The University of Akron Athletics
McGill Edges Zips Women's Basketball, 67-55
August 25 | Women's Basketball
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MONTREAL, Canada – The University of Akron dropped its final game of its 2016 foreign tour, falling to McGill University 67-55 Thursday night at Love Competition Hall.
"We would have loved a win tonight but our team fought hard in the second half so I definitely am proud of their effort," said head coach Jodi Kest. "Our number one goal was no injuries and we had that. We will also learn so much from this trip both on the court as well as off the court."
Senior Hannah Plybon (Orville, Ohio) led all scorers with 19 points, shooting 4-of-8 from 3-point range. Junior Alli Ball (Saint Louis, Mo.) posted 12 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Fredniqua Walker (Cleveland, Ohio) and freshman Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) chipped in nine and eight points, respectively.
McGill put four players in double digits, led by Frederique Potvin and Gladys Hakizimana's 14 points apiece.
Akron got off to a slow start after Ball scored the first basket of the game. The score stood tied with 3:40 on the clock, however, McGill tallied seven unanswered points to take a 15-8 lead. Both teams struggled to score in the second stanza as they combined for a total of 15 points. Nevertheless, the Martlets gradually forged ahead in the second period as Akron was unable to cut the difference to less than four, trailing by as many as 12.
Coming out of halftime, McGill knocked down back-to-back three pointers to go up 34-16. However, the Akron offense came to life as the Zips scored 13 consecutive points to come back within eight, 41-33. In the final quarter, the Martlets put in two more triples to get the ball rolling again, but a steal by Edmonds and a traditional three-point play cut the Zips deficit back to six.
Careless turnovers and unnecessary fouls down the stretch sealed the deal for McGill, as the Martlets came away with the 67-55 victory.
"These four games that we had an opportunity to play in Montreal have been just a great experience for our young ladies," Kest concluded. "This trip has been an opportunity to see different things that these kids probably would never have had a chance to see."
Akron returns back to campus tomorrow Friday, August 26 around 8 p.m. after a 12-hour 600-mile bus ride.
