Wednesday's Scoreboard
Duquesne 88, Akron 63
Story Courtesy of Akron Sports Information
Duquesne 88, Akron 63
Box Score
AKRON, Ohio – On the seventh annual Education Day at James A. Rhodes Arena, the Akron women's basketball team fell to Duquesne 88-63 on Wednesday morning in front of over 1,000 fifth-graders from around the Akron area.
After Akron and Duquesne opened the contest going back-and-forth in the first six minutes, the Dukes took control of the game in the first half outscoring the Zips, 45-24. The Zips offense that struggled in the first half took a step in the right direction scoring 39 points and shot 48.5-percent in the second half (17-for-35), but the Dukes offense did not slow down and the deficit was too large to overcome.
In the contest, Akron turned in a 41.5 shooting percentage (27-for-65) from the floor and connected on five three-pointers. The Zips scored 40 of their 63 points inside the paint while also getting 33 points from their bench players. On the defensive side of the ball, UA forced 13 turnovers, ripped five steals and blocked a pair of shots.
Ten of the 12 players that checked into the game for the Zips etched their names into the scoring column. The pair of senior Caitlin Vari (Richfield, Ohio) and freshman Rachel Martindale (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led Akron in scoring with 12 points each. To go along with her 12 points, Vari pulled in five rebounds and recorded one assist, while Martindale went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, and 1-for-1 from the charity stripe.
In 15 minutes of action off the bench, sophomore Gabrielle Brown-Mitchell (Solon, Ohio) turned in eight points, connected on a pair of triples, and posted an assist. Junior Jordyn Dawson (Huntington, W. Va.) came on late and scored six of her 10 points in the fourth quarter.
Akron and Duquesne battled for the first six minutes of the game with the Dukes edging the Zips slightly, 13-11, at the 3:58 mark. Five different Zips scored within that time span including Martindale (three points), Vari (two points), Dawson (two points), senior Haliegh Reinoehl (two points), and senior Shaunay Edmonds (two points).
The Dukes gained momentum in the final four minutes and went on an 11-2 scoring run that opened the game to 24-15 at the end of the first quarter.
UA's offensive struggles late in the first period carried over into the second quarter as the Zips totaled just nine points and shot 4-for-15 in the stanza. While the Zips went cold, Duquesne took off scoring 21 points and claimed a 45-24 lead into the halftime break.
Led by Martindale and Vari, the Zips scored 19 points in the third quarter and shot a team-high 53.3-percent from the floor (8-for-15). Martindale and Vari turned in a combined 12 points and made all five shot attempts.
However, while UA shot efficiently from the floor, Duquesne shot 50-percent in the period and connected on five triples to outscore the Zips 25-19 and extend its lead to 70-43.
Akron's offensive efforts spilled over into the fourth quarter scoring a team-best 20 points in the final period of the game and the Zips outscored the Dukes by two (20-18), but the game was out of reach.
After a short stop at home, the Akron women's basketball team is back on the road and travels to Indianapolis, Ind., on Sunday, Dec. 8. The Zips are slated to take on Big East opponent, Butler, in an afternoon showdown at the Hinkle Fieldhouse with first-tip at 2 p.m.
