The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Northern Illinois University
Akron Slated For Cross-Divisional Showdown With Northern Illinois In Play 4 Kay Game
February 06 | Women's Basketball
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Northern Illinois at Akron Game Notes: 2/7/18
Northern Illinois (11-11, 3-8 MAC) at Akron (7-15, 1-10 MAC)
Wednesday, Feb. 7
James A. Rhodes Arena
Akron, Ohio • 7:00 p.m.
Live Stats:Â 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:Â ESPN3
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What's Ahead
A mid-week Mid-American Conference cross-divisional, East vs. West, showdown is slated between Akron and Northern Illinois on Wednesday, Feb. 7, at James A. Rhodes Arena at 7 p.m. The contest between the Zips and Huskies will be the annual 'Play 4 Kay' pink game hosted by Akron. The 'Play 4 Kay' game honors the historic women's basketball coach, Kay Yow, who battled breast cancer before passing away in 2009, as well as all of those who are or have been affected by cancer in their lives. Fans are asked to don the color pink to help raise awareness for the cause and the Zips will wear pink jerseys.Â
Scouting The Huskies
Northern Illinois travels to Akron, Ohio owning .500 record (11-11) through 22 contests in the 2017-18 season, while standing 3-8 inside league play halfway through the conference season. In their last contest, the Huskies broke a seven-game losing streak when they beat Kent State, 72-62, on Feb. 3. After winning two of its first three MAC contests, Northern Illinois dropped seven in a row but only lost by an average of six points.Â
Three members of Northern Illinois' starting five currently average double-figures and have started all 22 contests for the Huskies. Courtney Woods is the teams leading scorer posting 21.4 points per game while also reeling in a team-high 7.9 rebounds per contest. Woods is tied for first in the MAC in scoring and seventh overall in rebounding. Kelly Smith, the teams second scoring threat averages 15.9 points per tilt along with a team-high 17 blocks, while Mikayla Voigt dishes out a team-best 4.6 assists per game (101 total) and scores 14.2 points per tilt.Â
As a team, the Huskies have the third-best scoring offense in the MAC (83.4 pts/game) and field goal percentage (.441), but statistically, have the worst scoring defense in the conference allowing 76.3 pts/game and the 10th ranked field goal percentage defense (.421).Â
Probable Starters
Northern Illinois: Courtney Woods, Kelly Smith, Mikayla Voigt, Ally May, Myia Starks.Â
Akron: Shaunay Edmonds, Alyssa Clay, Kynnedy Azubike, Haliegh Reinoehl, Caitlin Vari.Â
Series History
The Zips and Huskies will meet on the hardwood for the 32nd time in program history on Wednesday night. In the previous 31 match-ups, Northern Illinois holds the edge in the all-time series, 20-11. In the past six contests between the two programs, Akron holds a 4-2 advantage dating back to 2013. In 14 games at James A. Rhodes Arena, the series is deadlocked at 7-7.Â
The Last Meeting
A dominating second-half performance propelled the University of Akron women's basketball team to an 84-55 victory past Mid-American Conference West Division leader Northern Illinois on Jan. 18, 2017.
The Zips connected on a season-best 14 three-pointers in the tilt and held the Huskies, who came into the affair averaging 90.2 points per game, to 35 points under their scoring average.
Akron saw all five starters finish with double-figure scoring efforts led by a game-high 20 points from Hannah Plybon, Shaunay Edmonds, and Haliegh Reinoehl added 13 points apiece, while contributing 11 points each was Alex Ricketts and Greta Burry. The 13 points for Edmonds and Reinoehl established new career-high scoring marks.
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 Â
Northern Illinois: Lisa Carlson is in her third season at the helm of the Huskies women's basketball program since taking over in 2015. So far, Carlson has compiled a 43-42 record at NIU, while she owns a 227-204 overall record in 15 years of coaching
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 176-189 (.484) at Akron and a 402-342 (.542) in her 25 years as a head coach
With A Win Over Northern Illinois, The Zips Would
- Earn their eighth win of the 2017-18 season.
- Claim its second MAC win.Â
- End a two-game slide
2017-18 Zip BreakdownÂ
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 22 games, Edmonds is averaging 11.4 points, a team-high 4.6 assists, and 2.0 steals per game. The Zips' point guard scored a season-best 21 points against Central 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 35 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 two more double-double's against SIU Edwardsville (11 pts/10 reb) and versus Central Michigan (15 pts/11 reb). The forward is the team's third-leading scorer, 7.2 points per game and leads the squad in rebounding with 196 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.Â
Burry, the Zip with the most playing experience on the roster, is the centerfold of the squad. In 309 minutes of play and 13 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 475 minutes of action and started the last nine of 10 contests. Vari grabs 5.3 rebounds per contest, including a team second-best 41 offensive rebounds. In addition to the rebounding, Vari averages 6.3 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 started 14 contests and owns the third-most assists on the squad (40). Clay has seen 439 minutes of action through 22 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 (.409, 36-of-88), which is highlighted by a career night against Bowling Green scoring 22 points and hitting 6-of-8 triples.Â
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 293 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.Â
Kest named Burry, Sefcik, and Reinoehl as the 2017-18 season captains.
Up Next
The Zips are back in action when they travel to Ypsilanti, Mich. on Sunday, Feb. 11, to take on Eastern Michigan. Akron and the Eagles are slated for a 2 p.m. tip.
