Zips Return To Rhodes Arena For Second Meeting With Miami

Wednesday, February 21

Akron, Ohio

7 PM

University of Akron

Miami University (OH)

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Zips Return To Rhodes Arena For Second Meeting With Miami

February 20 | Women's Basketball

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Miami at Akron Game Notes: 2/21/18

Miami (16-9, 8-6 MAC) at Akron (8-17, 2-12 MAC)

Wednesday, Feb. 21
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 with the pregame show starting at 6:45 p.m.
Watch: ESPN3

What's Ahead
Akron will play in front of its home crowd for the first time in two weeks when the Zips return to action at James A. Rhodes Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 21, against the visiting Miami RedHawks. Akron and Miami's second meeting this season is scheduled for 7 p.m. All the action can be seen live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN App with Michael Reghi and Jacki Windon on the call.

Scouting The RedHawks
Miami is on a roll inside conference play and sits in second place in the MAC East after winning seven of its last nine contests. Heading into their contest with Akron, the RedHawks are 4-2 against the MAC East division defeating Akron (75-67), Ohio (64-55), Bowling Green (66-62), and Kent State (65-59), while dropping both games in the season series to Buffalo. Miami played eight cross-divisional matches and posted an even 4-4 record against the West.

Lauren Dickerson leads the offensive charge for the RedHawks averaging a team-best 20.6 points per game, which ranks second in the MAC. Dickerson has scored a total of 514 points on the year by the way of shooting 40.2-percent from the field (179-of-445) and 38-percent from long range (85-of-224). On top of being Miami's top scoring threat, Dickerson can dish the ball recording a team-best 138 assists (5.5 per contest), fourth-most in the league, and is a quick defender averaging 1.9 steals per tilt (48 total). Kendall McCoy owns the teams second-best scoring average, 12.5 points per game while coming off the bench in a reserve role. McCoy also leads the unit in rebounding, grabbing 6.2 boards per game. The RedHawks have a trio of players who are averaging just above seven points a game; Savannah Kluesner (7.7), Kayla Brown (7.2), and Leah Purvis (7.1) respectively.

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

Akron: Shaunay Edmonds, Alyssa Clay, Shayna Harmon, Haliegh Reinoehl, Greta Burry.

Series History
Miami and Akron will square off for the 53rd time in program history when the Zips and RedHawks take the court on Wednesday. In the 52 meetings prior, Miami holds the lead in the all-time series record, 36-16. Akron has won six of the last nine encounters with the RedHawks, however, Miami defeated Akron in the previous three contests. Since 2010, the Zips own a 5-1 mark at the friendly confines of the JAR against the RedHawks.

The Last Meeting
Freshman point guard Destiny Perkins (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored a career-high 21 points, including 13 second-half points, but the deficit was too large for the Zips to overcome in the fourth quarter as Miami defeated Akron, 75-67, on Jan. 17, in Oxford, Ohio.

To go with her career-night in the point column, Perkins ripped a career-best five steals, grabbed five rebounds, and assisted on two baskets. Perkins point guard counterpart, sophomore Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.), scored a team second-best 13 points to go along with six assists and five steals, while sophomore Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) rounded out the Zips trio of double-digit scorers with 11 points and seven rebounds.

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 178-191 (.482) at Akron and a 403-344 (.541) in her 25 years as a head coach

With A Win Over Miami, The Zips Would

Earn their ninth win of the 2017-18 season.
Claim its third MAC win.
Even the season series with Miami
Move up to fifth in the MAC east coupled with a Bowling Green loss to Buffalo.

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 24 games, Edmonds is averaging 11.8 points, a team-high 4.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. The Zips' point guard scored a season- and career-best 27 points against Eastern Michigan, set a new career mark with nine assists against Kent 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 38 contests dating back to last year for Akron. Reinoehl recorded a career-best game against Southeastern Louisiana (21 pts/11 reb) and has since recorded three more double-double's against SIU Edwardsville (11 pts/10 reb), versus Central Michigan (15 pts/11 reb), and in a win at Eastern Michigan (15 pts/14 reb). The forward is the team's fourth-leading scorer, 7.5 points per game and leads the squad in rebounding with 223 total rebounds, 8.9 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 375 minutes of play and 15 starts, Burry is averaging 5.3 points and 3.9 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 495 minutes of action and started 10 of the last 11 contests. Vari grabs 5.4 rebounds per contest, including a team second-best 42 offensive rebounds. In addition to the rebounding, Vari averages 6.2 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 17 contests and owns the third-most assists on the squad (47). Clay has seen 518 minutes of action through 25 contests, including her first career starts while stepping in for Harmon due to injury. Clay owns the teams second-best shooting percentage from beyond the arc (.369, 41-of-111), 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 355 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 squares off with Kent State on Saturday, Feb. 24, in part two of the Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Wagon Wheel Challenge. The Zips travel to cross-town to Kent, Ohio, to visit the M.A.C center for a 2 p.m. tip.