Central Michigan Drops Akron 94-71 In MAC Opener

Saturday, January 5

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

1 PM

University of Akron

9-3, 0-1MAC

Central Michigan

10-3, 1-0MAC

Akron

Central Michigan

Photo by: David Dermer

Central Michigan Drops Akron 94-71 In MAC Opener

January 05 | Women's Basketball

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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – After a strong start and solid first quarter against the defending Mid-American Conference champions, Central Michigan took control of the game in the final 30 minutes as the Akron women's basketball team fell to the Chippewas, 94-71, in the 2018-19 MAC opener on Saturday afternoon inside McGuirk Arena.

Akron now sits 9-3 overall and 0-1 in league play, while CMU improved to 10-3 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

The Zips turned in their second-best offensive effort of the season against the Chippewas hitting 47.5-percent (18-for-59) of their shots from the floor en route to their fourth-highest point total of the season (71). While Akron shot efficiently collectively, the squad struggled from distance shooting just 6-for-22 (27.3-percent), despite going 4-for-7 in the first quarter.

Eight of the 10 active players helped the Zips on the offensive end of the court, which was highlighted by three players in double-figures. Redshirt senior guard Megan Sefcik (Austintown, Ohio) led all Akron scorers with 17 points, added five rebounds and a pair of steals. Junior point guard Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) tallied a season-best 15 points and five steals to go along with three boards. Junior forward Caitlin Vari (Richfield, Ohio) went on to post a career-best 14 points while grabbing five boards and notching two steals.

The first 20 minutes of the MAC opener was a tale of two quarters as the first quarter belonged to Akron and the second stanza ended in favor of Central Michigan.

Akron looked to open the contest against the defending MAC champions fast and was successful in the first 10 minutes of the game. After CMU began the game with a 5-2 lead, the Akron offense went on a 9-0 run and claimed a 12-5 advantage.

After the Chippewas broke their scoring drought and brought the game back within four points (14-10), the Zips again took control of the contest and strung together their second 9-0 run of the quarter leading to a 26-18 lead after 10 minutes of play.

The Zips shared the wealth on offense in the first stanza as four Akron players found their name in the scoring column. Sefick led the charge with eight points while Edmonds scored seven, Reinoehl added five, Vari notched four, and Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell (Solon, Ohio) scored a pair.

Central Michigan came out of the quarter break and hit the ground running notching a 10-0 run in the first 2:15 of the period and reclaimed the lead. Reinoehl ended the Chipps offensive spurt with a lay-up at the 6:08 mark.

From that point on in the period, CMU never relinquished the lead and headed into the locker room with a 46-38 lead after outscoring Akron 28-12.

Sefcik did her best in the third quarter to keep the Zips within striking distance as the guard scored nine of Akron's 18 points in the third quarter. However, the Chippewas continued to shoot the ball well and grew its lead to as many as 17 in the quarter and took a 71-56 lead into the fourth quarter where CMU closed out the contest.

The Zips continue their conference play road trip in the state of Michigan as the Akron women's basketball team travels to Kalamazoo, Mich., on Wednesday, Jan. 9. The Zips take on Western Michigan inside the Read Fieldhouse and University Arena at 7 p.m. All the action can be seen on ESPN3 or heard live on WARF 1350 AM with Bill Morgan.