Halftime Deficit Too Much To Overcome As Zips Fall To Harvard, 76-63

Thursday, December 21

Fort Myers, Fla.

4:30 PM

University of Akron

6-5

Harvard University

6-5

Akron

Harvard

Photo by: David Dermer

Halftime Deficit Too Much To Overcome As Zips Fall To Harvard, 76-63

December 21 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

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Box Score

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Harvard jumped out to a 13-point lead at the halftime break that was too much to overcome, as the Akron women's basketball team fell to Harvard, 76-63, on day two of the FGCU Hilton Garden Inn Classic in Fort Myers, Fla.

Redshirt junior Megan Sefick (Austintown, Ohio) and Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) each scored 14 points in the afternoon affair. Sefcik scored 12 of her 14 points from long range (4-for-13), while Edmonds added three assists and a career-high six steals in a game. Sophomore forward Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and scored an additional eight points for the Zips.

As a unit, the Zips (6-5) shot 33.3 percent (24-of-72) from the field and just 25 percent (8-for-32) from beyond the arc. The Crimson (6-5) managed to post a 40.3 percent clip from the floor (27-of-67) and 37.5 percent from long range. The Zips defense forced 17 turnovers by Harvard, including 11 steals.

A back-and-forth contest between the Zips and Crimson began the contest as Sefick got the scoring started with an aggressive drive to the basket, resulting in a lay-up. After two baskets by Harvard, Sefcik nailed a three-pointer from the right side of the arc to give Akron a 5-4 lead at the 8:35 mark.

The Zips went through a cold stretch while the Crimson heated up with a 9-1 run to take a 14-6 lead with 5:16 to play in the first quarter.

Harvard outscored Akron 12-6 in the final five minutes of the period and led 26-15 after 10 minutes of play.

The Zips came out of the first-period break with a greater sense of intensity and outscored the Crimson 17-11 in the first six minutes to cut into Harvard's lead, 37-32. Sefcik capitalized the Akron run with two triples with the final one hitting from three feet beyond the arc.

Despite cutting the deficit down to minus-five, the Crimson bounced back with a 10-4 run of their own in the final 3:37 minutes of the half to extend their lead back to double-figures at halftime, 49-36.

Out of the lockerroom, Harvard jumped out front quickly extending its lead to 60-43 and a plus-17 advantage following an 11-4 run in the first three and a half minutes.

In the final two minutes and 15 seconds of the period, Akron scored back to back buckets to cut the lead back down to 15 points, but Harvard scored the last basket of the period with 49 seconds to play to take a 64-47 lead into the final period.

The first five minutes of the fourth period was a back-and-forth battle with both teams scoring seven points each. Senior Greta Burry (Lakewood, Ohio) and sophomore Caitlin Vari scored inside the paint, while Sefcik hit her final three of the contest.

Two free throws and a lay-up by freshman Kynnedy Azubike (Columbus, Ohio) brought the game within 14 points (72-58) with 3:05 to play, but that would be as close as the Zips would get before the final buzzer.

Sefcik was named to the Florida Gulf Coast Hilton Garden Inn All-Classic Team after scoring 24 points in two days and hitting six three-pointers.

The 2017-18 Mid-American Conference season begins on Saturday, Dec. 30, with a 2 p.m. tilt against Buffalo at 2 p.m. inside James A. Rhodes Arena.