Akron Back At Rhodes Arena For Three-Game Homestand Starting With Central Michigan

Saturday, January 20

Akron, Ohio

2 PM

University of Akron

Central Michigan University

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Akron Back At Rhodes Arena For Three-Game Homestand Starting With Central Michigan

January 19 | Women's Basketball

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Central Michigan vs. Akron: Game Notes: 1/20/18

Central Michigan (14-3, 6-0 MAC) vs. Akron (6-11, 0-6 MAC)

Saturday, Jan. 20
James A. Rhode Arenas
Akron, Ohio • 2:00 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 1:45 p.m.
Watch: ESPN3

Whats Ahead

Akron begins a three-game home swing at the friendly confines of James A. Rhodes arena when Central Michigan travels to Akron, Ohio, on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tip-off between the Zips and Chippewas is scheduled for 2 p.m. and all the action can be seen live on ESPN3 with Michael Reghi and Jacki Windon on the call.

Scouting The Chippewas

Through the first six Mid-American Conference tilts, Central Michigan sits atop the league standings as the lone team without a blemish in conference play, holding a perfect 6-0 record in the MAC, after finishing up the non-conference portion of the schedule, 8-3. Before winning their first six MAC games, the Chippewas won eight games in a row spanning nearly a month totaling all eight of their out-of-league victories.

The respective starting five for Central Michigan, Presley Hudson, Tinara Moore, Reyna Frost, Cassie Breen, and Micaela Kelly, are all averaging double figures in scoring after 17 games. Both Hudson and Moore, are scoring just over 17 points per game, 17.9 and 17.2, respectively. To go along with leading the team in scoring, Hudson is also the Chippewas leader in assists, 5.5 per game (93 total). Frost is averaging a double-double on the season scoring 14.1 points per contest and reeling in a team-high 12.9 rebounds per tilt, which leads the MAC and is fourth in the nation. Moore is shooting an efficient .578 from the field, en route to scoring 17.2 points a game.

In the NCAA, Central Michigan as a unit ranks second in free throw percentage (.832), seventh in three-pointers per game (9.9), 13th in three-point field goal percentage (.389), rebound margin (9.9), 21st in three-point field goals made (158), and 26th in rebounds per game (43.3).

Probable Starters

Central Michigan: Presley Hudson, Tinara Moore, Reyna Frost, Cassie Breen, Micaela Kelly.

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

Series History

Central Michigan and Akron have met on the hardwood 37 times in each programs respective history since the first meeting between the two schools in 1982. The Zips have seen recent success against the Chippewas while playing in front of its home crowd at the JAR and holds a 5-1 record in the previous six meetings at home.

The Last Meeting

Central Michigan's Presley Hudson and Tinara Moore combined to scored 64 points as the University of Akron women's basketball team suffered an 89-62 setback versus the Chippewas, the Mid-American Conference's preseason favorite, on Jan. 4, 2017.

Hannah Plybon led three Zips scoring in double figures with a team-high 14 points, while Alex Ricketts and Megan Sefcik each recorded 11 points. Shayna Harmon added a career-best nine points in reserve duty. Hudson finished with a game-high 35 points, while Moore tallied a 29-point, eight-rebound effort.

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

Central Michigan: Sue Guevara is in her 11th season at the helm of the Central Michigan women's basketball program. Guevara has led the Chippewas to a MAC West first-place finish in three of the last four seasons, including an overall MAC regular season championship a season ago. Since taking over the program Guevara owns a 190-145 record, including a 105-68 MAC record.

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 402-338 (.544) in her 25 years as a head coach

With A Win Over Central Michigan, 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 seven-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 17 games, Edmonds is averaging 10.9 points, a team-high 4.2 assists, and 2.3 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 30 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, 6.5 points per game and leads the squad in rebounding with 144 total rebounds, 8.5 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 246 minutes of play and 12 starts, Burry is averaging 5.5 points and 4.2 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 342 minutes of action and started the last four contests. Vari grabs 5.6 rebounds per contest, including a team-best 38 offensive rebounds. In addition to the rebounds, Vari averages 5.6 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 292 minutes of action through 17 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 (.431, 25-of-58), 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 199 points. Perkins has taken over the backup point guard role and had a career-night against Miami scoring a career-high 21 points and career-best 5 steals against the RedHawks.

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

Up Next

Akron continues its homestand at James A. Rhodes Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 24, when cross-divisional opponent, Western Michigan, comes to town for a showdown with the Zips at 7 p.m.