Zips Set to Host 2017 Akron Classic

Friday, November 17

Akron, Ohio

7:30 pm

University of Akron

Southeastern Louisiana University

Tickets

November 16 | Women's Basketball

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Akron vs Southeastern Louisiana Game Notes: 11/16/17

Akron (0-1) vs. Southeastern Louisiana (0-3)

Friday, Nov. 17
James A. Rhodes Arena
Akron, Ohio. • 7:30 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 7:15 p.m.
Watch: ESPN3
Interactive Preview

Whats Ahead

The University of Akron women's basketball team is set to open the home portion of its 2017-18 regular season when the Zips host the Akron Classic at the friendly confines of James A. Rhodes Arena this weekend. First up in the Akron Classic, the Zips meet Southeastern Louisiana on Friday, Nov. 17. Opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m., following the Florida Gulf Coast and Kent State contest at 5 p.m.

Scouting The Lions

Southeastern Louisiana comes to Akron three games into the campaign. To open the 2017-18 season, the Lions own a 0-3 record with losses to Alcorn State (77-84), LSU (56-84), and Cincinnati (43-82). In the Southland Conference preseason poll, Southeastern Louisiana was predicted to finish 12th overall.

Through the first three contests of the year, the Lions' Taylin Underwood is the team's leading scorer averaging 20.0 points per game in 34.4 minutes of play. Underwood is shooting 42 percent (.420) from beyond the arc and needs just seven three-pointers to become the program's career leader. Caitlyn Williams enters the contest with the Zips scoring in double-digit figures with a 12.0 average per tilt and pulls down 7.7 rebounds per game.

For the Lions, along with Underwood and C. Williams, Kyla Williams, Tyler Morrison, Ashailee Brailey, have started each game.

Series History

Akron and Southeastern Louisiana have met on the hardwood once in program history. The two programs faced off on Dec. 28, 1999, with the Zips coming out victorious over the Lions, 74-58.

History against the Southland Conference

Akron is 2-1 against the 12 current members of the Southland Conference. The Zips have faced Southeastern Louisiana (1-0) and Sam Houston State (1-1) since the 1994-95 season.

Coaches

Southeastern Louisiana: Ayla Guzzardo enters her first season in charge of the Lions program after spending the 2016-17 as the lead assistant for SELU.
Akron: Jodi Kest, the all-time winningest coach in program history, is in 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.

Jodi Kest Coaching Tree

Southeastern Louisiana head coach, Guzzardo, began her coaching career on the Akron women's basketball coaching staff under Zips' head coach Jodi Kest from 2010-14. In her final season with the Zips, Guzzardo helped lead Akron to its first-ever MAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Prior to joining the coaching staff for the Zips, Guzzardo played for Kest, where as a senior, she ranked among the MAC leaders in assists (4.2 apg, 3rd), assist/turnover ratio (1.3, 5th) and steals per game (1.7 spg, 15th) during the 2009-10 season
The Lions assistant coach, Chelsie Butler, previously spent the last two seasons as a graduate assistant under Kest.

With a Win Over Southeastern Louisiana, The Zips Would

Earn their first win of the 2017-18 season.
Head coach Jodi Kest would be three wins away from 400 career victories.
Improve to 2-0 over the Lions all-time
Increase its winning percentage over Southland Conference members to .750 (3-1).

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 (Indianapolis, Ind.) that could see significant playing time in the upcoming season, along with the veteran returners.

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

Where They Rank In The MAC As A Team (as of 11/15)

Akron ranks 6th in scoring defense (63.0 pts/game)
The Zips rank fifth in block shots (4.0 blk/contest)
Akron ranks tied for fifth in steals (9.0 stl/game)
The Zips rank tied for second in turnover margin ( 10.00)

Where They Rank In The MAC, Individually (as of 11/15)

Megan Sefcik ranks ninth in scoring (19.0 pts/game)
Haliegh Reinoehl is tied for eighth in rebounds per game (9.0)
Shaunay Edmonds sits tied for seventh in assists per contest (5.0)
Edmonds and Sefcik are both tied for third in steals per tilt (3.0)
Sefcik is tied first in three-pointer game per contest (5.0)
Sefcik ranks tied for seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.500, 5-for-10)

Where They Rank in the Program

Megan Sefcik needs 26 three-pointers made and 67 three-point attempts to break into the programs all-time top ten list .

Zips Tidbits

Kynnedy Azubike and Sarah Leyendecker made their regular season college debuts against Bucknell (11/12)
Lauren Hung played a career-high 25 minutes against Bucknell.
Megan Sefcik's 19 points are a career-best in a season-opening game.

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 upperclassmen saw over 1,200 minutes of the court.

Zips Drop Season Opener TO Bucknell, 63-52, Despite 19 Points From Sefcik

The University of Akron women's basketball team trailed Bucknell by five points with three minutes to play, but the Bison ended the contest on a 9-3 scoring run in the final minute of the game to defeat the Zips, 63-52, on Nov. 5 in Lewisburg, Pa.

Redshirt junior Megan Sefcik scored a team-high 19 points after catching fire from long range. The Akron guard went 6-for-13 from the floor and drained five of her six buckets from beyond the arc.

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 2-16 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).

2016-17 Accolades

Three Zips, Alli Ball, Hannah Plybon, and Megan Sefcik were selected to the 2017 Women's Basektball Academic All-MAC Team
Alli Ball, Hannah Plybon, Megan Sefcik, and Fredniqua Walker were honored with the MAC Commissioner's Award.
Hannah Plybon earned MAC East Player of the Week three-times a year ago
First-year letterwinners: Alyssa Clay, Shaunay Edmonds, Shayna Harmon, Haliegh Reinoehl, Caitlin Vari.
Senior letterwinner: Brittany Gordon, Hannah Plybon, Alex Ricketts.

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

The Akron Classic continues at James A. Rhodes Arena on Saturday, Nov. 18. The Zips take the court at 2:30 p.m. against visiting Florida Gulf Coast. Prior to Akron's contests, Southeastern Louisiana and Kent State square off at noon.