Midweek MACtion Returns To The JAR As Akron Hosts Miami

Wednesday, January 22

Akron, OH

7 PM

University of Akron

Miami University (OH)

Midweek MACtion Returns To The JAR As Akron Hosts Miami

January 21 | Women's Basketball

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Akron (8-8,1-4 MAC) vs. Miami (8-9, 1-4 MAC)
Wednesday, Jan. 22
Akron, Ohio • James A. Rhodes Arena • 7:00 p.m.
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What's Ahead
The Akron women's basketball team closes out its two-game homestand, looks to get back into the win column, and capture its second win against a MAC East opponent as the Zips host Miami (OH), on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. Midweek MACtion between UA and the RedHawks can be seen on ESPN+ or heard live on Fox Sports 1350 with Bill Morgan on the call.

Scouting the RedHawks
Coming into James A. Rhodes Arena on Wednesday, Miami has dropped its last three contests and four of its last five match-ups to record a 1-4 record in Mid-American Conference play. The RedHawks defeated Northern Illinois, 66-64, on Jan. 8, while falling short against Buffalo (72-86), Central Michigan (70-76), and Eastern Michigan (53-80). Overall through 17 games, Miami sits at 8-9 on the year while struggling on the road with a 3-6 mark.

Three starters in the RedHawks' lineup pace the offensive attack scoring a combined 703 of Miami's 1,202 total points (58-percent). Leading the way for all RedHawk players is senior guard Lauren Dickerson who averages team-highs in points (15.7 ppg), assists (3.8 apg), and steals (2.4 spg). Dickerson is shooting 35.9-percent from the floor and has made a team-high 47 made three-pointers. Senior forward, Savannah Kluesner, owns a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game which ranks third in the MAC. Kluesner also scores 13.5 points per match-up, recorded a league-best 34 blocks, and shoots 45-percent from the field. Peyton Scott in her first season at Miami and collegiate career is scoring 12.1 points per game.

As a team, Miami ranks in the top-50 in NCAA in five statistical categories including, turnovers forced (37th, 20.0), turnover margin (38th, 4.29), steals per game (47th, 10.3), steals (48th, 175), and three-point field goals attempted (48th, 410). Dickerson ranks 36th in three-point field goals made while Kluesner is rated 21st in double-doubles.

Probable Starters
Miami: Lauren Dickerson, Savannah Kluesner, Peyton Scott, Kelly McLaughlin, Abbey Hoff.

Akron: Shaunay Edmonds, Shayna Harmon, Jordyn Dawson, Haliegh Reinoehl, Caitlin Vari.

Series History
Miami and Akron have competed on the hardwood 55 times since the inaugural meeting in 1982. The Zips trail in the all-time series record, 16-39, to the RedHawks. Akron looks for its first win over Miami since 2016 as UA has dropped six straight over the course of the past three seasons. Before that, the Zips won six straight over Miami (2014-16) and eight of nine dating back to 2013.

Last Time Out
In the final regular-season game of her career, redshirt senior Megan Sefcik (Austintown, Ohio) became the 16th Akron player to eclipse the 1,000-career point mark as the 2018-19 Akron women's basketball regular season came to a close with the Zips falling 66-49 to the Miami RedHawks inside Millett Hall.

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 46th double-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.

Coaches
Miami: DeUnna Hendrix, in her first season as head coach of the Miami women's basketball program. Hendrix joined the RedHawks program as the ninth head coach in program history after spending seven seasons as head coach at High Point.

Akron: Melissa Jackson begins her second season at the helm of the Akron women's basketball program. In her debut season, Jackson led the Zips to a 16-15 overall record, a 7-11 MAC ledger, improved by seven wins overall and +4 in conference victories. Jackson's squad became just the eighth team in program history to win at least 16 games in a season.

Mid-American Conference Member
The Zips have been a member of the Mid-American Conference for the past 28 years after joining the league in 1992 from the North Star Conference.

With A Win Over Miami, Akron Would...

Earn its ninth win of the 2019-20 season
Improve to 9-8 on the season and 2-4 in the MAC.
Improves the Zips home record to 4-5.
Hand head coach Melissa Jackson her 26th career win.
Capture the Zips 477th program win.
End a two-game losing streak overall and a six-game losing streak to Miami.

Zips Tidbits

The 2019-20 season marks the 46th season of competition for the Akron women's basketball program.
Junior Jordyn Dawson and two freshmen, Rachel Martindale and Lonasia Brewer, made their respective collegiate debuts against St. Bonaventure. Martindale played 15 minutes and scored two points while Brewers saw more minutes of action.
Dawson provided a big spark for the Zips in her Akron debut. JD scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds, and was +25 in +/- when on the court.
Akron picked up its first victory of the season against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 63-54. The win marked the sixth time since 2012-13 that Akron captured a win in the season opener.
Shaunay Edmonds recorded the first double-double of her career scoring 20 points and tallying a career-high 10 steals, including 5 steals in the fourth quarter alone.
Haliegh Reineohl posted her team-leading 25th career double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds).
Forward Caitlin Vari eclipsed the 500 career point mark against St. Bonaventure with her 13 point effort.
In the fourth quarter against St. Bonaventure, Akron outscored the Bonnies 20-4 and scored 17 unanswered points in the final six minutes of the game.
The Zips went to the free-throw line 31 times against St. Bonaventure and connected on 25 attempts. Akron fell two made free throws shy of tying the 10th most free throws made in a single-game.
Defensively, UA limited St. Bonaventure to a game-low four points in the quarter as the Bonnies shot 1-for-13, committed seven turnovers, and Edmonds single-handedly ripped five steals.
Jordyn Dawson registered her first career double-double in an Akron uniform against Fort Wayne while Haliegh Reinoehl notched back-to-back double-doubles to start the season.
UA grabbed a season-high 41 team rebounds, including 14 offensive boards. Dawson and Reinoehl accounted for 24 of the Zips rebounds.
Against the Mastodons, UA scored 34 points in the paint, 20 points in the paint, and the Zips contributed 23 points.
The Zips led for 30:40 of the game against Purdue Fort Wayne and led by as many as +11.
Akron captured two straight wins to begin the season in back-to-back campaigns.
Against Michigan, four Akron players scored in double figures including Haliegh Reinoehl (14), Jordyn Dawson (13), Shayna Harmon (13), Rachel Martindale (12).
Martindale scored a career-high 12 points and knocked down four triples against UM.
As a team, UA shot a season-high 45.9-percent from the floor and 40.7-percent from long range.
The Zips led then No. 24 Michigan for a total of 2:43 and led by as many as four.
UA outscored the Wolverines 22-16 in the second quarter and 24-14 in the third quarter.
Akron earned its third win of the season against YSU as the Zips rolled to a 91-62 victory.
In the 40 minute contest, the Zips led for a season-high 39:18 and led by as many as +34.
From distance, Akron shot a season-best .407 against the Penguins.
In the plus/minus category, all five starters against YSU, Reineohl, Vari, Dawson, Harmon, and Edmonds, were all +25 or high, including a game-high +31 by Vari.
All 12 players who checked into the contest against YSU recorded at least one point.
Freshman guard Molly Neitzel scored the first three points of her career while Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell matched her career-high with 13 points.
Against Detroit, the Zips recorded a season-high 20 assists, including a game- and season-high five by Shaunay Edmonds.
In the third quarter alone, Edmonds scored or assisted on six of the Zips 10 field goals en route to six points, four assists, and two steals. Haliegh Reinoehl added five points with four rebounds and Shayna Harmon scored five points, two rebounds, and two assists to help lead the Zips to a +11 advantage (25-14).
Akron led for 33 of the 40 minute contest against Cleveland State before a late push by the Vikings earned CSU the win.
The backcourt duo of Haliegh Reineohl and Caitlin Vari scored a combined 30 of the Zips 62 points. Reineohl notched her third double-double (16 pts, 10 reb) and led the Zips in scoring for the fourth time in 2019-20, while Vari scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Junior Jordyn Dawson scored seven of her nine points in the fourth quarter against CSU while Shayna Harmon posted a season-high seven rebounds, team-high four assists, made eight free throws, and tallied three steals.
The Zips two best quarters offensively against CSU came in the second and fourth periods where UA shot a combined 13-for-30 and tallied 36 of its 62 total points.
Against Duquesne, Kendall Miller played a career-high 31 minutes and tied a career-mark five assists.
Freshman Rachel Martindale matched her career-high 12 points against the Dukes, went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, 3-for-3 from long range, and 1-for-1 from the free throw line.
Against Butler, Jordyn Dawson scored 10 of the Zips 13 third quarter points.
Lonasia Brewer scored a career-high eight points against the Bulldogs while Dawson matched a season-high 18 points.
Senior Haliegh Reinoehl scored a season-high 22 points against NC A&T, which fell one point shy of her career-best 23 points.
Senior guard Shayna Harmon turned in 12 points against the Aggies going a perfect 4-for-4 from long range.
The Zips defense forced 23 turnovers by the NC A&T offense while the Akron offense assisted on 17 of its 24 made field goals.
Akron went 2-0 at the 2019 Puerto Rico Classic defeating Denver and Morgan State. The Zips are 4-0 went participating in December holiday tournaments in the past two seasons and collected a three-game win streak (2019) and four-game win streak (2018) to close out the past two non-conference schedules.
Against the Pioneers, senior Haliegh Reinoehl recorded a career day scoring 26 points while senior Caitlin Vari grabbed a career-best 17 rebounds.
The Zips led by just one point heading into the fourth quarter against Denver before scoring a season-high 34 points and shot 91.6-percent from the floor in the final 10 minutes of play to defeat DU by +16.
Akron set season-highs in points in the paint (50 ) and points off turnovers (34) while tying season-high numbers in points scored (88) and assists (21).
In her first Mid-American Conference contest against CMU, junior Jordyn Dawson scored a career-high 25 points, shot 50-percent from the floor, and grabbed seven rebounds.
Akron scored 14 unanswered points against Bowling Green in the final 2:29 of the fourth to complete a come-from-behind 76-73 victory over the Falcons.
Defensively, the Zips shutdown the Falcons offense in the closing minutes of the fourth as BG went 0-for-3, turned the ball over twice, and committed three fouls sending UA to the line.
In the fourth quarter alone, Akron outscored BGSU, 27-17, shot a game-high 55.6-percent from the floor, 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, scored 16 points in the paint, 10 points off turnovers, eight second-chance points, and seven fastbreak points.
The Zips starting five of Edmonds, Dawson, Harmon, Reinoehl, and Vari accounted for 71 of Akron's 76 points against Bowling Green.
Haliegh Reinoehl matched a career-high 26 points against BGSU and recorded her fourth double-double of the season.
Caitlin Vari pulled down 16 rebounds against Bowling Green and scored 14 points for her second double-double of the season.
Haliegh Reinoehl recorded a double-double in back-to-back games for the first time this season against Bowling Green (26/11) and Toledo (15/10).
Akron outscored Toledo 42-27 in the second half and 22-13 in the fourth quarter.
Down by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, Akron rallied in the third and fourth quarter to claim its first lead over Toledo at the 4:10 mark. The Zips outscored the Rockets 28-7 which included 11 straight points beginning at 3:36 in the third and ended at 4:09 in the fourth.
Alyssa Clay scored a season-high nine points against the Rockets going 3-for-6 from distance.
Caitlin Vari has scored in double figures in all four MAC contests and in five of the Zips last six games.
Sophomore Kendall Miller scored a career-high 11 points against Northern Illinois on 5-of-7 shooting and 1-of-2 from long range.
Haliegh Reinoehl has now scored in double figures in three straight games, in six of the Zips last eight games, and 12 of UA's 16 total contests.
In two games, 11 players who checked into the game scored a minimum of one point in the contests against YSU and Detroit. A season-high 12 players scored in the Zips win against the Penguins.
The Zips have had four players score in double figures in four of its 15 games while a minimum of two Akron players have notched double digits in the scoring column in 13 of 15 contests and a season-best five Zips tallied double figures against YSU.
The Zips in the NCAA (stats as of 1/21):
Turnovers: Fewest turnovers (38th, 232), turnovers per game (76th, 14.5), turnover margin (85th, 2.63), assist/turnover ratio (130th, 0.90).
Free Throws: free-throw percentage (148th, .697).
Scoring: scoring margin (169th, +1.9), scoring offense (139th, 67.4), field goal percentage (144th, 40.5).
Defense: fewest fouls (110th, 277), steals per game (168th, 8.0).
Zips players in the NCAA (stats as of 1/21):
Haliegh Reinoehl - 148th rebounds per game (7.9), 200th field goal percentage (43.0), 216th points per game (14.4)
Jordyn Dawson - 197th steals per game (1.88).
Shaunay Edmonds - 197th steals per game (1.88).
Team Game-Highs: Points (91, YSU), field goals made (33, YSU), three-pointers (12), free throws made (25, SBU), rebounds (46, NC A&T), assists (21, Denver.), steals (12, SBU, CSU), blocks (7, Det.)
Individual Game-Highs: Points (26, Reinoehl), field goals made (11 Dawson), three-pointers (4, Martindale), free throws made (8, Harmon), rebounds (17, Vari), assists (6 Edmonds), steals (10, Edmonds).

Up Next
After a short stint back home at James A. Rhodes Arena, the Akron women's basketball team is back on the road for two contests beginning in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Zips are scheduled to square off against Western Michigan for the second time this season on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 2 p.m. inside the Read Fieldhouse and University Arena.