Sefcik Eclipses 1K Points, Akron Ends 2018-19 Regular Season With 66-49 Setback At Miami

Saturday, March 9

Oxford, Ohio

2 PM

University of Akron

16-13

Miami University (OH)

22-7

Akron

Miami (OH)

Sefcik Eclipses 1K Points, Akron Ends 2018-19 Regular Season With 66-49 Setback At Miami

March 09 | Women's Basketball

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OXFORD, Ohio – In the final regular season game of her career, redshirt senior Megan Sefcik (Austintown, Ohio) became the 15^thAkron player to eclipse the 1,000-career point mark as the 2018-19 Akron women's basketball regular season came to a close on Saturday afternoon with the Zips falling 66-49 to the Miami RedHawks inside Millett Hall.

The Zips ended the 2018-19 regular-season campaign with a 16-13 overall record, including a 7-11 Mid-American Conference ledger. UA improved by seven wins from a year ago and captured four more conference victories.

Akron now sets its sights on the 2019 Mid-American Conference Tournament which starts on Monday, March 11. The Zips enter the postseason as the eighth seed and are scheduled to host No. 9 Eastern Michigan at James A. Rhodes Arena at 5 p.m. during the opening round.

Eight different Akron players tallied at least one point in the scorebook against the RedHawks. Junior Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) led all Zips in the scoring column and dropped 16-points, went 4-for-5 from long range, grabbed six rebounds, and added one assist, one steal, and one block. The Zips leading scorer, Sefcik, ended the game with the 46^thdouble-digit scoring performance of her career turning in 12 points, four rebounds, and two steals while hitting two three-pointers. Junior Caitlin Vari (Richfield, Ind.) nearly recorded double-figures with nine points to go along with three rebounds, a steal, and a block.

For the game, Akron ended with a 30.2-percent clip from the floor (16-for-53), while shooting a game-high 7-for-19 (36.8-percent) from beyond the arc. UA saw success on the offensive side of the floor in to start the game (46.7-percent) in the first quarter and to open the second half, (41.7-percent). However, the Zips struggled in the second and fourth quarter shooting under 24-percent in each stanza.

The first quarter between Akron and Miami ended in a shootout with the Zips taking a two-point advantage, 18-16, after the first ten minutes of play. UA ended the period shooting 46.7-percent (7-for-15), while the RedHawks edged the Zips turning in a 50-percent clip (8-for-16). Four of the Zips seven field goals came from long distance (4-for-7), while Miami went 0-for-3.

Miami quickly ran out to a 4-0 lead in the first two minutes of the contest. Akron countered scoring five unanswered points courtesy of a lay-in by junior Shayna Harmon (Ashville, Ohio) and Reinoehl's first three-pointer.

Sefcik took over from that point on for the Zips offense scoring the next seven Akron points. The Zips sharpshooter knocked down a 15-foot jumper from the baseline for her first two points of the contest, but more importantly, recorded her 1,000-career point on the play. Sefcik is the first Zip to reach the milestone since Hannah Plybon (2013-17).

The RedHawks heated up from the floor in the final half of the period and narrowly outscored Akron 8-6 to close out the stanza. However, Akron held onto an 18-16 lead after 10 minutes of play.

As the game rolled into quarter number two, Miami's offense stayed red hot while Akron hit a wall offensively. The Zips went just 1-for-13 in the quarter from the floor and added two free throws, all from the hand of Reinoehl.

While the Zips struggled, Miami poured in 16 points and claimed its largest lead of the game, 32-23, at the halftime break.

The third quarter seemed to be headed in the same direction as the period prior for the Zips. Akron did not score its first field goal in the stanza until the 7:51 mark but flipped the switch and took off.

In a matter of three minutes (7:51-4:47), UA shot 4-for-7 from the floor, a perfect 2-for-2 from long range, and trimmed the deficit down to six points as Akron outscored Miami 13-10 at the media break.

Five different Zips scored in that time span including four from Vari, three from both Sefcik and Reinoehl, two from Harmon, and one from sophomore Kynnedy Azubike (Columbus, Ohio).

Despite Akron's success, the RedHawks would not allow its lead to dip below six points and used a 12-6 run in the final 4:46 of the quarter to claim a game-high 12-point lead, 54-42, heading into the fourth quarter.

In the first two minutes of the final period of play, points came hard to come by for either side. Miami connected on its first field goal at the 7:48 mark while Akron's came with 6:34 left to play. Combined, UA and Miami went 2-for-8 from the floor.

With the offensive struggles from the floor and a brief period of darkness due to a power outage, Akron would not cut the deficit below 12 points in the fourth quarter as Miami secured its Senior Day win.

The 2019 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament is on deck for the Akron women's basketball team as the regular season came to a close. The Zips will enter the postseason tournament as the eighth seed and will host No. 9 Eastern Michigan at James A. Rhodes Arena in the first round contest on Monday, March 11, at 5 p.m.

Tickets for the first round of the upcoming MAC Tournament at the JAR are available at GoZips.com/tickets or call 888-99-AKRON, starting at $15 for the men's game and $6 for women the women's game, while students will still receive free admission with a valid student ID. Ticket prices for the men's contest will increase $5 on gameday.