The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
University at Buffalo
Akron Opens MAC Play Inside The JAR
December 29 | Women's Basketball
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Akron vs Buffalo Notes: 12/30/17
Akron (6-5) vs. Buffalo (9-2)
Saturday, Dec. 30
James A. Rhodes Arena
Akron, Ohio • 2:00 p.m.
Live Stats:Â 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: ESPN3 with Michael Reghi and Jacki Windon on the call.Â
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Whats Ahead
The Mid-American Conference portion of the 2017-18 season is set to begin on Saturday, Dec. 30 at James A. Rhodes Arena at 2 p.m. The Zips open up league play against visiting MAC East opponent, Buffalo.Â
Scouting The Bulls
Through the non-conference slate, the MAC East preseason favorites, Buffalo, posted a 9-2 record after 11 contests. The Bulls began the season on a four-game win streak highlighted by wins over Nebraska (82-72) and Clemson (61-41), before falling to Arizona State (57-76). Buffalo then closed the non-conference schedule winning 4-of-5 games including a 73-72 win against St. John's in the final contest before MAC play.Â
Two members of the Bulls starting five, Cassie Oursler and Cierra Dillard, lead the team in scoring and average 13.2 and 12.3 points per game, respectively. Oursler, a 6-3 forward is shooting 50 percent from the floor as Buffalo's top scoring threat and grabs 4.7 boards off the glass per contest, while Dillard additionally averages a team-high 3.5 steals per tilt. Point guard Stephanie Reid runs the show for the Bulls in the backcourt and has recorded over 500 assists in her career. This season, Reid has posted a third-best 8.6 points and team-high 6.1 assists per game.Â
Probable Starters
Buffalo: Stephanie Reid, Cierra Dillard, Katherine Ups, Summer Hemphill, Cassie Oursler.Â
Akron: Shaunay Edmonds, Shayna Harmon, Megan Sefcik, Haliegh Reinoehl, Greta Burry.
Series History
Akron and Buffalo will square off for a 47th time in program history on the hardwood when the Bulls travel to Akron, Ohio. Buffalo holds a slim advantage in the all-time series history with a 24-22 record against the Zips.Â
The Last Meeting
The University of Akron women's basketball team suffered an 81-55 setback to Buffalo on March 1, 2017, at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Hannah Plybon led the Zips with 22 points and five rebounds, while Alex Ricketts followed with an 11-point and five-rebound performance. Shayna Harmon scored seven points off the bench and Shaunay Edmonds registered a game-high five assists and four steals.
Mid-American Conference Member
The Zips have been a member of the Mid-American Conference for the past 26 years after joining the league in 1992 from the North Star Conference
Coaches Â
Buffalo: Felisha Legette-Jack is in her sixth season as the head coach of the Buffalo women's basketball program and has since compiled a 90-70 record with the Bulls. Under Jack, Buffalo has completed four straight winning seasons and back-to-back 20-win seasons. Â
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 176-179 (.496) at Akron and a 402-332 (.548) in her 25 years as a head coach.
With AÂ Win Over Buffalo, The Zips Would
- Earn their seventh win of the 2017-18 season.
- Claim its first MAC winÂ
- Earn the program's 450th all-time victory.Â
2017-18 Zip BreakdownÂ
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 and has not looked back since. Through 11 games, Edmonds is averaging 10.8 points, a team-high 4.1 assists, and 2.4 steals per game. The Zips' point guard scored a season-best 19 points, tied her career mark with seven assists against Youngstown State and a career-best six steals against Harvard.Â
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 2017-18 season. Reinoehl recorded a career-best game against Southeastern Louisiana (21 pts/11 reb) and a double-double against SIU Edwardsville (11 pts/10 reb). The forward is the team's third-leading scorer, 6.9 points per game and leads the squad in rebounding with 93 total rebounds, 8.5 per contest.Â
Following a career-best year last season, Sefcik has continued to impress and has scored in double figures in nine of Akron's 11 games. The Zips' guard broke the Akron single-game three-point record with 10 triples against Ohio Christian, while also tying the MAC record. The Zips sharpshooter is averaging a team-best 14.5 per game and 3.7 triples per contest.Â
Burry, the Zip with the most playing experience on the roster, is the centerfold of the squad. In 187 minutes of play and 11 starts, Burry is averaging 6.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per tilt. Burry grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds against SLU and scored a season-best 14 points against EKU.Â
Sophomores Alyssa Clay (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Shayna Harmon (Ashville, Ohio) have seen a significant bump in playing time in year two. Harmon has started all 11 contests and owns the second-most assists on the squad (30). Clay has seen 140 minutes of action through 11 contests, which is over double her playing time in 13 games in 2016-17. Clay owns the teams second-best shooting percentage (.378) from beyond the arc (14-of-37) and scored a career-high 13 points against Duquesne.Â
Freshmen Kynnedy Azubike (Columbus, Ohio), Sarah Leyendecker (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) and Destiny Perkins (Indianapolis, Ind.) made their collegiate debuts for the Zips three games into the season and have combined to score 110 points. Perkins has taken over the backup point guard role after returning from injury and has since recorded 25 assists, third-most on the squad.Â
Kest named Burry, Sefcik, and Reinoehl as the 2017-18 season captains.
Where They Rank In The MAC, As AÂ Team (as of 12/29)
- Akron ranks first in scoring defense (59.4 pts/game).
- Rated first in field goal percentage defense (.353).
- Rated second in defensive rebounds (29.5/contest).
- Ranked third in free throw percentage (.731).
- Akron's 3.1 blocks per game are the sixth-most in the MAC.
- Zips defense ranks fifth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.297).
- Ranked sixth in defensive rebound percentage (.704).
- The Zips sharpshooters rank fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.332)
- Averages 8.1 three-pointers per game, ranking fifth
- Through 11 games, Akron is rated seventh in scoring margin ( 5.7)
- Akron averages 39.8 rebounding offense per game which ranks seventh.
Where They Rank In The MAC, Individually (as of 12/29)
- Megan Sefcik ranks tied for 11th in scoring (14.5 pts/game) and Shaunay Edmonds is rated 26th (10.8 pts/game).
- In the rebounding category, Haliegh Reinoehl ranks fifth (8.5/game) and Caitlin Vari ranks 19th (5.6/game).
- Edmonds sits eighth in steals per contest (2.4).
- At the free throw line, Edmonds ranks fourth (.839).
- Reinoehl is rated third in defensive rebounds per tilt (6.5) and T-12th in offensive rebounds per game (2.0), while Greta Burry ranks T-12th in offensive rebounds (2.0).Â
- Edmonds ranks 11th in assists (4.1 ppg) while Shayna Harmon is rated 15th (2.7)
- Edmonds also ranks 12th in the assist/turnover ratio category (1.3).
- Megan Sefcik and Alyssa Clay rank 11th and 15th in the MAC in three-point percentage, .418 and .378, while Sefick is also rated second in three-pointers made with 3.7 per contest.Â
- Sarah Leyendecker is rated seventh in blocks (1.1 ppg).Â
Where They Rank in the Nation Inside The Top 50 (as of 12/29)
- 35th - Field goal percentage defense.
- 45th - Three-point field goals per game.Â
The Coach Kest Show
Every Monday throughout the 2017-18 season, catch head coach Jodi Kest and GoZips.com's Jonathan Platten LIVE on the Zips women's basketball Facebook for the Coach Kest Show at noon. The two talk about all things Zips women's basketball, including the past week's contests and preview the upcoming week's contests.Â
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 Zips first MAC road swing begins on Jan. 3 when Akron travels to Toledo, Ohio, to take on the reigning MAC Tournament Champions, the Toledo Rockets. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
