Akron Women's Basketball Ready For New Season

Sunday, November 12

Lewisburg, PA

2 PM

University of Akron

Bucknell University

November 10 | Women's Basketball

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Akron at Bucknell Game Notes: 11/12/17

Akron (0-0) vs. Bucknell (1-0)

Sunday, Nov. 12
Sojka Pavilion
Lewisburg, Pa. • 2 p.m.

Live Stats: GoZips.com
Radio: SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship), for free at SportsRadio1350.com and on iHeartRadio. Bill Morgan will have the call starting with the pregame show starting at 1:45 p.m.
Watch: Patriot League Netowrk
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Whats Ahead

Under the guidance of 12th-year head coach Jodi Kest, The University of Akron women's basketball team commences its 2017-18 campaign as the Zips take the hardwood in the season opener on Sunday, Nov. 12, in Lewsiburg, Pa., against Bucknell. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Sojka Pavilion.

Scouting the Bison

With the 2017-18 season upon us, Bucknell enters the contest with the Zips following a season that saw a 27-6 record, a perfect 16-0 home mark, the 2017 Patriot League regular season title and tournament championship and ended with the Bison earning the No. 14 seed in the 2017 NCAA tournament, where they played No. 3 Maryland. Heading into the new campaign, Bucknell was predicted to finish tied for first in the Patriot Leagues preseason poll. The Bison opened their campaign on Nov. 10, with a X-X win over Rider.

Returning for the Bison in 2017 is preseason All-Patriot League team nominee, Kaitlyn Slagus. The former league Rookie of the Year finished the 2016-17 season as the teams leader in rebounds (8.8 Reb/per game) and blocks (48), as well as the squads second leading scorer averaging 12.2 points per game, 403 points in total. Junior Kate Walker is the Bison's second leading scorer returning from last season. Walker averaged 9.0 points per contest, while shooting 45.4 percent from long range in 31 games and seven starts.

Series History

The Zips and Bison are meeting for the third consecutive year, and seventh time in each program's respective history. Akron and Bucknell played for the first time in 12 years in 2016 during a postseason match-up in the WNIT, before meeting once again in the non-conference action to begin the 2016-17 season. In six contests, the Bison hold the all-time series advantage over the Zips, 5-1.

Last Time We Met

A third-quarter shooting slump proved too much for the University of Akron women's basketball team to overcome as the Zips suffered a 61-47 setback to Bucknell on,Nov. 30, in front of a crowd of over 1,000 students from the Akron area as part of Akron's Fourth Annual Education Day.

Freshman Shaunay Edmonds and senior Alex Ricketts led the Zips with a team-best six points apiece, while senior Hannah Plybon added a five-point, three-rebound outing. Sune Swart directed a balanced-scoring attack for the Bison with 17 points and six rebounds. Kaitlyn Slagus chipped in a double-double with a 13-point and 11-board performance. Kyi English and Kate Walker rounded out Bucknell's double-digit scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Coaches

Bucknell: Aaron Rousell begins his sixth season in charge of the Bucknell women's basketball program and has led the Bison to the most successful five-year run in program history. Rousell has compiled a 101-56 record at Bucknell, while owning a 262-106 overall record in his career..

Akron: Jodi Kest, the all-time winningest coach in program history, enters her 12th-season in charge of the Zips program. The longest-tenured coach in the Mid-American Conference holds an all-time record of 170-174 (.494) at Akron and a 396-327 (.548) in her 25 years as a head coach.

2017-18 Zip Breakdown

Under the guidance of Kest, the Zips have 13 young and talented players eager to make an impact in 2017-18 highlighted by returning starters, sophomore guard Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.), sophomore forward Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.), and sophomore forward Caitlin Vari (Revere, Ohio), along with the veteran presence of senior forward Greta Burry (Lakewood, Ohio), senior guard Lauren Hung (Waterford, Mich.), and redshirt junior guard Megan Sefcik (Austintown, Ohio).

Edmonds earned the role of starting point guard for the Zips as a freshman in 2016-17 and never looked back. In 29 starts, Edmonds tallied 7.7 points per game, 3.96 assists, 2.0 steals, and shot 36.3-percent from the field.

After coming off the bench in a reserve role during the first 13 games of the season, Reinoehl became a staple in the starting-five down the stretch for Akron and started the final 16 games. In 527 minutes of action, the Akron forward grabbed a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game, while scoring 4.1 points per contest. Her averages saw a bump in production in league play as Reinoehl averaged 4.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in MAC action.

Vari, appeared in 30 contests a year ago, while making seven starts. As a freshman, the forward posted the second-best shooting percentage on the team, .458, after connecting on 33-of-72 attempts.

Burry, made an appearance in all 30 games in 2016-17 while making 23 starts for the Zips. The senior forward averaged 5.4 points per contest, pulled down 5.2 boards a game, and shot a team-best 50.4 percent from the floor.

Sefcik had a career-best year in 2016-17 in her 30 games, including two starts. The junior sharpshooter averaged 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game. She ranked second on the squad in three-pointers made (59), attempted (182), and percentage (32.4), and finished third in total points scored (238).

Akron welcomes a trio of talented freshmen, Kynnedy Azubike (Columbus, Ohio), Sarah Leyendecker (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) and Destiny Perkins (McCordsville, Ind.) that could see significant playing time in the upcoming season, along with the veteran returners.

Coach Kest named Burry, Sefcik, and Reinoehl as the 2017-18 season captains.

Young Guns

Inside the Mid-American Conference, the Zips return the second youngest squad with 4,964 minutes returning for the 2016-17 campaign. The Akron sophomore class made up nearly half of the minutes amassing over 2,000 minutes of action a season ago, while the upper classmen saw over 1,200 minutes of the court.

Preseason Projections

In the annual Mid-American Conference preseason poll, the Akron women's basketball team was predicted to finish sixth in the MAC East Division, by the leagues 12 head coaches on Oct 25.

In the East field of teams, Buffalo was voted as the preseason regular-season champion with 69 first-place votes, followed by Kent State (52 points), Ohio (47 points), Miami (40 points), Bowling Green (23 points), and the Zips (21 points).

Over in the West Division, Central Michigan received 70 votes as the predicted regular-season champion with Toledo (60 points) in second, and Ball State (46 points) to finish third. Rounding out the six West Division teams are Western Michigan (32 points), Northern Illinois (29 points), and Eastern Michigan (15 points).

Overall, Central Michigan was tabbed to win the 2018 MAC regular-season crown, followed by Ball State, and Buffalo.

The Chippewas are also predicted to hoist the 2018 MAC tournament trophy at Quicken Loans Arena following postseason play.

Zips Ink A Pair Of Local Recruits in 2018-19 Class

The University of Akron women's basketball team and 12th-year head coach Jodi Kest announced the Zips inked a pair of student-athletes to join the squad for the 2018-2019 season.

Coming to Akron as the newest members of the Zips' roster are local products Kendall Miller (St. Vincent-St. Mary/Akron, Ohio) and Colleen Neitzel (St. Joseph Academy/Rocky River, Ohio), after signing National Letters of Intent on Wednesday.

Miller, a 5-9 guard, comes from local powerhouse St. Vincent-St. Mary's High School in Akron, Ohio. As a junior, she averaged 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. Miller posted seven double-digit scoring efforts in her third season with the Fighting Irish, including a season-high 14 points against Walsh Jesuit.

Neitzel, a 6-1 forward from St. Joseph Academy in Cleveland, Ohio, earned All-District Honorable Mention honors, was named to the Northeast Lakes District team, and earned Cleveland.com All-Star honors. As a junior, the Jaguars' forward averaged 10.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists, while posting 14 double-digit scoring efforts, including a season-best 21-point performance against Magnificat.

A Look Back at 2016-17

The Zips', guided by Kest ended the year with a record of 9-21, and went 2-9 in Mid-American Conference play.

The Zips finished the 2016-17 campaign rated Nos. 3, 4 and 9 in the Akron single-season record book in three pointers attempted (681), triples made (206) and games played (30), while also registering the largest margin of victory in a conference road game with an 84-55 triumph at Northern Illinois on Jan. 18.

Hannah Plybon earned All-MAC recognition after being named to the honorable mention squad. As a senior, Plybon averaged a team-best 16.4 points per game, while she registered a team-high 78 three pointers.

Shaunay Edmonds appeared in all 30 games for Akron, including making 29 starts, and was a key contributor to the offensive and defensive success of a Zips' squad. Edmonds led the squad in assists (115) and steals (60), while ranking fourth in scoring (7.7) and sixth in blocked shots (7).

AKRON'S HOME ESPN3 BASKETBALL BROADCASTS

Under the guidance of producer Mike Bacon and Classic Television Productions, the Zips' broadcasts will feature television veteran Michael Reghi on play-by-play and Jacki Windon on color commentary

Three-time Emmy Award winner Reghi, a familiar face on MAC television broadcasts, has provided play-by-play for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He is also a primary announcer for football and basketball games on the MAC Television Network and Sports Time Ohio.

Windon, who works for the Ohio High School Athletic Association, has extensive television commentary experience on Fox Sports Ohio and Time Warner Cable broadcasts. The former head women's basketball coach at Case Western Reserve also worked for Zips Athletics for three seasons, including two seasons with the women's basketball team.

The ESPN3 broadcasts are FREE to fans online at www.GoZips.com who have a WatchESPN affiliated TV or Internet provider.

Zips Live Radio Show

Every Thursday throughout the season from 7-8 p.m. ET, Akron head coaches can be heard on the weekly radio program Zips Live, presented by Lee Hyder and Associates. The show airs locally on 1350 AM (WARF) and originates from the Spaghetti Warehouse (510 S. Main Street). A free audio stream is available on www.SportsRadio1350.com.

Up Next

Akron returns to James A. Rhodes Arena for the first time of the new campaign for the 2017-18 home opener on Nov. 17, as the Zips host Southeastern Louisiana and the Akron Classic.