The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Eastern Michigan
Hot shooting propels Eastern Michigan past Akron, 95-66
March 12 | Women's Basketball
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Eastern Michigan (21-11) shot 54.0 percent from the field, including 57.7 percent from behind the arc Thursday afternoon to defeat the University of Akron women's basketball team, 95-66, in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena.
Eastern Michigan's 95 points posted against the Zips (22-8) was the second-highest point total Akron has allowed this season. Forty-five of the Eagle's points came from beyond the arc, as Akron did not have an answer for their 15-of-26 shooting from distance, while connecting at a 35.3 percent clip itself.
Junior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio) led Akron's offense with 26 points, including 14 in the second half, after going 3-of-4 from three-point range and 10-of-20 from the field. She also posted seven rebounds and distributed a team-high five assists.
Senior Sina King (Waterford, Ohio) followed Brown, registering a 21-point, eight-rebound performance.
Junior DiAndra Gibson (Ravenna, Ohio) led the Zips' rebounding effort with 10, split evenly between the offensive and defensive glass. Overall, the Zips edged Eastern Michigan in the rebounding battle, 44-36, including 18-7 on the offensive glass, en route to 15 second-chance points.
Eastern Michigan was able to pick up 18 points off turnovers, as the Zips posted 14 giveaways to the Eagles' seven.
Cha Sweeney led five Eastern Michigan players in double-figures with a team-high 24 points. Janay Morton had the game's only double-double recording 11 points and 10 assists.
After scoring the game's initial basket, the Zips struggled to contest the Eagles' hot shooting early, falling behind 13-6, while Eastern Michigan used the perimeter to stretch the advantage.
Akron's first 11 points went to King as she opened the game shooting 3-for-4 from long range as the Zips trailed 19-11 with 13:12 remaining in the half.
Eastern Michigan netted its seventh three-pointer of the game at the 11:10 mark for a 25-13 lead and went on to score 14 uninterrupted points to get out to a 33-13 margin by the 7:19 mark of the first half.
Brown halted the Eagles' run with back-to-back layups to begin a modest comeback for the Zips. Akron outscored the Eagles 10-2 to the end the half beginning at the 5:08 mark when Brown posted another layup. The Zips trailed 44-33 at the intermission.
Akron cut the deficit to 10 three times throughout the beginning of the final stanza, but the Eagles quickly pulled away with a 21-2 run. The scoring spurt allowed Eastern Michigan to take command of the game and claim a 76-47 lead at the 8:30 mark of the second half.
Akron began to find its stroke from the field and began to trade buckets with the Eagles, but it was too little too late, as Eastern Michigan advanced to the tournament semifinals with a 95-66 victory.
The Zips are optimistic their body of work has earned Akron a postseason berth. The Zips will learn their postseason fate late on Monday evening, March 16.
