Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
14-16, 6-12MAC
Akron
16-14, 7-11MAC
Minott's Game-Winner Leads EMU to First Round Upset of No. 8 Akron
3/11/2019 7:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Danielle Minott scored with 2.9 seconds to go to cap EMU's double-digit comeback
AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - A jumper in the paint by redshirt senior Danielle Minott (Miami, Fla.-Miami Country Day (Syracuse)) with 2.9 seconds left completed a double-digit comeback for the Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team as they finalized an upset win over eighth-seeded University of Akron Monday, March 11, in the opening round of Mid-American Conference Tournament play inside James A. Rhodes Arena. The No. 9 Eagles trailed by as many as 10 in the second half, but held the Zips without a field goal for a six-minute stretch en route to a thrilling 61-59 win.
A trio of free throws by Minott and a layup by Akron gave Eastern its largest lead of the game, 59-56, with 19 seconds to go. A huge triple by UA's Megan Sefcik tied the game up at 59 all, making way for Minott's late-game heroics. With no timeouts, the Eagles inbound the ball to Minott who quickly made her way to the lane for the game-winning shot with 2.9 seconds to go, keeping Eastern's season alive and earning the Eagles a trip to Cleveland for the second straight season.
EMU narrowly outshot UA, 41.4 to 41.1 percent, as both squads hit five three-pointers each. The Eagles also held the lead in points off turnovers, 18 to 13, and recorded a 37-33 rebounding edge.
Minott led the Eagles with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including a trio of triples, to go along with seven rebounds and an assist. Sophomore Courtnie Lewis (Belton, Mo.-Belton) added 13 points, Freshman Kiara Johnson (Buffalo, N.Y.-Cardinal O'Hara) kicked in a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Minott found sophomore Autumn Hudson (Richwood, Ohio-North Union) for the first bucket of the game, but Akron rattled off a 6-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 6-2 lead. Redshirt sophomore Corrione Cardwell (Cleveland, Ohio-New Tech East) ended the drought with back-to-back buckets following a pair of key stops on defense to cut UA's edge to two, 8-6, at the media timeout.
The Zips responded with six straight points to go up 14-6, but another push by the Eagles made the score, 16-12, in favor of Akron after one quarter.
UA quickly extended its lead to double digits in the beginning of the second quarter, forcing an EMU timeout with the home team ahead, 23-13, and 8:24 left on the clock. Eastern clawed its way back within a bucket behind a 7-0 run, capped by a freshman Jenna Annecchiarico (Baldwin, N.Y.-Baldwin) three-ball midway through the period, but Akron made the most of an Eagle scoring drought to take a 34-24 lead at halftime.
Eastern came out swinging in the second half, holding Akron scoreless for over three minutes, as a Cardwell buzzer-beating layup cut UA's lead to one, 41-40, through three quarters.
EMU scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter on a Johnson putback to take its first lead since the game's opening bucket, but UA used a pair of triples to reclaim a 49-42 lead and force an Eastern timeout.
Out of the break, the Zips pushed their advantage to as many as eight before Minott led the comeback effort to send Eastern to the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
Eastern Michigan will face off against top-seeded Central Michigan University Wednesday, March 13, at noon inside Quicken Loans Arena.
