Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
9-6, 2-2MAC
Akron
11-4, 2-2MAC
Balanced Effort Leads Women's Hoops Past Akron, 72-60
1/16/2019 9:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Four Eagles finished in double figures
Postgame Audio.
AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - A balanced and efficient offensive performance paired with a strong defensive effort fueled the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team to a 72-60 win over the University of Akron Wednesday night, Jan. 16, inside James A. Rhodes Arena. The win snapped EMU's four-game losing streak against UA and marked Eastern's first win in the Rubber City since the 2010-11 season.
Freshman Jenna Annecchiarico (Baldwin, N.Y.-Baldwin) led the Eagles with 17 points, while sophomore Courtnie Lewis (Belton, Mo.-Belton) and Autumn Hudson (Richwood, Ohio-North Union) added 14 and 10 points, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Corrione Cardwell (Cleveland, Ohio-New Tech East) flirted with a double-double as the final Eagle to reach double figures, scoring 12 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and adding a career-high six steals.
As a team, Eastern (9-6, 2-2 MAC) held advantages in field goal percentage (44.1 to 35.1), three-point field goal percentage (38.9 to 28.1), steals (9 to 3), and rebounds (41 to 37).
Eastern sprinted out to a 6-2 lead behind four points by redshirt senior Danielle Minott (Miami, Fla.-Miami Country Day (Syracuse)) and a swipe and score by Cardwell, but a three-minute scoring drought allowed Akron to tie things up at 6-6 into the first media. EMU's scoreless span would last two more minutes before the Eagles closed out the quarter making four of their last five shots to sit in front, 16-15, through 10 minutes of play.
EMU kept things rolling through the first minute of the second quarter as freshman Makenna Drabick (North Canton, Ohio-Hoover) and Lewis opened the period with back-to-back triples to force an Akron timeout. The Zips' TO did little to slow the Eagles, as Eastern held a 41-31 lead into halftime.
The Green and White maintained control in the third period, outscoring the Zips 16-7 to take a 19-point lead into the final stanza and never looked back.
After freshman Natalia Pineda (Miami, Fla.-John A. Ferguson) found Hudson for an and-one to extend Eastern's advantage to 21, EMU held off UA's furious comeback to hang on for a 72-60 win.
Eastern Michigan continues its MAC East road trip Saturday, Jan. 19, as EMU travels to Ohio University. Tipoff between the Eagles and Bobcats is slated for 1 p.m.
