The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
16-12,10-7MAC
Buffalo
15-13, 7-10MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 16 | 13 | 13 | 7 | 49 |
| Akron | 15 | 9 | 22 | 16 | 62 |
Zips Garner 62-49 Victory Over Buffalo
March 02 | Women's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio - In the first game of a season-ending two-game homestand, the University of Akron women's basketball team registered a key Mid-American Conference triumph downing Buffalo by a final score of 62-49 on Wednesday, March 2, at James A. Rhodes Arena.
By virtue of Toledo's 74-72 victory over Central Michigan, the Zips (16-12, 10-7 MAC) have been thwarted in their bid for a bye into the MAC Championship quarterfinals and Akron will host an opening round contest on Monday, March 7 at 7 p.m. With a win versus Bowling Green on Saturday, March 5, Akron will clinch the No. 5 tournament seed, while a loss coupled with a victory by Eastern Michigan over Central Michigan will drop the Zips to the No. 6 seed.
Junior Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) and senior Anita Brown (Warren, Ohio) led the Zips in the scoring column with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Brown pulled down 11 rebounds, garnering her sixth double-double of the season. Sophomore Greta Burry (Lakewood, Ohio) and senior DiAndra Gibson (Ravenna, Ohio) chipped in nine points apiece to round out the scoring for Akron.
Joanna Smith led the Bulls (15-13, 7-10 MAC) with 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Buffalo, while Cassie Oursler added 10 points and seven boards.
With the triumph, Akron's senior class of Megan Barilla (Fairview Park, Ohio), Brown and Gibson have tied the school record for wins by a senior class with 84 victories. The trio will go for sole possession of the mark when the Zips host Bowling Green in a 2 p.m. Senior Day contest on Saturday, March 5.
The Zips scored 20 points off of 18 Buffalo turnovers, while outrebounding the Bulls by a final tally of 43-41.
For the game, the Zips shot 40 percent (20-of-50) from the floor and connected on 35 percent (7-of-20) from behind the arc. Akron converted on 60 percent (15-of-25) of their shots from the free throw line. Buffalo shot a collective 29.2 percent (12-of-72) from the field and made 19.2 percent (5-of-26) of its shots from downtown. The Bulls knocked down 50 percent (2-of-4) of their shots from the charity stripe.
The Zips jumped out to an early 10-4 lead five minutes into the opening stanza after knocking down four consecutive shots from the floor.
Buffalo mounted a 12-5 run of their own, forcing the Zips into four turnovers over a four-minute span of play, to take a 16-15 lead after one period.
Coming out of the quarter break, the Zips and Bulls struggled to find the bottom of the net, with Akron experiencing a three-minute scoring drought and Buffalo making only one of its last six shots.
The Bulls held the Zips scoreless in the final four minutes of the half and entered the locker room with a 29-24 advantage.
Plybon started the second-half scoring for Akron, burying a triple and propelling a 7-0 run that allowed the Zips to take a 34-33 lead with 6:15 left to play in the third quarter.
Sophomore Alli Ball (Saint Louis, Mo.) provided a spark off the bench, knocking down a triple from the corner to give the Zips a 39-36 lead with four minutes remaining in the third period of play.
Akron held the Bulls to just 2-of-10 shooting in the final minutes of the third quarter and maintained a 46-42 lead going into the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Gibson connected on her third triple of the game to put Akron ahead 53-45 with 7:48 on the clock.
After four minutes of back-and-forth action, Plybon pushed the Akron lead to eight by converting two shots from the free throw line.
On the ensuing possession, Plybon connected on another jumper to put the Zips ahead 59-49 with 2:36 left to play.
The Zips held the Bulls scoreless in the final 4:42 of play, sealing the victory and garnering their ninth victory of the season at James A. Rhodes Arena.
