Dawson's Career Day Leads Akron To A 75-62 Road Victory At Miami

Saturday, February 29

Oxford, OH

1 PM

University of Akron

14-13,7-9MAC

Miami (OH)

11-17,4-12MAC

Akron

Miami (OH)

Dawson's Career Day Leads Akron To A 75-62 Road Victory At Miami

February 29 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score | Box Score (PDF)

OXFORD, Ohio – Behind a career day from junior Jordyn Dawson (Huntington, W. Va.) tallying a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds, the Akron women's basketball team swept the season series against Miami after dropping the RedHawks, 75-62, and picked up a key Mid-American Conference victory inside Millett Hall on Saturday afternoon.

Akron improved to 7-9 inside league play, 14-13 overall, and stayed above the top-8 threshold in the Mid-American Conference standings with two games remaining in the 2019-20 regular-season.

The Zips built an 11-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation. Despite Miami trimming its deficit to as little as three points (61-58) with 5:16 to play, the Zips defense locked in and UA's offense started rolling, including Dawson who scored seven straight points in a just under a three-minute span and Akron outscored the RedHawks 14-4. Senior Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) iced the contest with four free throws in the final minute.

The three-headed monster of Dawson, Edmonds, and senior captain Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) spearheaded the Akron offense against the RedHawks. In addition to her career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds, Dawson also collected three blocks, two assists, and one steal. Reinoehl posted 15 points, shot 3-for-5 from long range, grabbed five rebounds, and recorded two assists. Edmonds controlled the pace of the game for Akron as the Zips point guard scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting and a perfect 6-for-6 from the line while dishing out a game-high eight assists.

As a unit, Akron shot 47.2-percent from the floor, including a game-high 58.3-percent (41.7-percent) in the second quarter alone. From beyond the perimeter, the Zips were efficient shooting at a 53.3-percent clip with four Zips notching a triple. From the charity stripe, the Zips connected on 17 of its 22 attempts with crucial free ones coming in the fourth quarter, 8-for-8.

A sluggish start to the first quarter that saw Akron trailing 18-11 after 10 minutes of play and shooting just 5-for-15, was an afterthought for the Zips heading into the second quarter.

UA shut down the RedHawks on the defensive end and was lights out offensively. Akron outscored Miami 25-6, went on an 11-2 run to take its first lead of the game (23-21), led 25-24 at the media timeout, and out of the break the Zips rolled to 14 straight points to claim a 37-24 lead at the half.

During the Zips 14-0 run, four Zips tallied at least two points including Dawson (5), Edmonds (4), senior Alyssa Clay (3), and Reinoehl (2). Akron hit one three, scored four points in the paint, seven at the free throw line.

Thanks to a big second quarter, Akron held a 20-6 advantage in the paint, and scored 10 second chance points. Seven Zips etched their names into the scoring column while Dawson (12) and Reinoehl (10) led the way. For Miami, the RedHawks shot just 2-for-19 and turned the ball over eight times.

Akron again started sluggish out of the halftime break, but this time, the Zips were able to make adjustments at the midway point and got right back to work. While Miami out cored the Zips, 20-18, in the period, Akron still held onto an 11-point (55-44) lead after three quarters.

After letting a double-digit lead slip away in the first five minutes of the fourth, Akron shut the door on the RedHawks down the stretch to pick up the W.

The Zips played on Leap Day for just the second time in program history and for the first time in 40 years. Akron now stands 2-0 all-time when the year has 366 days defeating Central State (80-75) in 1980 and Miami (75-62) in 2020.

The final week of the 2019-20 Akron women's basketball team awaits the Zips with two final contests at James A. Rhodes Arena. First up is a midweek clash against Buffalo on Wednesday March 4, at 7 p.m. The contest marks the second match-up between the Zips and Bulls of the season.