Zips Welcome Western Michigan To Akron For Cross-Divisional Contest

Wednesday, January 24

Akron, Ohio

7 PM

University of Akron

Western Michigan University

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Zips Welcome Western Michigan To Akron For Cross-Divisional Contest

January 23 | Women's Basketball

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Western Michigan vs. Akron: Game Notes: 1/24/18

Western Michigan (11-8, 4-3 MAC) at Akron (6-12, 0-7 MAC)

Wednesday, Jan. 24
James A. Rhodes Arena
Akron, 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

Game two of a three-game homestand for the Zips is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 24, in a cross-divisional showdown with Western Michigan at James A. Rhodes Arena. The contest between the Akron and the Broncos is slated for 7 p.m. and will air live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Michael Reghi and Jacki Windon on the call.

Scouting The Broncos

Heading into its meeting with the Zips at the JAR, Western Michigan is currently in fourth place in the Mid-American Conference West division with a 4-3 league record and stands 11-8 overall. In MAC play, the Broncos saw wins against Bowling Green (67-58), Kent State (66-61), Northern Illinois (88-83), and Miami (81-70). When playing away from Kalamazoo, Mich., WMU owns a 3-5 record, compared to 7-1 when defending home court.

The Broncos have a trio of players scoring in double-figures to lead the MAC's sixth-ranked offense including scoring leader Breanna Mobley (16.1), Deja Wimby (10.3), and Marley Hill (10.1). Mobley, the team's top scorer is also the units top rebounder pulling in 8.5 rebounds per contest, including a league second-best 76 offensive rebounds (4.0 per game). Wimby is the Broncos floor general posting a team-high 93 dimes and 5.2 dimes per tilt, fifth-best in the MAC.

Western Michigan is the top rebounding team inside the MAC grabbing a league-high 765 but is just fifth in rebounds per game, 40.3. The Broncos pride themselves on playing defense ranking third in scoring defense (64.7 points per game), fourth in field goal percentage defense (.388), and third in three-point defense (.299).

Probable Starters

Western Michigan: Breanna Mobley, Marley Hill, Deja Wimby, Jasmyn Walker, Jordan Walker.

Akron: Shaunay Edmonds, Alyssa Clay, Kynnedy Azubike, Haleigh Reinoehl, Caitlin Vari.

Series History

Heading into the 40th meeting between Akron and Western Michigan, the Broncos hold the advantage in the all-time series against the Zips, 29-10 since the first meeting in 1993. While Akron has dropped the last three meetings against WMU, the Zips are 6-5 against the Broncos in the last 11 meetings dating back to 2010 and are 5-2 when defending James A. Rhodes Arena.

The Last Meeting

Powered by four different players scoring in double figures, Western Michigan defeated the University of Akron women's basketball team by a final score of 73-57 on Jan. 21, 2017, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Hannah Plybon led the way for the Zips with 19 points and registered three rebounds and a trio of assists. She connected on five three-pointers to move to within 12 of 300 for her career. Greta Burry chipped in 12 points and pulled down seven boards, while Megan Sefcik added an 11-point and seven-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: Shane Clipfell is in his sixth season at the helm of the Broncos women's basketball program. This is Clipfell's second stint in the MAC after spending eight seasons at EMU. In his time with Western Michigan, Clipfell has amassed a 91-87 record, which included a 20-win season (20-13) in 2015 and a second-place finish in the MAC West.

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 176-186 (.486) at Akron and a 402-339 (.543) in her 25 years as a head coach

With A Win Over Western 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 an eight-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 18 games, Edmonds is averaging 11.4 points, a team-high 4.2 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. The Zips' point guard scored a season-best 21 points against Central Michigan, tied her career mark with seven assists against Youngstown State, and posted 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 31 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 third-leading scorer, 6.9 points per game and leads the squad in rebounding with 156 total rebounds, 8.7 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 254 minutes of play and 12 starts, Burry is averaging 5.2 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 371 minutes of action and started the last six contests. Vari grabs 5.6 rebounds per contest, including a team-best 38 offensive rebounds. In addition to the rebounds, Vari averages 6.0 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 320 minutes of action through 18 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 (.453, 29-of-64), 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 218 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

The Zips close out their three-game homestand hosting cross-town rival Kent State in part one of the Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center Wagon Wheel Challenge on Jan. 27, at 2 p.m.