucketList and talk about what they have on their bucket list to accomplish before graduation. Five winners will be chosen at the game on Wednesday to go "All In" as the Zips will help the winners accomplish their bucket lists item. It is also Girl Scout Night with participants getting a special group rate for admission into the game.
