Big Test In No. 15 Maryland Awaits Zips At The JAR

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Akron vs Maryland Game Notes: 12/2/17

Akron (3-2) vs. Maryland (6-2)

Saturday. Dec. 2
James A. Rhodes Arena
Akron, Ohio. • 2:00 p.m.

Live Stats: GoZips.com
Radio: SportsRadio 640 AM (WHLO) in Akron (flagship), for free at iHeartRadio. Bill Morgan will have the call starting with the pregame show starting at 1:45 p.m.
Watch: ESPN3

Whats Ahead

The Zips are set for a big test on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 2 p.m., as the Akron women's basketball team hosts Big Ten Conference opponent and No. 15 ranked, Maryland, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Scouting The Terrapins

Maryland visits Akron, Ohio, owning a 6-2 record to start the year and has won four straight contests since falling to No. 1 Connecticut on Nov. 19. The Terps have defeated Albany (91-58), Niagara (92-65), Howard (111-49), Kennesaw State (89-35), Miami [Fla.] (79-71), and Virginia (60-59). Maryland's only other loss was to No. 5 South Carolina (86-94).

Five members of the Terps squad are averaging double-digit scoring on the year including starters Kaila Charles (18.6), Stephanie Jones (12.5), Blair Watson (12.1), and reserves Ieshia Small (12.4), and Brianna Fraser (10.1). In the NCAA, Maryland is rated in the top 20 in five categories; fifth in steals (96), seventh in assists (137) and blocks (44), ninth in rebounds (358), and 18th in scoring (85.0). Individually, Watson ranks tied for seventh in three-pointers made (62), and tied for 20th in steals (21), Charles and Fraser rank tied for 27th with three double-doubles, and Charles ranks 48th in rebounds (65).

Maryland Probable Starters: Kaila Charles, Stephanie Jones, Blair Watson, Kristen Confroy, Channise Lewis.

Series History

December 2, 2017, will be the first time in program history that Akron and Maryland will meet on the court.

History Against The Big Ten Conference

Akron has met six of the 14 current members of the Big Ten Conference and holds a is 2-13 record against the league including against Indiana (1-0), Michigan (1-3), Michigan State (0-3), Ohio State (0-5), Penn State (0-1), and Purdue (0-1).

Coaches

Maryland: Brenda Frese is currently coaching the Terrapins for the 16th season as head coach. In her 16 years on the sideline in College Park, Md., Frese won a National Championship (2006), has 14 winning seasons, 13-straight 20-win seasons, and 13 trips to the NCAA tournament.

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 173-176 (.496) at Akron and a 399-329 (.548) in her 25 years as a head coach.

With A Win Over Maryland, The Zips Would

Earn their fourth win of the 2017-18 season.
Win their third-straight game.
Head coach Jodi Kest would earn her 400th career victory.
Claim the first victory in the all-time series between the Zips and Terrapins.

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.

Probable Starters: Shaunay Edmonds, Shayna Harmon, Megan Sefcik, Haliegh Reinoehl, Greta Burry.

Edmonds earned the role of starting point guard for the Zips as a freshman and has not looked back since. Through four games, Edmonds is averaging 9.5 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.25 steals per game. The Zips' point guard scored a season-best 16 points against Southeastern Louisiana, and a season-high five assists and three steals against Bucknell.

After coming off the bench in a reserve role during the first 13 games of her freshman season, Reinoehl became a staple in the starting-five down the stretch for Akron and into the new season. Reinoehl recorded a career-best game against Southeastern Louisiana scoring 21 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double as a Zip. The forward is averaging just shy of a double-double for the season with 7.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest.

Following a career-best year in 2016-17, Sefcik has scored in double figures in four of five games, including tying a career-mark 20 points against Winthrop, 19 points in the season opener against Bucknell, 13 versus Florida Gulf Coast, and 10 against Eastern Kentucky.

Burry, the Zip with the most playing experience on the roster, is the centerfold of the roster. In 66 minutes of play, including four starts, Burry is averaging 7.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per tilt. Burry grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds against SLU and scored a season-best 14 points against EKU.

Freshmen Kynnedy Azubike (Columbus, Ohio), Sarah Leyendecker (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) and Destiny Perkins (Indianapolis, Ind.) have each made their collegiate debuts for the Zips three games into the season and combined to score 52 points. Perkins has taken over the backup point guard role since returning from injury and has since recorded 10 assists, third-most on the squad.

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

Where They Rank In The MAC As A Team (as of 11/30)

Rated first in defensive rebounds (30.8/contest).
Ranked second in defensive rebound percentage (.733).
Rated second in field goal percentage defense (.344).
Akron ranks third in scoring defense (57.4 pts/game).
Zips defense ranks fifth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.295).
Averages 2.8 blocks per contest which ranks fifth.
Akron averages 42.5 rebounding offense per game which ranks fifth.
Ranked sixth in free throw percentage (.698).

Where They Rank In The MAC, Individually (as of 11/30)

Megan Sefcik ranks 15th in scoring (12.8 pts/game)
In the rebounding category, Haliegh Reinoehl ranks fourth (9.0/game) and Caitlin Vari ranks 11th (6.6/game).
Shaunay Edmonds sits 15th in assists per contest (3.0)
At the free throw line, Edmonds ranks tied for sixth (.867) and Reinoehl is rated tied for 11th (.818).
Sefcik is tied for fourth in three-pointers per contest (3.0)
Reinoehl is rated sixth in defensive rebounds per tilt (6.2) and fifth overall in offensive rebounds per game (2.8), while Caitlin Vari ranks tied for 11th in offensive rebounds (2.2).

Where They Rank in the Program

Megan Sefcik needs 16 three-pointers made and 41 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.
Two Zips, Haliegh Reinoehl and Caitlin Vari, are each averaging double-digit rebounds.
Three Akron players, Shaunay Edmonds (12.5), Haliegh Reinohel (12.5), and Megan Sefick (10.5), are averaging double-digit points, with each scoring over 20 points thus far.
Kynnedy Azubike scored her first career points (4) against SELU (Nov. 17).
Destiny Perkins made her collegiate debut against SELU (Nov. 17) after missing the first game due to injury.
Halieigh Reinoehl recorded her first career double-double against SELU (Nov. 17) with a career-best 21 points and pulled in 11 rebounds, one shy of her career-best.
Caitlyn Vari recorded 16 rebounds against SELU (Nov. 17), a career-best, beating her previous record of five.
Alyssa Clay played a career-high 14 minutes en route to scoring a career-best eight points.
Destiny Perkins first significant playing time resulted in a 10 point, four assist, and two steal performance against Florida Gulf Coast (Nov. 18).
Haliegh Reinoehl tied her single-game career-best 12 rebounds against Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 22).
The point guard trio of Shaunay Edmonds, Shayna Harmon and Destiny Perkins are averaging a combined 7.8 assists per contest and 39 of Akron's 58 assists.
The Zips have won the battle on the glass in three of its five games.
Megan Sefcik's 20 points against Winthrop tied a career-best mark. She last scored 20 points in a 78-66 win against Georgia State.
The Zips are on a two-game win streak and have won three of their last four games.
In Akron's three wins, the opposition is averaging just 47.3 points per game, a shooting percentage of .288, a three-point percentage of .200, have outrebounded their opponents, 150-to-130, forced 49 turnovers, and recorded 13.0 assists per contest.

Akron's Home ESPN3 Basketball Broadcasts

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

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

Up Next

The Zips close out a six-game homestand on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at James A. Rhodes Arena at 7 p.m. against Youngstown State.

Big Test In No. 15 Maryland Awaits Zips At The JAR

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Greta Burry

Alyssa Clay

Shaunay Edmonds

Shayna Harmon

Lauren Hung

Haliegh Reinoehl

Megan Sefcik

Caitlin Vari

The University of Akron Athletics

Big Test In No. 15 Maryland Awaits Zips At The JAR

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Greta Burry

Alyssa Clay

Shaunay Edmonds

Shayna Harmon

Lauren Hung

Haliegh Reinoehl

Megan Sefcik

Caitlin Vari

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