Akron’s Second-Half Rally Thwarted as Zips Fall at Kent State, 64-58

Saturday, March 6

Kent, Ohio

2:00 PM

University of Akron

7-14,4-14MAC

Kent State

11-8,10-6MAC

Akron

Kent St.

Akron’s Second-Half Rally Thwarted as Zips Fall at Kent State, 64-58

March 06 | Women's Basketball

Box Score

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BOXSCORE (PDF)

KENT, Ohio - A spirited second-half rally for the University of Akron women's basketball team came up just short as Kent State (11-8, 10-6 MAC) held on for a 64-58 triumph past the Zips (7-14, 4-14 MAC) on Saturday, March 6 at the M.A.C. Center.

"This was a disappointing loss today," Akron head coach Melissa Jackson commented. "I knew rebounding would be the key and we allowed Kent to have their way on the boards. Obviously, it was a poor start to the game for us, but I was proud of our fight to come back. I thought we really looked out of sorts offensively today and only seven assists prove that. Our ball movement was not what we have been showing lately."

The contest marked the final game of the 2020-21 for Akron as the Mid-American Conference realigned its league tournament to include only the top-eight teams.

"It has been a challenging year on many levels," said Jackson. "I am so proud of our team for competing through a pandemic and all the sacrifices they have made. Although our record is not where we want it to be, we absolutely grew as a team and got better as the year went on. We have a lot of work to do, but I am very excited about the future of Akron Basketball."

The triumph tightened the standings in the Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center Wagon Wheel Challenge as the Golden Flashes picked up a full point in the lone meeting between the two schools this season. Akron currently maintains a 4.0-3.0 series lead through nine events.

For the fifth time in the last six games to close the campaign, redshirt freshman G Layne Ferrell (Franklin, Ohio) scored in double figures for the Zips netting a team-high 17 points. Joining her with a double-digit scoring performance was sophomore F Molly Neitzel (Rocky River, Ohio), who tallied 10 points.

Nila Blackford led all players with a game-high 21 points for Kent State, while Katie Shumate and Casey Santoro added 15 and 10 points, respectively.

The Zips finished the affair shooting 42 percent from the field, while connecting at a .455 clip from beyond the arc as Akron made five three pointers. Kent State earned the decision despite shooting just 32.3 percent from the floor.

The Golden Flashes earned a 48-24 advantage in rebounds, including a 22-4 margin on the offensive glass, which Kent State parlayed into a 36-28 margin in points in the paint.

The finish was in stark contrast to the opening quarter which saw Akron fall behind 18-7 after the opening 10 minutes of play as the Zips were 2-of-13 from the field in the opening stanza.

Akron refused to quit as the Zips dusted themselves off and rose to the challenge in the second quarter as an 9-2 run to close the half allowed the squad to outscore the Golden Flashes, 18-11, to enter the intermission trailing by four, 29-25.

Akron shot 63.6 percent from the field in the second period as the Zips were 7-for-11 from the floor. Akron received baskets from juniors G Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell (Solon, Ohio) and G Kendall Miller (Akron, Ohio), Ferrell and freshman G Alexis Stewart (Hamilton, Ontario) during the scoring run to close the half.

Kent State opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run to assume a 36-27 advantage at the 6:41 mark. The Zips responded with a 7-0 run of their own sparked by five points from Ferrell and a driving lay-up by Molly Neitzel to draw within two, 36-34, at the 4:54 mark.

Akron was able to draw no closer to close the period as the Zips entered the final period trailing by four, 44-40.

Akron entered the fourth quarter attempting to garner its initial lead of the game. After the two teams exchanged the first three baskets of the quarter, senior F Jordyn Dawson (Huntington, W.Va.) connected on back-to-back triples to draw the Zips back to even, 48-all, with 6:50 left in regulation.

A pair of free throws for Kent State pushed its lead back to two, 50-48, before Ferrell tied the contest with a jumper at the 5:23 mark.

It proved to be as close as the Zips got down the stretch as the Golden Flashes earned the victory.