Akron Hosts Toledo In MAC East vs. West Showdown

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Akron (11-6, 2-4 MAC) vs. Toledo (12-5, 4-2 MAC)
Saturday, Jan. 26
Akron, Ohio. • James A. Rhodes Arena • 2:00 p.m.
Live Stats: GoZips.com
Watch: GoZips.com
Listen: GoZips.com

What's Ahead
The Akron women's basketball returns to James A. Rhodes Arena for its third Mid-American Conference contest in front of its home crowd on Saturday, Jan. 26. The Zips entertain the Toledo Rockets in an East vs. West divisional showdown with the first tip coming at 2 p.m.

Two For One Special
Following the Akron women's basketball game between the Zips and Rockets, the Akron men's basketball team is scheduled to take on Northern Illinois in game two of the Akron basketball doubleheader. The Zips host Northern Illinois at 5 p.m. for its second match-up of the season against the Huskies. Any fan with a men's basketball ticket will also receive free admission to the women's basketball game at 2 p.m. To buy tickets for the Akron basketball doubleheader, go to GoZips.com or call 888-99-Akron.

Stop, Watch, and Listen
The Zips' radio broadcast will air on GoZIps.com with Bill Morgan calling the action live from James A. Rhodes Arena. You can also tune in and stream the game live on ESPN+, HERE, with Michael Reghi (Play-by-play) and Jacki Windon (Analyst) on the call.

Scouting the Rockets
Toledo enters the JAR with a 4-2 league record and sits atop the West Division while owning a 12-5 overall record through 17 contests. The Rockets opened the season garnering an 8-3 non-conference record which included a pair of four-game win streaks. After UT claimed a 65-58 win over Ball State in the MAC opener, the Rockets fell to Miami (64-65) and Kent State (47-58). Since then, the Rockets have reeled off three straight victories over Western Michigan (80-57), Bowling Green (79-65), and Central Michigan (62-59).

The Rockets offense is led by three veteran players who are no stranger to the Mid-American Conference in senior Kaayla McIntyre, junior Mariella Santucci, and senior Mikaela Boyd. McIntyre, an All-MAC honoree a season ago, leads the Rockets in scoring (15.3 points per game), rebounding (7.2 per contest), and field goal percentage (.572). Toledo's center scored a season-high 24 points against Maine and grabbed a season-best 16 rebounds versus Detroit Mercy. Santucci, an All-MAC freshman team selection two years ago, is averaging 10.5 points per game and has dished out a team-high 79 assists (4.6 per game), which ranks fourth in the MAC. Since the start of MAC play, Santucci is averaging 10.2 points per game to go along with 33 assists. Boyd, a two-time All-MAC Third team honoree, scores 10.1 points, pulls down 5.8 rebounds and posts 3.8 helpers per match. The Rockets senior guard led the Rockets to a win over BG with 25 points, six rebounds, three steals, and two assists.

In the NCAA, McIntyre ranks 28th in the field goal percentage (58.2 percent), 81st in blocked shots (26), and 113th in made field goals (125), while Santucci ranks 92nd in assists and 77th in assists per game. As a team, the Rockets .440 field goal percentage is rated 46th in the country and their assist/turnover ratio (1.05) ranks 55th nationally.

Probable Starters
Toledo: Kaayla McIntyre, Mariella Santucci, Mikaela Boyd, Sarah St. Fort, Nakiah Black.

Akron: Shaunay Edmonds, Shayna Harmon, Megan Sefcik, Haliegh Reinoehl, Caitlin Vari.

Series History
Akron and Toledo are scheduled to meet in competition for the 56th time in program history since the two program's first contest in 1975. Since the inaugural match-up, the Rockets holds the all-time series edge, 42-13, over the Zips. Akron is currently riding a three-game losing streak against Toledo. Prior to that, the Zips turned in six straight wins against the Rockets from 2014-2016. When playing at the JAR, the Zips are 4-3 since 2007.

Last Time Out
The University of Akron women's basketball team went wire-to-wire with the reigning Mid-American Conference Champions, Toledo, for 40 minutes, but the Rockets were able to pull away down the stretch with a 12-2 run in the final two minutes of the contest to defeat the Zips, 60-54, at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio.

Toledo's Mikayla Boyd hit a jumper for the Rockets at the 4:58 mark of the fourth quarter to take a 48-46 lead, resulting in the seventh lead change of the contest. The Zips fired back immediately and hit two consecutive three-pointers from Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) and Alyssa Clay (Indianapolis, Ind.) to regain a 48-52 lead with 2:23 left to play.

From there on out, Toledo took control of the game and would not relinquish its grasp.

As a team, Akron shot 39-percent from the floor (23-for-59) and a low 22.7-percent from long distance. The Zips shot 75 percent from the charity stripe, but only managed three trips to the line (3-for-4).

Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) would lead the way in the point column for the Zips and tallied a game-high 13 points. The Akron point guard also dished out a game-best six assists and four steals. Clay was the Zips second-leading scorer with eight points, six of which came from beyond the arc, while Caitlin Vari (Richfield, Ohio) added seven points and Reinoehl chipped in six points to go along with a team-high 10 rebounds.

Coaches
Toledo: Tricia Cullop, one of the longest-tenured coaches in the Mid-American Conference, owns a 232-116 overall record in her time at UT while going 120-56 in conference play. Cullop and company captured a WNIT championship, won a MAC championship, earned two MAC regular-season crowns, and seven MAC West Division titles.

Akron: Melissa Jackson took over the Akron women's basketball team beginning in 2018-19. Jackson spent the previous 10 seasons on the Zips coaching staff as an assistant coach (four seasons) and as the associate head coach (six seasons). Jackson played a pivotal role in the recent Akron women's basketball success and looks to continue to grow the program.

Mid-American Conference Member
The Zips have been a member of the Mid-American Conference for the past 27 years after joining the league in 1992 from the North Star Conference.

With A Win Over Toledo, Akron Would...

Earn its 12th victory of the 2018-19 season.
Give the Zips their third MAC win of the 2018-19 year.
Earn Akron a 3-4 record to open league play.
Be the 145th win during Mid-American Conference play.
Become the 18th Akron team to capture at least 12 wins in a season and the 15th team in the Division I era.
Snap a three-game losing streak
Claim its 14th win over UT.
Defeat Toledo for the first time since 2016 and break a three-game losing streak to the Rockets.

Zips Tidbits

Brown-Mitchell, Miller, and Neitzel each made their collegiate debut against North Carolina A&T (11/13).
Coach Jackson earned her first career victory with a 49-36 win over North Carolina A&T.
The starting five of Shaunay Edmonds, Shayna Harmon, Megan Sefcik, Haliegh Reinoehl, and Caitlin Vari made their 12th start together as a group dating back to 2017-18
Brown-Mitchell began her Akron career scoring 7 points and pulling down 6 rebounds.
Dating back to 2017-18, Sefcik has scored in double-figures in 22 of her last 29 games played in.
Sefcik fell one point shy of tying her career-high in scoring during a season opener with her 18 points after scoring 19 last year.
All 10 active players on the roster saw time on the court against the Aggies and six of the 10 recorded at least one point.
Akron outscored N.C. A&T 17-3 in the third quarter, including 10 points from Sefcik, and 27-12 in the second half to pull away with the game.
The Zips 3-0 record to open the season was the best start since 2014-15 when the Akron squad went 8-0.
Akron has outscored six of its 13 opponents by double-digits (+13 vs. NC A&T, +20 vs. Oak, +17 vs. NKU, +17 vs. JSU, +19 vs. MU, +13 vs. WMU). The last time Akron won three straight games by 10+points was 2015-16.
Megan Sefcik ranks 16th in the nation averaging 3.29 triples per contest, rated 21st in three-point field goals made (56), 23rd in three-point field goals attempted (152), and 115th in three-point field goal percentage (.368).
As a unit, the Akron ranks 35th in three-point field goals made per game (8.3), 46th in three-point field goals made (141), 58th in three-point field goal attempts (420), and 82nd in three-point field goal percentage (.336).
The Akron offense has taken care of the ball well through its first 17 games with just 243 turnovers which rank 41st in the nation and their 14.3 turnovers per game rank 59th.
As a team, the Zips rank 58th in the NCAA in free throw percentage at 73.9-percent.
Caitlin Vari registered the first double-double of her career against Youngstown (10 points, 10 rebounds).
The Zips capitalized on Youngstown State being called for 14 fouls and connected on 16 free throws on 18 attempts (.889). Haliegh Reinoehl and Shayna Harmon each went 7-for-8.
Shayna Harmon accounted for all seven of the Zips third-quarter points against the Penguins.
The Zips defense has limited the opposition to 65 points or less in 11 of its 17 games
The Akron offense has made a minimum of five three-pointers in 16 of its 17 games including a season-high 12 triples on three different occasions.
Only six teams have made more than 25 field goals in a contest through 17 games against the Akron defense.
The Akron Zips are 5-1 when playing in their annual Education Day game.
Kendall Miller dished out a season and career-best five assists against the Bonnies.
Shayna Harmon poured in a career-high 21 points against St. Bonaventure to lead Akron to victory.
The Zips have taken advantage of the first and fourth quarter getting off to a fast start and closing out games strong. In both periods combined, Akron has outscored the opposition 608-522.
Akron has only entered the halftime intermission trailing its opponent six times through 17 games.
Colleen Neitzel led the Zips in scoring with nine points against Butler. The freshman connected on three field goals that all came from beyond the arc for a single-game career-best.
The Zips have posted six contests where at least nine players scored at least one point (Oakland, YSU, EKU, Butler, JSU, UTEP), and one contest where all active players were in the scoring column (vs. NKU, vs. Malone).
Akron has connected on double-digit free throws in 11 of its 17 games including a season-high 22.
Shayna Harmon dished out a career-high seven assists against Canisius.
Sefcik has made four three-pointers in eight games and at least one triple in all 17 games for the Zips in 2018-19.
In her season debut, Fredniqua Walker registered a season- and tied a career-best eight points against Jackson State after returning from injury.
Prior to the 2018-19 season, Shayna Harmon scored in double-figures in just two games. She has already notched double figures in five games this year.
The .508 shooting percentage against Northern Kentucky is the highest single-game percentage in the past two seasons.
Against Malone, Neitzel dished out a career-best five assists to lead the Zips while Kendall Miller scored a career-high nine points against the Pioneers.
The Zips have reeled in 169 offensive rebounds through 17 games. Akron has turned their second chances into 165 points.
Caitlin Vari has grabbed a team-best 52 offensive boards, including a season-best eight against Canisius, has at least two offensive caroms in 14 games, and has recorded a team-high in offensive rebounds in 11 games.
Despite the loss against Central Michigan, Akron scored its then fourth-most points in a game this season, recorded its third-best field goal percentage of the year, and three players scored in double-figures.
Akron posted four players in double-figures against Western Michigan for the first time this season.
Megan Sefcik recorded her first career double-double against the Broncos scoring 15 points and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds.
Alyssa Clay played her best game of the season against Western Michigan scoring 11 points including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. It was the sixth time in her career making three or more three-pointers in a single-game.
Haliegh Reinoehl eclipsed the 500 career rebounds mark in their win against Western Michigan. She needs just 120 more rebounds to join the top-ten all-time career rebounder's in program history.
Akron saw five players score in double figures against Bowling Green. It was the first time five Zips scored double digits in a game since 2015-16.
Shayna Harmon recorded a career-best eight assists against the Falcons.
The Zips snapped a four-game win streak against Bowling Green with their 74-71 win.
Haleigh Reinoehl tied a career-high in rebounds against Eastern Michigan with 14 boards.
In five of the last six games, the Zips have had at least three players score in double figures and in 10 of their 16 contests. Akron is 7-3 in those games.
The Zips 2-1 MAC record through the first three games of league play was the first time Akron was above .500 in the MAC since the 2015-16 season.
Haliegh Reinoehl eclipsed the 500th career point mark against Northern Illinois. In her first shot attempt of the game, the Zips junior knocked down a three-pointer to hit 500 points exactly.
Akron tied its season-best shooting performance from long range against the Huskies, .478. The Zips also shot 47.8-percent from distance against Oakland.
The Zips defense limited the second-best offense in the MAC to 35.3-percent shooting from the floor, 33.3-percent from three-point range, and its then- fourth-lowest scoring total of the season.
Akron's 48.2-percent shooting percentage against Buffalo is the second-highest shooting percentage of the season to date.
Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell tied a season- and career-high against Buffalo (13 points).
In the fourth quarter, Brown-Mitchell and Kendall Miller combined to scored 14 of the Zips 17 fourth-quarter points versus Buffalo.
In their career's, the junior class of Alyssa Clay, Shaunay Edmonds, Shayna Harmon, Haliegh Reinoehl, and Caitlin Vari have combined to play 7,408 minutes and have played in a combined 350 games since their freshman seasons.

Where They Rank in the MAC, As A Team (as of 1/25)

Rated 9th in scoring (65.9 ppg)
Ranked fifth in scoring defense allowing just 63.3 points per contest.
Akron's +2.6 scoring margin is ranked eighth in the league.
Akron is rated ninth in field goal percentage (.401) and seventh in field goal percentage allowed (.396).
From long range, Akron ranks fourth in 3FG made per game (8.3) and fourth in 3FG% (.336).
Ranked sixth in free throw percentage (.739).
Rated third in rebounding defense (36.4), eighth in rebounding margin (-0.6), 10th in defensive rebounds (25.8 per game), and 10th in offensive rebounds (9.9)
The Zips 6.94 steals per contest are a league ninth-best.
Akron's 42 blocked shots (2.47 per/game) are fifth-best the conference rankings.
Akron ranks ninth in turnover margin (0.88) and seventh assists/turnover ratio (0.93).

Where They Rank in the MAC, Individually (as of 1/25)

Megan Sefcik is rated fifth in scoring (16.8 pts/game), Haliegh Reinoehl is rated 35th (9.8 pts/game), and Caitlin Vari is ranked 50th (7.2 pts/game).
In the rebounding category, Reinoehl has the eighth most boards per contest (7.0/game) and Caitlin Vari ranks 10th (6.4/game).
Sefcik ranks 11th in FG% (.427), 5th in 3FG% (.368), 4th in 3FG made per game (3.3), while Reinoehl is rated 29th (1.3 per/game) and Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell ranks 38th (1.1 per/game)
Shayna Harmon ranks 14th in assists (3.2 apg) and seventh in assist/turnover ratio (1.7).
Sefcik ranks 13th in steals per game (1.8 per game).

Where They Rank in MAC Pay, As A Team (as of 1/25)

Rated eighth in scoring (68.0 ppg)
Ranked 11th in scoring defense allowing 76.2 points per contest.
Akron is rated 6th in field goal percentage (.417).
From long range, Akron ranks second in 3FG made per game (9.8) and second in 3FG% (.373).
Ranked fifth in free throw percentage (.728).
Fourth in rebounding defense (37.2).
Akron's 11 blocked shots (2.20 per/game) are seventh-best the conference rankings.
Akron ranks ninth in turnover margin (-2.33) and sixth assists/turnover ratio (0.90).

Where They Rank in MAC Play, Individually (as of 1/25)

Megan Sefcik is rated eighth in scoring (17.3 pts/game), Shaunay Edmonds ranked 27th (11.3 pts/game), Haliegh Reinoehl is rated 31st (11.0 pts/game), and Caitlin Vari ranked 49th (7.5 pts/game).
In the rebounding category, Reinoehl has the 10th most boards per contest (7.5/game), Caitlin Vari ranks 20th (6.2/game), and Megan Sefcik is rated 38th (4.2/game)
Sefcik ranks 11th in FG% (.430), 3rd in 3FG% (.356), and first in 3FG made per game (3.5), while Alyssa Clay is rated 22nd (1.7 per/game), Reinoehl rated 23rd (1.7/game), and Edmonds ranks 37th (1.2 per/game).
Shayna Harmon ranks 13th in assists (3.3 apg) and first in assist/turnover ratio (3.3).
Edmonds is rated 10th in steals per game (2.2 per game) and Sefcik ranks 19th (1.5 per game).

Up Next
The Akron women's basketball will return to the hardwood on Saturday, Feb. 2. The Zips head cross-town to take on their rivals from the other side of town, Kent State, in part one of the Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center Wagon Wheel Challenge. Akron and the Golden Flashes tip-off from the M.A.C Center at 2 p.m.

Akron Hosts Toledo In MAC East vs. West Showdown

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Players Mentioned

Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell

Alyssa Clay

Shaunay Edmonds

Shayna Harmon

Kendall Miller

Colleen Neitzel

Haliegh Reinoehl

Megan Sefcik

Caitlin Vari

Fredniqua Walker

The University of Akron Athletics

Akron Hosts Toledo In MAC East vs. West Showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell

Alyssa Clay

Shaunay Edmonds

Shayna Harmon

Kendall Miller

Colleen Neitzel

Haliegh Reinoehl

Megan Sefcik

Caitlin Vari

Fredniqua Walker

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