Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, January 30
Akron, Ohio
2 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
13-7 (4-5MAC)
72
at
75
Akron
11-9 (5-4MAC)
1
2
3
4
F
Eastern Michigan
23
18
11
20
72
Akron
18
16
21
20
75
EMU Unable to Hold Off Akron’s Second Half Charge
1/30/2016 4:56:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Zips rally from a 12-point deficit for the second time this year against EMU
AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team fell in its Mid-American Conference cross-divisional tilt with the University of Akron, 75-72, Saturday, Jan. 30, at James A. Rhodes Arena. EMU (13-7, 4-5 MAC) led by as many as 12 points with 7:49 to play in the third quarter, but a 19-4 Akron run over a six minute span propelled the Zips (11-9, 5-4 MAC) back in front to begin the fourth quarter.
In the final frame, UA made 7-of-12 from the floor, but EMU still had a shot down the stretch thanks in part to poor free throw shooting by the home team. Down six with 26 seconds to play, junior Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) drilled her six three-pointer to cut it to three at 73-70. Anita Brown, who finished with a game-high 27, made both free throws to push it back up to five. Junior Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) quickly sprinted ahead and was fouled with six seconds still showing. Sweeney hit both but Akron threw over the top of the EMU defense and was fouled again with Brown going to the stripe. Luckily, for EMU she missed both but the Eagles' half court heave as time expired was blocked to seal the UA victory.
Sweeney finished with a team-high 23 points on 7-of-23 shooting while Morton hit a season-best six threes for 19 points in the loss. Sheyna Deans (Mt. Clemens Mich.-Mt. Clemens-St. Clair County C.C.) for the second consecutive game posted a career-best in points with 11, but EMU shot just 38.5 percent (26-of-65) for the contest.
Behind Brown's 27, Hannah Plybon finished with a season-best 24 points for the Zips who swept the season series from the Eagles in 2015-16.
The contest featured five ties and seven lead changes with Eastern Michigan owning its biggest lead, 48-36, with 7:49 left in the third quarter. Akron posted its largest margin in the game, six points, with 26 seconds remaining in the tilt. In total, the Green and White turned the ball over 15 times leading to 21 points off turnovers.
Eastern Michigan started off the game strong making a trio of three pointers to jump out to an 11-8 advantage. However, Akron tied the contest following a three pointer by Megan Sefcik at the 2:28 mark of the first quarter. The Eagles closed out the period with a 10-5 run to reclaim a 23-18 lead.
Akron began a gradual climb to even the affair with Eastern Michigan and eventually regained the lead, 32-30, after a long ball from Plybon with 3:03 left in the first half. With 2:08 left on the clock, the score was even 34-34 before the Eagles closed out the initial stanza on a 7-0 run to head into intermission with a 41-34 lead.
Eastern Michigan came out strong in the second half pushing its lead to double digits, 48-36, after a pair of free throws from Sweeney at the 7:49 mark.
Nevertheless, Akron ceased the momentum using a 19-4 spurt spearheaded by nine and eight points, respectively, from Brown and Plybon to take a 55-52 advantage into the final stanza.
The two teams traded baskets over the first three minutes of the fourth quarter until Eastern Michigan tied the game at 60 and went ahead for the final time, 63-60, on a triple from Morton at the 5:29 mark. After reclaiming the lead on a lay-up from Brown with four minutes left, Akron held on all the way to the end.
Eastern Michigan returns home Wednesday, Feb. 3, to host Central Michigan University. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The game will air on ESPN3 as well as WEMU 89.1 FM.
In the final frame, UA made 7-of-12 from the floor, but EMU still had a shot down the stretch thanks in part to poor free throw shooting by the home team. Down six with 26 seconds to play, junior Janay Morton (Brooklyn Park, Minn.-Osseo) drilled her six three-pointer to cut it to three at 73-70. Anita Brown, who finished with a game-high 27, made both free throws to push it back up to five. Junior Cha Sweeney (Toledo, Ohio-Rogers) quickly sprinted ahead and was fouled with six seconds still showing. Sweeney hit both but Akron threw over the top of the EMU defense and was fouled again with Brown going to the stripe. Luckily, for EMU she missed both but the Eagles' half court heave as time expired was blocked to seal the UA victory.
Sweeney finished with a team-high 23 points on 7-of-23 shooting while Morton hit a season-best six threes for 19 points in the loss. Sheyna Deans (Mt. Clemens Mich.-Mt. Clemens-St. Clair County C.C.) for the second consecutive game posted a career-best in points with 11, but EMU shot just 38.5 percent (26-of-65) for the contest.
Behind Brown's 27, Hannah Plybon finished with a season-best 24 points for the Zips who swept the season series from the Eagles in 2015-16.
The contest featured five ties and seven lead changes with Eastern Michigan owning its biggest lead, 48-36, with 7:49 left in the third quarter. Akron posted its largest margin in the game, six points, with 26 seconds remaining in the tilt. In total, the Green and White turned the ball over 15 times leading to 21 points off turnovers.
Eastern Michigan started off the game strong making a trio of three pointers to jump out to an 11-8 advantage. However, Akron tied the contest following a three pointer by Megan Sefcik at the 2:28 mark of the first quarter. The Eagles closed out the period with a 10-5 run to reclaim a 23-18 lead.
Akron began a gradual climb to even the affair with Eastern Michigan and eventually regained the lead, 32-30, after a long ball from Plybon with 3:03 left in the first half. With 2:08 left on the clock, the score was even 34-34 before the Eagles closed out the initial stanza on a 7-0 run to head into intermission with a 41-34 lead.
Eastern Michigan came out strong in the second half pushing its lead to double digits, 48-36, after a pair of free throws from Sweeney at the 7:49 mark.
Nevertheless, Akron ceased the momentum using a 19-4 spurt spearheaded by nine and eight points, respectively, from Brown and Plybon to take a 55-52 advantage into the final stanza.
The two teams traded baskets over the first three minutes of the fourth quarter until Eastern Michigan tied the game at 60 and went ahead for the final time, 63-60, on a triple from Morton at the 5:29 mark. After reclaiming the lead on a lay-up from Brown with four minutes left, Akron held on all the way to the end.
Eastern Michigan returns home Wednesday, Feb. 3, to host Central Michigan University. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The game will air on ESPN3 as well as WEMU 89.1 FM.
Team Stats
EMU
AKR
FG%
.385
.500
3FG%
.370
.346
FT%
.600
.706
RB
36
36
TO
15
19
STL
12
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
6
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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