Lady Zips fall 95-66, eliminated from MAC Tournament

CLEVELAND, OHIO — The Akron Zips Women’s Basketball program fell to the Eastern Michigan Eagles in the third round of the MAC Tournament, 95-66.

Anita Brown and Sina King combined for 47 of the teams 66 points in the contest as the Zips struggled to get any aspect of their game on track.

“I’m not going to allow one game to define the season we had.” Akron Zips Head Coach Jodi Kest said. “With 22 wins, no one expected that from a team that lost players to graduation. “

The Eagles shot 54% from the field in the contest, while the Zips only shot a low 35.3% from the floor. The Zips entered the tournament as the third seed, while E. Michigan entered as the sixth seed.

“We needed to put a little more pressure on them.” Coach Kest commented on the team’s defense. “Their shots would be different if you placed a little more pressure.”

Sina King started the game with a three pointer, however the Eagles Cha Sweeney responded with a three of their own.

Eastern then continued on a 10-3 run, as Akron struggled to defend the Eagles shot. Akron was able to keep it within 11 at halftime, as the half ended 44-33 in the Eagles favor.

Eastern Michigan shot 46.9% from the field in the 1st half, in addition to shooting 62.5% from beyond the arc.

“I thought that our perimeter shooting really got us going.” Eastern Michigan Head Coach Tory Verdi said regarding their dominance in the game. “Our effort on the defensive end really dictated the tempo of the game.”

The defense of the Eagles held Akron to 37.5% from the field in the 1st half.

“We just wanted to run them off the line, and don’t let them do what they do best.” Cha Sweeney commented, on what made the difference against Akron.

With 8:29 left to go in the game, Eastern Michigan went on a 16-0 run to deflate any hopes of a late run for the Zips.

Akron’s season ends at 22-8, while Eastern Michigan improves to 21-11, and will advance to play second seed Ball State Cardinals tomorrow.