Akron Battles Ball State Wednesday Night At The JAR

Wednesday, February 13

Akron, Ohio

7 PM

University of Akron

Ball State

Tickets

Akron Battles Ball State Wednesday Night At The JAR

February 12 | Women's Basketball

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Akron vs. Ball State Game Notes (PDF)

Akron (13-8, 4-6 MAC) vs. Ball State (7-15, 2-8 MAC)
Wednesday, Feb. 12
Akron, Ohio. • James A. Rhodes Arena • 7:00 p.m.
Live Stats: GoZips.com
Watch: GoZips.com
Listen: GoZips.com

What's Ahead
For the final time this season at home, the Akron women's basketball hosts a MAC West divisional opponent, Ball State, at James A. Rhodes Arena with eight games remaining in the 2018-19 regular season. The Zips welcome in the Cardinals on Wednesday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m.

Stop, Watch, and Listen
The Zips' radio broadcast will air 1350 Fox Sports with Bill Morgan calling the action live from the JAR. You can also tune in and stream the game live on ESPN+ HERE, with Michael Reghi and Jacki Windon on the call.

Scouting the Cardinals
Ball State, a team that finished 25-7 in 2017-18, has not seen the on-court success transition into the 2018-19 campaign. On the year, the Cardinals own a 7-15 overall record after 22 games and in Mid-American Conference play, Ball State sits 2-8 including 0-5 on the road.

Oshlynn Brown and Jasmin Samz lead the offensive production for Ball State as the duo average 13.6 and 10.1 points per game, respectively. Brown, the Cardinals leading scorer, is shooting 50.4-percent from the floor and has gone to the free throw line 118 times with 72 makes. A member of the Ball State frontcourt, Brown is also the teams leading rebounder averaging 9.4 boards per game, which is 5.2 rebounds more than the second leading rebounder, Thelma Dis Agustsdottir (4.2). Along with recording the Cardinals second-most points, Samz has recorded a team-high 70 assists as the starting point guard. Additionally, Samz shoots .432 from the floor, grabs 3.4 rebounds per game, and has 24 steals on the year. Maliah Howard-Bass and Dis Agustsdottir nearly average double figures in scoring with 9.4 points per game each. Howard-Bass has made a team-high 38 three-pointers while Dis Agustsdottir has recorded a team-best .488 three-point percentage.

In the NCAA, Brown ranks 30th in double-doubles (10), 50th in rebounds per game (9.4), 59th in total rebounds (207), 68th in field goal percentage (50.4), and 81st in free throw attempts (118). Brown also ranks second in the MAC in all categories but field goal percentage where she is rated fourth.

Probable Starters
Ball State: Oshlynn Brown, Jasmin Samz, Nakeya Penny, Maliah Howard-Bass, Thelma Dis Agustsdottir.

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

Series History
Ball State and Akron are set to meet on the hardwood for the 40th time in program history since the inaugural meeting back in 1986. Since their first competition, the Cardinals owns a 23-16 all-time series record against the Zips. Akron has not defeated Ball State since 2014 (0-6). Prior to that, the Zips beat the Cardinals in eight straight contests from 2010-2014.

Last Time Out
The University of Akron women's basketball team met Ball State for the second time this season in hopes to square up the season series, but a strong offensive day by the Cardinals helped defeat the Zips, 97-65, at John E. Worthen Arena.

The Zips point guard duo of sophomore Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and freshman Destiny Perkins (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored in double figures to lead the Akron offense. Edmonds went on to score 15 points and dished out six assists, while Perkins contributed 11 points and four assists. Sophomore Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) added nine points and pulled in a team-high nine rebounds.

As a unit, Akron (7-14, 1-9 MAC) shot 35.9-percent (23-of-64) from the field and 28.6-percent (8-of-28) from distance. At the charity stripe, Akron shot 11-of-16 for 68.8-percent. The Zips opponent, Ball State (18-3, 7-3), shot 46.9-percent (38-of-81) from the floor and matched Akron from beyond the arc, 28.6-percent.

Coaches
Ball State: Brady Sallee, is amidst his seventh season at the helm of the Ball State women's basketball program since taking over in 2012. Sallee has led the Cardinals to six straight postseason appearances, three straight 20+ win seasons, and a 127-90 record.

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 Ball State, Akron Would...

Earn its 14th victory of the 2018-19 season.
Give the Zips their fifth MAC win and move to 5-6 in league play.
Be the 147th win during Mid-American Conference play.
Claim its 17th win over Ball State and first since 2014.
Become the 13th team in Akron program history to win at least 14 games and the 11th Zips squad to do so in the Division I era.
Win back-to-back games following a loss for the fourth time this season.
Coach Jackson would become the first head coach in program history to reach 14 wins in their season debut.

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 16th 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 25 of her last 33 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 20th in the nation averaging 3.14 triples per contest, rated 29th in three-point field goals made (66), 29th in three-point field goals attempted (182), and 119th in three-point field goal percentage (.363).
As a unit, the Akron ranks 38th in three-point field goals made per game (8.2), 58th in three-point field goals made (172), 92nd in three-point field goal attempts (497), and 56th in three-point field goal percentage (.346).
The Akron offense has taken care of the ball well through its 21 games with just 300 turnovers which ranks 27th in the nation and their 14.3 turnovers per game rank 68th.
As a team, the Zips rank 55th in the NCAA in free throw percentage at 73.6-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 13 of its 21 games
The Akron offense has made a minimum of five three-pointers in 20 of its 21 games including a season-high 12 triples on three different occasions.
Only eight teams have made more than 25 field goals in a contest through 21 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 712-634.
Akron has only entered the halftime intermission trailing its opponent nine times through 21 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 15 of its 21 games including a season-high 22.
Shayna Harmon dished out a career-high seven assists against Canisius.
Sefcik has made four three-pointers in nine games, at least one triple in 20 of 21 games, and a single-game season-high of six netted triples against Northern Kentucky and Toledo.
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 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 198 offensive rebounds through 21 games. Akron has turned their second chances into 183 points.
Caitlin Vari has grabbed a team-best 61 offensive boards, including a season-best eight against Canisius, at least two offensive caroms in 16 games, and recorded a team-high in offensive rebounds in 12 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 then 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 108 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.
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 then 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 point total against Buffalo (13).
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 7,985 minutes and have played in a combined 370 games since their freshman seasons.
Akron overcame a 12-point deficit against Toledo and defeated the Rockets, 70-64, their largest deficit of the season.
The Zips scored 17 points in the overtime period vs. Toledo, which almost equaled there point total in the entire first half (21).
Megan Sefcik scored 25 of her season-high 29 points against Toledo in the second half and overtime period and connected on a season-best six three-pointers for the second time this season.
Akron's 70 points against the Rockets were tied for the third-most points given up by UT all season.
After trailing on the glass in the first half, the Zips ended the game with a 35-34 rebound advantage over UT.
Shaunay Edmonds and Shayna Harmon combined to dish out 13 of the Zips 18 assists, which occurred on 81-percent of the Zips made field goals.
Akron recorded its highest three-point shooting percentage of the season against Ohio (52.4-percent).
Alyssa Clay went off against the Bobcats playing the best game of her career scoring a career-best 25 points, shot 9-of-14 from the floor, 5-of-6 from long range, and 2-for-4 from the free throw line. Her five triples against OU are the second-most Clay has connected on in a single game (6 vs. BG, 1/13/18).
Shaunay Edmonds scored a season-high 24 points in game two against Western Michigan. She fell three points shy of her career-high 27 points set last season.
The Akron offense turned the ball over a season-low seven times against Western Michigan. This is the first time a Zips team has recorded less than eight turnovers in a game since 2015-16 when Akron tallied just five turnovers against Bowling Green (3/5/16).
The Zips completed Akron's first season sweep of Western Michigan since 2011.
The 2018-19 Zips squad is 15th team in Akron program history to win at least 13 games and the 12th Zips squad to do so in the Division I era.
Against the Broncos, Haliegh Reinoehl recorded her third double-double of the season, all of which have come in Mid-American Conference play.
Caitlin Vari best her career-high in scoring against Western Michigan turning in a 15 point performance.
In nine of the last 10 games, the Zips have had at least three players score in double figures and in 15 of their 21 contests overall. Akron is 9-6 in those games.

Where They Rank in the MAC, as a team (as of 2/12)

Rated 9th in scoring (66.0 ppg)
Ranked sixth in scoring defense allowing just 65.1 points per contest.
Akron's +1.0 scoring margin is ranked eighth in the league.
Akron is rated ninth in field goal percentage (.404) and ninth in field goal percentage allowed (.403).
From long range, Akron ranks fourth in 3FG made per game (8.2) and fourth in 3FG% (.346).
Ranked sixth in free throw percentage (.736).
Rated fourth in rebounding defense (36.4), eighth in rebounding margin (-1.0), 6th in defensive rebounds (26.0 per game), and 10th in offensive rebounds (9.4)
The Zips 6.62 steals per contest are a league 10th-best.
Akron's 58 blocked shots (2.76 per/game) are fourth-best in the conference rankings.
Akron ranks eighth in turnover margin (0.57) and sixth assists/turnover ratio (0.93).

Where They Rank in the MAC, Individually (as of 2/12)

Megan Sefcik is rated sixth in scoring (16.6 pts/game).
In the rebounding category, Reinoehl has the seventh most boards per contest (7.3/game) and Caitlin Vari ranks 10th (6.6/game).
Sefcik ranks 10th in FG% (.404), 7th in 3FG% (.363), 5th in 3FG made per game (3.1), and 2nd in free throw% (.900)
Shayna Harmon ranks 12th in assists (3.5 apg) and fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.9).
Shaunay Edmonds ranks 11th in steals per game (1.7 per game) and Sefcik ranks 10th (1.8 per game).

Where They Rank in MAC PLay, as a team (as of 2/12)

Rated sixth in scoring (67.5 ppg)
Akron is rated seventh in field goal percentage (.416).
From long range, Akron ranks second in 3FG made per game (9.0) and first in 3FG% (.383).
Ranked sixth in free throw percentage (.728).
Fourth in rebounding defense (37.0).
Akron's 29 blocked shots (2.90 per/game) are sixth-best the conference rankings.
Akron ranks eighth in turnover margin (-1.70) and sixth assists/turnover ratio (0.92).

Where They Rank in MAC Play, Individually (as of 2/12)

Megan Sefcik is rated 10th in scoring (16.6 pts/game).
In the rebounding category, Reinoehl has the eighth most boards per contest (8.0/game) and Caitlin Vari ranks 12th (6.7/game).
Sefcik ranks 12th in FG% (.383), fifth in 3FG% (.348), and third in 3FG made per game (3.1).
Shayna Harmon ranks 8th in assists (3.9 apg) and first in assist/turnover ratio (3.0).
Edmonds is rated 13th in steals per game (1.6 per game) and Sefcik ranks 14th (1.6 per game).

Up Next
The Zips close out a three-game homestand on Saturday, Feb. 16, as Akron welcomes Miami to town. Akron and the RedHawks are scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip-off inside James A. Rhodes Arena. The contest between Akron and Miami represents the 'Akron for Nakon' in conjunction with the Zips annual breast cancer awareness day.