Buffalo Rallies Past Akron, 77-55

Wednesday, February 3

Akron, Ohio

7:00 PM

University of Akron

4-10,1-10MAC

Buffalo

10-5,7-3MAC

Buffalo

Akron

February 03 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Follow Akron Women's Basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Follow Coach Jackson on Twitter

BOXSCORE | POST-GAME COMMENTS

AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron women's basketball team started strong and battled from the opening tip, but in the end, Buffalo (10-5, 7-3 MAC) overcame a nine-point first-quarter deficit to hand the Zips (4-10, 1-10 MAC) a 77-55 setback on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Senior F Jordyn Dawson (Huntington, W.Va.) led the offensive charge for Akron registering a team-high 16-point, seven-rebound, seven-assist and three-steal performance. Sophomore G Molly Neitzel (Rocky River, Ohio) reached double figures with a 10-point and seven-rebound effort, while junior G Kendall Miller (Akron, Ohio) and redshirt freshman G Emma Tecca (Tallmadge, Ohio) contributed nine points apiece.

Dyaisha Fair directed three Bulls scoring in double figures with a game-high 24 points, while Elea Gaba and Zena Elias added 15 and 11 tallies, respectively.

The Zips finished the evening shooting 32.8 percent from the field, including connecting on six three pointers, three coming off the shooting touch of Tecca. After shooting just 18.8 percent from the floor in the opening quarter, Buffalo capped their evening shooting 41 percent from the floor overall.

The Bulls parlayed a 49-45 rebounding advantage into a 38-26 edge in points in the paint, while Buffalo also garnered a 32-12 margin in bench points.

It was an offensive avalanche for Akron in the opening period as the Zips rained down triples on the offensive end and hit eight of their first 14 shots en route to a 20-4 edge less than seven minutes into the contest. Included in that onslaught were four three-pointers – three by Tecca – and a 14-10 rebounding edge. Three forced turnovers on the defensive end allowed the Zips to build and sustain their double-digit lead.

Dawson's passing set up numerous scoring chances as she tallied four assists in the opening 10 minutes. The Bulls were able to close the gap in the second quarter, holding the hosts to six points in the stanza en route to taking a 28-26 lead into the intermission.

Akron was able to generate good looks in transition to keep its offense going, outscoring the Bulls 8-3 in transition points before intermission. For the game, the Zips held a 13-5 edge in fast-break scoring.

After Dawson squared the contest at 30-all with a lay-up at the 8:16 mark of the third quarter, the Bulls went on a 15-3 run over the next 5:53 to assume a 45-33 lead. The Zips finished the stanza on a 6-4 run of their own, but trailed after 30 minutes of play, 49-39.

Buffalo stretched their margin to as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter before exiting the contest with a 77-55 triumph.

Akron is scheduled to travel to Muncie, Ind., to face Ball State in a 4 p.m. matinee affair on Saturday, Feb. 6. The contest will be broadcast on the Akron Radio Network 640 WHLO AM with Bill Morgan calling the action.