Zips Continue MAC Play At Miami

Wednesday, January 17

Oxford, OH

7 PM

University of Akron

Miami University (OH)

January 16 | Women's Basketball

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Akron at Miami: Game Notes: 1/17/18

Akron (6-10, 0-5 MAC) at Miami (9-7, 1-4 MAC)

Wednesday, Jan. 17
Millett Hall
Oxford, Ohio • 7:00 p.m.

Live Stats: 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 6:45 p.m.
Watch: ESPN3

Whats Ahead

The Zips continue Mid-American Conference action on Wednesday, January 17, in a battle of the MAC East when Akron clashes with Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, Ohio. First tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Millett Hall and all the action can be seen live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

Scouting The RedHawks

After winning its first MAC contest in the league opener against Northern Illinois (67-65) on Dec. 30, Miami has since dropped four straight conference matches to Ball State (61-86), Central Michigan (66-84), Buffalo (67-72), and most recently Eastern Michigan (59-74). Prior to the start of MAC play, the RedHawks compiled an 8-3 non-conference record, which included winning its last six out of conference contests.

Lauren Dickerson leads the offensive charge for the RedHawks averaging a team-best 20.2 points per game, which ranks second in the MAC. Dickerson has scored a total of 323 points on the year by way of shooting 43.7 percent from the field (114-of-261) and 38.5 percent from long range (52-of-135). On top of being Miami's top scoring threat, Dickerson can dish the ball recording a team-best 88 assists (5.5 per contest), fourth-most in the league, and is a quick defender averaging 1.7 steals per tilt (27 total). Kendall McCoy owns the teams second-best scoring average, 11.1 points per game while coming off the bench in a reserve role. McCoy also leads the unit in rebounding, grabbing 5.8 boards per game. The RedHawks have a trio of players who are averaging just above seven points a game; Leah Purvis (7.8), Savannah Kluesner (7.4), and Kayla Brown (7.1), respectively.

Probable Starters

Miami: Lauren Dickerson, Leah Purvis, Kayla Brown, Megan Galloway, Molly McDonagh.

Akron: Shaunay Edmonds, Alyssa Clay, Lauren Hung, Haleigh Reinoehl, Caitlin Vari.

Series History

Miami and Akron will square off for the 52nd time in program history when the Zips and RedHawks take the court on Wednesday. In the 51 meetings prior, Miami holds the lead in the all-time series record, 35-16. Akron has won six of the last eight encounters with the RedHawks, however, Miami defeated Akron the previous two contests. Since 2009, Akron owns a 6-5 record when visiting Oxford, Ohio.

The Last Meeting

In a back-and-forth battle which featured 12 lead changes and eight ties, the University of Akron women's basketball team suffered a 66-62 defeat against Miami University on Feb. 22, 2017, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Hannah Plybon led the way for the Zips with 14 points, while Alex Ricketts added nine points and four rebounds. Shaunay Edmonds scored eight points and dished out six assists to go along with a seven-point, eight-rebound effort from Haliegh Reinoehl.

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

Miami: Megan Duffy is amidst her first season at the helm of the Miami women's basketball program. Duffy is the ninth head coach in RedHawks history and joined the university after three seasons as an assistant at the University of Michigan.

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 176-184 (.489) at Akron and a 402-337 (.544) in her 25 years as a head coach

With A Win Over Miami, The Zips Would

Earn their seventh win of the 2017-18 season.
Claim its first MAC win
Earn the program's 450th all-time victory.
End a six-game slide.

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 (Austintown, Ohio).

Edmonds has taken on the role as the team's facilitator and floor general, while also having the ability to score the ball. Through 16 games, Edmonds is averaging 10.8 points, a team-high 4.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. The Zips' point guard scored a season-best 19 points and tied her career mark with seven assists against Youngstown State while posting a career-best six steals against Harvard.

Reinoehl has become a staple in the Zips starting five since midway through her freshman season, starting the last 29 contests dating back to last year for Akron. Reinoehl recorded a career-best game against Southeastern Louisiana (21 pts/11 reb) and posted her second career double-double against SIU Edwardsville (11 pts/10 reb). The forward is the team's fourth-leading scorer, 6.2 points per game and leads the squad in rebounding with 137 total rebounds, 8.6 per contest.

Sefcik is having a career year in her junior season en route to leading the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game while making 3.4 triples per contest. The Zips' guard broke the Akron single-game three-point record with 10 triples against Ohio Christian, while also tying the MAC record.

Burry, the Zip with the most playing experience on the roster, is the centerfold of the squad. In 238 minutes of play and 12 starts, Burry is averaging 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per tilt. Burry grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds against SLU and scored a season-best 14 points against EKU.

Vari, a member of the Zips frontcourt, has seen 320 minutes of action and started the last four contests. Vari grabs 5.7 rebounds per contest, including a team-best 36 offensive rebounds. In addition to the rebounds, Vari averages 5.5 points per contest.

Sophomores Alyssa Clay (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Shayna Harmon (Ashville, Ohio) have seen a significant bump in playing time in year two. Harmon has started 14 contests and owns the second-most assists on the squad (39). Clay has seen 275 minutes of action through 16 contests, including her first career starts while stepping up for Harmon due to injury. Clay owns the teams best shooting percentage from beyond the arc (.439, 25-of-57), which is highlighted by a career night against Bowling Green scoring 22 points and hitting 6-of-8 triples.

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 165 points. Perkins has taken over the backup point guard role after returning from injury and has since recorded 30 assists, third-most on the squad.

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

2017-18 Zip Breakdown

Akron meets Central Michigan at James A. Rhodes Arena for a cross-divisional match-up on Jan. 20. Game time between the Zips and Broncos is slated for 2 p.m.