Edmonds Scores 1,000 Career Point As Akron Defeats Miami, 70-62

Wednesday, January 22

Akron, OH

7 PM

University of Akron

9-8,2-4MAC

Miami University (OH)

8-10,1-5MAC

Miami (OH)

Akron

Edmonds Scores 1,000 Career Point As Akron Defeats Miami, 70-62

January 22 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score | Box Score (PDF) | Video Highlights

AKRON, Ohio– The Akron women's basketball team got back in the win column emphatically snapping their losing streak Wednesday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena, powering past the visiting Miami RedHawks, 70-62, which was highlighted by senior Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) recording her 1,000^thcareer point.

Heading into the contests, Edmonds needed just eight points to reach the career milestone. Edmonds tallied her 1,000th career point knocking down two free throws just moments into the second half becoming the 18th player in program history to reach that mark. The last Zip to reach the 1K mark in program history was Megan Sefcik just one year ago (2018-19), which also happened to come against the RedHawks.

Edmonds finished the night with 15 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Forwards Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) and Jordyn Dawson (Huntington, W. Va.) led the Zips (9-8, 2-4 MAC) with 26 and 22 points, respectively. It was a career-best-tying scoring effort for Reinoehl, who matched the 26 she scored against Denver and Bowling Green earlier in the season. Dawson recorded her third career double-double as she also led the Zips with a career-high 13 rebounds.

Reinoehl was her usual dual-threat self, pacing her team for much of the night both in scoring and on the glass, where she tallied seven rebounds, including a team-best two on the offensive glass. Behind her efforts, Akron built a big lead throughout the first half, but Miami steadily battled back and made a game of it, closing to within two, 51-49, at the end of the third quarter.

Edmonds provided key points for the Zips early in the fourth quarter when she picked the pocket of Miami guard Peyton Scott and coasted in for an uncontested layup to pad the Akron lead to four points, a margin that quickly rose to seven when Reinoehl rained in her first three-pointer of the night to make the score 56-49, prompting a Miami timeout.

From there, Akron held on for the win, with Edmonds coming up clutch again with a three-pointer from the right wing with just under a minute left after Miami had closed to within three, 63-60.

For much of the night, it was the Akron defense that led the Zips, forcing the RedHawks into 19 turnovers and converted those miscues into 17 points. It was a defensive effort that took roots in the first quarter and grew from there as Akron held the RedHawks (8-10, 1-5 MAC) without a point for a 7:02 stretch in the first quarter, putting the squeeze on the visitors and forcing tough shot after tough shot while they steadily built a double-digit lead with a 14-0 run and ended the period with a 16-8 lead.

The Zips looked to feed the ball inside early, targeting Reinoehl with one post entry pass after another. The senior forward bullied her way to the hoop time and again, scoring nine points in the opening period and drawing four fouls.
Reinoehl continued her rampage in the paint in the second period, adding three more baskets to give her a game-high 15 first-half points to go with four rebounds and an assist, along with her usual strong interior defense.

She was joined in spearheading the Akron offense by Dawson, who was nearly as efficient as Reinoehl, scoring 11 points on just six field goal attempts and nabbing five rebounds. Combined, the two seniors needed just 14 field goal attempts to post 26 of their team's 33 points before the break, and they also snared more than half of the Zips' rebounds.

Still, it was the Akron defense that was the most consistent aspect of the opening half, limiting Miami to 29 points on 31.4-percent shooting in the first two stanzas.

The win capped a two-game homestand for the Zips and gave them a much-needed boost ahead of a road trip to Kalamazoo for a Jan. 25 contest against MAC West foe Western Michigan. The contest at Read Fieldhouse tips off at 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN3.