The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
19-14
Bucknell
25-7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | 22 | 17 | 14 | 21 | 74 |
| Akron | 17 | 8 | 23 | 22 | 70 |
Zips' Late Rally Thwarted in WNIT Opening Round as Bucknell Downs Akron, 74-70
March 17 | Women's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio – Freshman Lilli Piper (Norton, Ohio) led the University of Akron women's basketball for the second-consecutive game with a team-high 18 points; however, the Zips fell to Bucknell, 74-70, in the opening round of the 2016 Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) on Thursday, March 17, at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The loss also marked the final home game in the distinguished careers of seniors Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio), Megan Barilla (Fairview Park, Ohio) and DiAndra Gibson (Ravenna, Ohio). The trio finished their careers having appeared in 127, 121 and 111 career games, respectively. Brown, Gibson and Barilla have also recorded career-scoring totals of 1,568, 631 and 170 points, while Brown and Gibson own 641 and 521 career rebounds.
Akron (19-13) also had three other players score in double figures including Brown with 16, junior Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) with 15 and sophomore Greta Burry (Lakewood, Ohio) with 12. Barilla led Akron on the glass with a team-high six rebounds, while adding a game-high seven assists. She capped her Zips' career with 375 assists, a total which ranks fourth all-time in program history.
Bucknell (25-7) had five players notch double digits led by Jacquie Klotz's game-high 21 points. Claire DeBoer contributed 16 points followed by 11 each from Tyler Craig and Sune Swart. Kyi English rounded out the scoring for the Bison with 10 points and a team-high five assists.
Bucknell went 25-for-44 (57-percent) from the field in the contest compared to the Zips' 39-percent (25-of-64) showing. Akron forced 23 turnovers, which led to 27 points for the Zips. The Bison held a slim 34-28 edge on rebounds, while also commanding a 38-24 control in points in the paint.
Akron came out ready to play, taking a 7-0 lead with less than two minutes into the game. The Zips had a great defensive stop on Bucknell's first possession that led to a fast break lay-up by Burry. Akron then forced two turnovers, which resulted in a three pointer by Plybon and another basket by Burry.
From there, Bucknell came out of its timeout scoring five-straight points, a run that was halted by a Piper three pointer to give Akron a 10-5 lead. However, the Bison knocked down back-to-back triples to claim an 11-10 advantage with 5:02 on the clock in the first period.
Akron quickly regained control after two-consecutive buckets by Brown, which pushed the Zips' advantage to 14-11 with less than four minutes to play in the opening stanza. Both teams traded baskets over the next few possessions as the score stood tied, 16-16, at the 3:17 mark. Bucknell closed out the first quarter with a 6-1 run to repossess a 22-17 authority.
Bucknell did not slow its roll heading into the second frame as the Bison scored six successive points to go up by double digits, 28-17. Akron cut Bucknell's lead to six, 28-22, after a layup by Piper and a three-point play by Plybon with 7:51 on the clock.
Both teams went scoreless over the following four minutes until the Bison used another 11-3 outing to close the half with a 39-25 advantage.
The two teams exchanged baskets in the start of the third period until Akron was able to cut its deficit to three, 44-41. The Zips' 9-0 run was highlight by a layup from Brown and a three pointer from Piper. Bucknell's lead grew back to eight but another three-pointer by Piper brought Akron back within three, 49-46, with 1:20 remaining in the third. The Bison completed the third quarter with a 53-48 command.
The Zips were able to come within three points three more times over the first two minutes of the final period, but Bucknell battled back to increase its lead, 64-55, by the 2:34 mark. Akron once again found itself within three points with close to a minute left, but two free throws by the Bison put them back up by five, 69-64. A huge three pointer by Brown with 18 seconds left put the Zips down by two, 69-67.
Brown then fouled out on the next possession as Bucknell went 1-for-2 from the line and the Zips immediately called a timeout. Unfortunately, Akron threw the ball over on the out of bounds play, which forced the Zips to foul again. This time the Bison hit both from the charity strip to take a 72-67 lead with 16 seconds left.
Akron pushed the ball up the court to find redshirt freshman Megan Sefcik (Austintown, Ohio) for another stellar three ball, forcing a Bucknell timeout. Once again, the Zips were forced to foul as they let the ball get away from them and Akron's comeback attempt eventually came up short as Bucknell claimed the 74-70 victory.
