The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
11-10,5-5MAC
Ball State
15-5, 7-2MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | 24 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 71 |
| Ball State | 24 | 10 | 25 | 19 | 78 |
Akron Battles Ball State Down to Wire Before Dropping 78-71 Decision
February 03 | Women's Basketball
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MUNCIE, Ind. – The University of Akron battled one of the leading teams in the Mid-American Conference on the road down to the wire before Ball State (15-5, 7-2 MAC) secured a 78-71 victory past the Zips (11-10, 5-5 MAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 3.
In a contest that featured 16 lead changes and nine ties, the Cardinals erased a six-point Akron halftime lead outscoring the Zips in the third quarter, 25-15, en route to posting the triumph.
Senior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio) led four Akron players scoring in double figures with a team-high 19 points, while distributing a team- and career-best eight assists.
Joining her with double-digit scoring performances was senior DiAndra Gibson (Ravenna, Ohio), sophomore Greta Burry (Lakewood, Ohio) and junior Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) with 15, 13 and 11 points, respectively. A 22-point, 14-rebound effort from Nathalie Fontaine directed the Cardinals' efforts on the evening.
Akron connected on 44.3 percent of its shots from the field on the night, including making 10 three pointers, while Ball State attacked the basket shooting 50 percent from the floor.
The Cardinals outrebounded the Zips, 38-32, despite Gibson, Burry and senior Megan Barilla (Fairview Park, Ohio) corralling eight, six and five rebounds, respectively, for Akron.
The opening minutes of the game proved to be a back-and-forth affair with the lead changing hands three times before Gibson nailed a three pointer at the 4:43 mark to give the Zips a 17-14 lead at the first media timeout (4:26). Sparking the opening surge with eight points was Plybon.
The Cardinals came out of the media timeout and rolled off six unanswered tallies to retake the advantage, 20-17.
The Zips fired back a run of their own outscoring Ball State, 7-4, to close the quarter, but the two teams entered the second period tied at 24. Brown and Plybon recorded eight first-quarter points apiece.
Redshirt freshman Megan Sefcik (Austintown, Ohio) opened the scoring in the second quarter with a three pointer to push the Zips' lead to 27-24. After a free throw by Moriah Monaco for Ball State, junior Alex Ricketts (Mercer, Pa.) extended Akron's advantage to 29-25 with a lay-up.
The Cardinals regained the lead, 33-32, on a basket from Frannie Frazier at the 4:18 mark.
Sefcik delivered another triple with 3:25 before halftime to spark the Zips to an 8-1 run to send Akron into the intermission holding a 40-34 lead.
The Zips garnered nine, eight, eight and six tallies, respectively, from Brown, Gibson, Plybon and Sefcik in the opening 20 minutes en route to connecting on 53.3 percent of their first-half shots. Fontaine directed the Cardinals with 10 first-half points to push Ball State to a 48.4 percent shooting mark.
Akron was 8-for-16 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes of play.
The Cardinals opened the second half scoring eight unanswered tallies to retake a 42-40 advantage after a three pointer by Jill Morrison.
The two sides then went back-and-forth before a 6-0 Ball State scoring run extended the Cardinals' margin to 56-51. The Zips though trailed after three quarters, 59-55.
Akron and Ball State exchanged baskets to open the final period before a quick 4-0 scoring spurt extended a one-point Cardinals' lead to five, 65-60, on a jumper by Fontaine at the 7:31 mark.
The Zips then dialed up the defense holding Ball State without a field goal over the next 3:42 and had a 5-0 run of their own sparked by four points from Burry, including a game-tying basket with 4:08 left to play.
Akron cut its deficit to one point three more times with the last coming on a lay-up by Burry at the 1:41 mark, but it proved as close as the squad got.
The Zips had scoring opportunities but the Cardinals closed the tilt on a 7-1 run to notch the victory.
Akron returns to action on Saturday, Feb. 6, as the Zips host Miami in a 2 p.m. tilt at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The game versus the Redhawks will serve as the Zips' Play4Kay game in honor of the late North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow, who lost her long battle with breast cancer in 2009. The game will help raise awareness for the disease and the Kay Yow Foundation, which supports research, provides grants, and drives inspiration in the fight against women's cancers.
A signed pink basketball from the entire Akron women's basketball team as well as a Pink themed basket will both be raffled off separately. Additionally, this year's grey t-shirts with a pink-graphic design will be sold for $10 and last year's blue t-shirt with a pink graphic design will be sold for $5 at the game.
