Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
Akron
Women's Basketball Zips Past Akron
2/4/2006 9:30:43 PM | Women's Basketball
Nikki Knapp leads the Eagles with 20 points and 11 rebounds
YPSILANTI, Mich.--The Eastern Michigan University women’s basketball team used a 20-1 run midway through the first half to pull away from and knock off a visiting Akron squad, 68-51, in Mid-American Conference action here at the Convocation Center. After trailing early, the Eagles led by as many as 19-points in the first half and would never be threatened the rest of the game.
Senior Nikki Knapp (Blue Springs, Mo.-Blue Springs South) led three Eagles in double figures and turned in a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, including connecting on 7-of-12 from the field. Senior guard Ryan Coleman (Detroit, Mich.-CMA) added 14 points with 6 rebounds while junior Sarah VanMetre (Noblesville, Ind.-Noblesville) added 10 points. The win boosted EMU to 14-6 on the year and 8-1 in league play.
Akron, now 3-17 (0-9 MAC) on the year, was paced by Jessie Crooks with 18 points, while Jessica Deville added 16 off the bench. Nikki McCoy and Courtney Stewart each grabbed five rebounds to lead the Zips.
Head Coach Suzy Merchant’s Eagles held Akron to just 38.1 percent shooting from the field (17-of-45) and also out-rebounded the visitors by a whopping 16 boards (40 to 24). EMU dominated in the paint outscoring the Zips 48-20 downlow.
Both teams opened the contest looking crisp, Akron’s Jessie Crooks drained a three-pointer to start the scoring as the Zips jumped off to a 5-2 edge just 1:30 into the game. Back-to-back by layups by Knapp and Coleman keyed a 15-1 run over the next four and a half minutes to give Eastern a 17-6 lead with 13:29 to go in the period. Over that span, Knapp scored seven of the Eagles points on 3-of-3 shooting.
EMU’s run continued as Knapp tacked on a pair of free-throws and junior Annie Malatinsky (Holt, Mich.-Holt) hit a trey from the corner to give EMU a 16-point lead, 22-6, with 11:33 remaining in the half. Akron missed its next seven shots over an eight and a half minute span, before Jessica DeVille’s runner in the lane at the 9:30 mark made it 22-8. The offense continued to shine for the Eagles as a Coleman layup pushed the lead to 19, 29-10.
Crooks remained the dominate force in the Zip offense, scoring consecutive buckets to give her 10 points on the night and pull her team back within 16, 31-16, with just over five minutes left in the period. Akron used a 7-4 run of its own over the closing moments to cut the deficit to 12, 35-23, heading into the locker room at the half.
Junior Sarah VanMetre led the way for Eastern with 10 points and five rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Knapp added nine while Coleman and Malatinsky turned in six points each. UA was paced by Crooks with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with a team-best three board. As a team, the Eagles shot 51.7 percent from the floor (15-of-29) compared to a 38.1 percent clip for the Zips.
Following the intermission, the two squads traded scores to open the half with Akron remaining between 13 to 15 points down. Consecutive layups by Knapp and McKinney pushed the advantage back up to 19, 47-28, forcing UA to burn a time-out with 13:00 left in the contest. The scoring went silent for both teams, combining for six points in a three minute stretch, as the Eagles remained up 17.
A lauyp by junior Amy Freidenberger (Butler, Ind-Eastside) at the 7:07 mark stopped EMU’s four minute scoring drought to make it 51-34 and put the game out of the Akron’s reach. The Zips never has an answer for the Eagles tonight as Eastern saw its advantage grow to as much as 20, with 6:34 remaining in the game.
The Eagles are next in action Wednesday, Feb. 8, when they travel to Athens, Ohio for a cross-divisional match-up with Ohio University. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
