Sefcik Scores 23 and Akron Takes Down Oakland, 85-65

Saturday, November 17

Kent, Ohio

3 PM

University of Akron

2-0

Oakland

1-2

Oakland

Akron

Photo by: Jeff Harwell

Sefcik Scores 23 and Akron Takes Down Oakland, 85-65

November 17 | Women's Basketball

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KENT, Ohio – Redshirt senior Megan Sefcik (Austintown, Ohio) scored a season- and game-high 23 points and nailed five three-pointers en route to a 20-point victory as the Akron women's basketball team defeated Oakland, 85-65, in game one of the Kent State Classic on Saturday afternoon in the M.A.C. Center.

Akron picked up its second straight win (2-0) and earned its first win over the Golden Grizzlies (1-2) in program history.

The Zips red-hot offense shot 47.6-percent from the floor (30-for-63) and 47.8-percent from beyond the arc (11-of-23). Akron pulled in a game-high 45 rebounds, 34 defensive, and 11 offensive, while also assisting on 14 of their 30 made baskets.

Akron used a balanced scoring attack in the contest with nine of the 10 active Zips in the point column. To go along with a balanced scoring effort, four Zips turned in double-digit efforts with Sefcik leading the way, followed by juniors Caitlin Vari (Richfield, Ohio) and Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) scoring 12 points each and freshman Colleen Neitzel (Rocky River, Ohio) adding 10 points.

After falling behind early 5-0 to the Golden Grizzlies, the Zips took over en route to posting a +13 differential (24-11) following the first 10 minutes of play. Akron shot an efficient 44.4-percent from the floor and a blazing 50-percent from long range (3-for-6). The Zips turned seven turnovers into 12 points.

Five Akron players were in the point column after just the first quarter including six points from two members of the frontcourt in Reinoehl and Vari, while Neitzel chipped in five points.

The Zips offensive firepower carried over into the first four and half minutes of the second quarter as Akron stretched its lead to 38-16, a 22-point advantage. Akron utilized a 13-5 run in the first portion of the second period to gain its lead that consisted of eight points from Sefcik, freshman Kendall Miller's (Akron, Ohio) first two points of her career, and Reinoehl's second triple of the game.

However, the final 5:30 of the second quarter belonged to the Golden Grizzlies who went an 8-0 run to cut the lead back down to 14 points (38-24) and closed the half out with 14-7 advantage to bring the score to 44-30 at the halftime intermission.

Despite Oakland inching its way back into the contest, the Zips continued to shoot the ball at an efficient rate hitting 7-of-14 shots from the field and 3-of-5 from distance in the second stanza.

The Akron Zips came out of the locker room looking to gain lost ground after letting a 22-point lead slip away and they did just that. The Zips outscored Oakland, 21-11, and regained a 20+ point lead, 65-41.

Sefcik connected on back-to-back-to-back three-pointers and scored 12 of the Zips 22 points to lead the third quarter charge.

The fourth quarter was won by Oakland, 24-20, but it was not enough for the Golden Grizzlies to capitalize on due to the large lead held by the Zips.

As the horn went off through the M.A.C. Center, the Zips secured win number two of the 2018-19 season.

The Zips square off against Northern Kentucky on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 11 a.m. for game two of the Kent State Classic at the M.A.C. Center.