Buffalo Strong Third Quarter Pushes UB Past Akron, 76-61

Wednesday, March 4

Akron, OH

7 PM

University of Akron

14-14,7-10MAC

Buffalo

17-11,8-9MAC

Buffalo

Akron

Buffalo Strong Third Quarter Pushes UB Past Akron, 76-61

March 04 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score | Box Score (PDF) | Video Highlights

AKRON, Ohio– In the final week of the 2019-20 women's basketball regular-season and second to last home game of the season, the Akron Zips shook off a slow start and battled the visiting Buffalo Bulls before falling 76-61 in Wednesday night MAC women's basketball action.

Senior forward Haliegh Reinoehl (Westfield, Ind.) led Akron with 16 points, junior guard Jordyn Dawson (Huntington, W. Va.) had 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds while senior guard Shaunay Edmonds (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added nine points and a pair of assists.

The decisive span of the contest proved to be the middle and latter portions of the third quarter, when Akron turned the ball over five times and saw its deficit grow to as many as 15 points. Led by Reinoehl and Dawson, the Zips continued to battle for the remainder of the game, but weren't able to complete the comeback and ended up splitting the season series with Buffalo.

The Zips (14-14, 7-10 MAC) balanced outstanding three-point shooting with spans of struggles with turnovers from the outset, which resulted in a slow start to the game, a blistering finish to the first half and an intense second half.

They converted 35.3 percent of their three-pointers and were also nearly perfect from the foul line, making 11 of their 13 their charity tosses while also topping Buffalo in assists by a 13-7 margin.

At one point in the early going, the Zips trailed 6-4 despite making 66.7 percent of their field goal attempts, due to turnovers that ended multiple possessions. After falling behind by as many as nine points early in the second period, they closed the quarter with a 34-33 lead thanks in large part to an 11-0 run powered by three-pointers by Reinoehl and Clay.

For the half, Akron shot 6-of-11 from behind the arc, all the while playing excellent defense on Buffalo's long-range attempts. The Bulls (17-11, 8-9 MAC) missed all 10 of their first-half three-pointers, surviving offensively on a steady diet of layups and putbacks.

It all comes down to one final game as tournament seeding will be determined in the regular-season finale. Akron and Toledo own identical records heading into Saturday's contest, however, with the Rockets 65-61 win over the Zips in early January, UT sits just above UA in the league standings.

The next - and final - regular-season home game for Akron will be Feb. 7 at 2 p.m., as the Zips tangle with the Bowling Green Falcons. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and will be followed two days later by a first-round MAC Tournament game against an opponent to be determined.