The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
2-99-13; MAC
Miami (Ohio)
2-98-16; MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | 9 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 49 |
| Miami (Ohio) | 10 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 54 |
Akron Suffers 54-49 Loss at Miami
February 08 | Women's Basketball
Follow Akron Women's Basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Follow Coach Kest on Twitter
BOXSCORE (HTML) | BOXSCORE (PDF)
OXFORD, Ohio - An extended shooting slump over final 10 minutes of play proved too much for the University of Akron women's basketball team to overcome as Miami University registered a 54-49 victory past the Zips (9-13, 2-9 MAC) in Mid-American Conference action on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Millett Hall.
Freshmen Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) led Akron's scoring efforts recording 16 and 10 points, respectively. Kendall McCoy directed three RedHawks (8-16, 2-9 MAC) scoring in double figures with a 14-point, 10-rebound performance, while Lauren Dickerson and Leah Purvis tallied 13 and 11 points.
Akron finished the game shooting 28.6 percent from the field and at a 23.8-percent clip beyond the arc. Miami shot 31.7 percent from the floor on the evening and made just three of its shots from distance (15.8 percent).
The RedHawks outrebounded the Zips in the tilt, 50-42, with Miami parlaying the advantage into an 18-7 margin in second-chance points. Reinoehl fell one rebound shy of her first career double-double pulling down team-best nine caroms to go along with her 10 points. Savannah Kluesner led all players with a game-high 15 rebounds for the RedHawks, including 11 on the defensive glass.
The defining period in the final stanza came after Miami went ahead 46-43 on a jumper by McCoy at the 6:45 mark. Both teams' offensives then went silent as the Zips were held off the scoreboard for a stretch of 6:23, while the RedHawks went 6:43 without a tally.
Despite the offensive struggles for each team, the contest came down to the final minute of play as a jumper by Reinoehl with 26 seconds remaining inched the Zips to within two, 48-46.
Akron then appeared to force a turnover in front of its own bench with 20 seconds to play, but a lengthy video replay awarded the ball to the RedHawks.
A pair of free throws from Purvis pushed the margin back to four, 50-46, before senior Hannah Plybon (Orrville, Ohio) drained a three pointer with 13 ticks left on the clock to bring the Zips within one, 50-49.
Dickerson tacked on two free throws for Miami to make it 52-49, before Plybon's three-point attempt was blocked and McCoy converted on a pair of bonus tosses to secure a 54-49 victory for the RedHawks.
Each side got off to a slow start from the field as teams combined to begin the contest 4-for-18, including a 1-of-8 mark for the Zips at the first media timeout. Despite the shooting woes, Miami led Akron by only two, 6-4.
Shooting proved at a premium the remainder of the quarter as running jumper at the buzzer by Purvis sent the RedHawks into the second period with a 10-9 lead. Edmonds paced the Zips in the opening 10 minutes with five points.
The teams exchanged baskets to begin the second quarter before Akron used a 7-0 run fueled by four points from Edmonds to assume an 18-14 lead at the 3:13 mark.
The RedHawks scored six of the final eight points in the half as the contest was tied at 20.
The Zips shot 30.8 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while Miami connected on only 27 percent of its attempts, including a 0-12 mark beyond the arc. Edmonds led the Zips with 11 first-half tallies.
The RedHawks opened the third with a 5-0 run to assume a 25-20 advantage at the 8:14 mark. Exchanging baskets the remainder of the stanza Akron trailed Miami at the end of three quarters, 35-33.
The Zips face the first of two meetings in the Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge with their rival Kent State on Saturday, Feb. 11, as the two sides square off in a 2 p.m. affair at James A. Rhodes Arena.
