Ball State Controls Second Half To Defeat Akron, 74-61

Wednesday, January 10

Akron, Ohio

7 PM

University of Akron

(0-4698 MAC)

Ball State University

14-1 (3-1MAC)

Ball State

Akron

Photo by: Jeff Harwell

Ball State Controls Second Half To Defeat Akron, 74-61

January 10 | Women's Basketball

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AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron women's basketball team trailed Ball State by just one point (34-35) at halftime, before the Cardinals took control of the second half to pull away from the Zips, dropping a 74-61 decision to visiting Ball State in Mid-American Conference play at James A. Rhodes Arena Wednesday night.

Freshman forward Kynnedy Azubike (Columbus, Ohio) tallied a career-high 12 points to pace the Zips (6-9, 0-4 MAC), while freshman Destiny Perkins (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored a career-high 11 points with a career-best six rebounds, and went 4-of-6 from the free throw line. All nine active players for the Zips registered at least one point in the contest and seven of those players attempted between five and 10 field goals. The bench was a big factor in Akron's success against the Cardinals outscoring Ball State's reserves, 30-9.

Azubike also had a team-best seven rebounds to power her team to a 41-34 rebounding margin, while Perkins, senior Lauren Hung (Waterford, Mich.), and sophomore Caitlin Vari (Richfield, Ohio) all added six boards each.

A strong second half was the deciding factor for the MAC West-leading Cardinals (14-1, 3-1 MAC), who clamped down on defense after intermission and outscored Akron 39-27 in the final two periods. A stifling Ball State defense forced 26 turnovers on the night and the Cardinals were able to turn those miscues into 27 points on the offensive end.

Senior forward Moriah Monaco led all scorers with 28 points, while the Cardinals collectively shot an efficient 49.2 percent from the field. .

After Akron opened the game with an early 4-2 lead, the Cardinals found an offensive rhythm scoring 10 unanswered points highlighted by back-to-back three pointers from Jasmin Samz. During the run, Akron went cold offensively and could not score for five minutes (8:33-3:10) before Clay knocked down 2-of-3 free throws.

The Zips would close the period strong to cut the lead down to six points, 20-14, after the first ten minutes of play. Clay, Perkins, and sophomore Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) carried the offensive load for the Zips in the first quarter scoring Akron's 14 points.

That momentum carried over to the second quarter, as a 9-2 run spanning the periods allowed Akron to close to within one, 22-21, three minutes into the stanza. After the Cardinals briefly extended their edge, the Zips responded with a 7-0 spurt over the next 1:43 to go ahead by three, 28-25, following a three-pointer by Hung and a lay-up from Azubike prompting Ball State to call a timeout to halt the run.

However, the break in the action did little to cool down the Zips, who pushed their lead to as many as six when Perkins drilled a triple at the 3:48 mark to take a 31-25 advantage.

The Cardinals chipped back away at the Akron lead and would reclaim the lead right before the halftime break, as the Zips trailed by just one at the half.

Akron was unable to sustain that momentum after the half, as the Cardinals began to pull away. Ball State went on a 12-0 run to start the third quarter, while Akron did not make its first second-half field goal until the 4:05 mark of the third quarter.

The Zips again trailed by 13 with 3:49 to play in the third period and attempted a short comeback to cut the lead back down to five (49-44) with an eight-point swing courtesy of a layup by freshman Sarah Leyendecker (Lawrenceburg, Ind.) and back-to-back three-pointers by sophomore Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) and Clay.

The fourth quarter belonged to the Ball State once more, as the Cardinals lead never dropped below 10 points in the final 10 minutes of play.

Akron returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 13 at home against Bowling Green, with tip-off scheduled for 4:30 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and heard on 1350-AM.