Second Half Surge Lifts Akron To 81-60 Victory Over Detroit Mercy

Saturday, November 23

Detroit, Mich.

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University of Akron

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Detroit

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Akron

Detroit Mercy

Second Half Surge Lifts Akron To 81-60 Victory Over Detroit Mercy

November 23 | Women's Basketball

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DETROIT, Mich. – The Akron women's basketball team was lights out in the second half outscoring Detroit, 46-27, as the Zips late charge earned UA an 81-60 victory over the Titans on Saturday afternoon inside Calihan Hall.

Holding on to just a two-point lead (35-33) heading into the second half, the Zips came out of the locker room locked in and turned a small advantage (+2) into a 60-47 lead. Senior guard Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) controlled the pace of the Zips offense in the stanza scoring six points, dished out four assists, and ripped two steals in the third quarter alone. As a team, Akron shot 50-percent (10-for-20) from the floor, hit two three-pointers, and went 3-for-4 from the line. The Zips defense forced 10 turnovers which turned into 11 points.

Akron did not hold back in the fourth quarter and continued to push the ball up the court. The Zips ran away with the contest outscoring the Titans, 21-13, and coasted to its second straight win, improved to 2-0 on the road and captured its fourth victory on the season.

Due in large part to the third quarter, Edmonds turned in an all-around stellar performance on the afternoon totaling 14 points, a team-best five assists, two steals, and two rebounds. Senior Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) posted a team-high 16 points, team-best eight rebounds, including four on both the offensive and defensive glass. While Edmonds and Reinoehl were the two Zips in double figures, 11 of the 12 Zips that checked into the game recorded at least one point, including nine points from junior Jordyn Dawson (Huntington, W. Va.) and seven points each by senior Shayna Harmon (Ashville, Ohio), sophomore Kendall Miller (Akron, Ohio), and freshman Lonasia Brewer (Akron, Ohio), which is a career-high.

As a unit, Akron shot 42.9-percent from the field (30-for-70), 35-percent from long range, and 66.7-percent (14-for-21) from the charity stripe. Akron's bench played a large role in the contest scoring 31 points in a combined 89 minutes played.

The Zips forced 23 Titan turnovers which led to 20 points. While Akron scored 21 points from long range, UA was a force to be reckoned with inside the paint scoring 40 of its 81 total points, just under 50 percent. UA pushed the ball up the court quickly and scored 30 fast-break points.

After a back and forth battle in the opening two minutes between Akron and Detroit (3-3), the Zips went cold from the floor and the Titans took advantage of its opportunity. Detroit went on a 10-0 run in a 2:20 span and claimed an early 13-5 lead into the first media timeout.

Reinoehl broke the cold spell for the Zips out of the timeout as the junior buried a triple from the right-wing. Reinoehl's three-pointer broke the ice for the Zips and opened up the Akron offense as UA went 3-for-5 in the final 4:21 to cut the deficit to 20-17 at the end of the first quarter.

Much like the opening minutes of the first, Akron and Detroit traded buckets as each side scored four points in the first three and a half minutes of the second stanza. At the 4:40 mark of the period, the Zips tied the game up for the first time since the score read 5-5 in the first quarter. Akron used a 6-2 scoring run from 7:24-4:40 as three of the Zips forwards in Vari (three points), Reinoehl (two points), and Brewer (one point) tallied all six for Akron.

In the closing five and a half minutes of the first half, Akron outscored Detroit 13-7. Four players collaborated to tally the Zips 13 points including a run-high five points.

At the midway point of the contest, the Zips were shooting 40-percent (12-for-30), made three triples, connected on eight free throws, scored 18 points in the paint, 13 points on fast breaks, and seven points off turnovers.

The Zips continue their road trip with a trip up Route 77 north to Cleveland, Ohio, where a non-conference tilt awaits the Akron women's basketball team against Cleveland State on Wednesday, Nov. 27, against Cleveland State at 7 p.m.