On Jan. 8, The University of Akron’s women’s basketball team picked up its first MAC conference victory of the year, defeating Ohio University 54-45 at James A. Rhodes Arena. The Zips will travel to Athens Saturday, looking to make it back-to-back wins against the Bobcats this season.

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On Jan. 8, The University of Akron’s women’s basketball team picked up its first MAC conference victory of the year, defeating Ohio University 54-45 at James A. Rhodes Arena. The Zips will travel to Athens Saturday, looking to make it back-to-back wins against the Bobcats this season.

In the first match-up, the Zips got a huge game from standout forward Rachel Tecca. In the nine-point victory, Tecca scored 19 and grabbed six rebounds.

Senior Kara Murphy also made her presence felt with a solid 13 points, six boards, and three steals.

Taylor Ruper added three triples, chipping in nine points on the night.

The Zips will once again need solid performances Saturday night from Murphy, Tecca, and Ruper. The senior and the pair of sophomores are the three leading scorers for the team, and among the three of them, have contributed more than half the team’s points on the season.

Akron will look to shut down Ohio’s Tenishia Benson (13.0 points per game average) in the same way they did last month. Benson was limited to only nine points on 2-for-10 shooting in the first match-up. Benson also plays a major role under the bucket (7.5 rebounds per game average), as she had seven rebounds in the victory at the JAR.

Despite shooting 23-for-59 (.390), the Zips held Ohio to only 16 buckets on 49 shots (.327).

The Zips are only 3-6 since the victory over OU, despite decisive wins in their last two games. Ohio also holds a 3-6 record since the Jan. 8 match-up.

The Zips are 11-12, 4-7 MAC, while Ohio has dropped four of five and sits at 7-17 and 3-8 in MAC play. Ohio played at Bowling Green Wednesday night.

Last year’s contest in Athens was nothing short of a nail biter, as Ohio came away with a 64-63 victory over the Zips. In that game, Tecca posted 17 points while Murphy contributed 13.

The 5-13 Bobcats upset the 9-9 Zips last season, shooting 50 percent from the floor and limiting Akron to under 39 percent for the game.

Despite the shooting woes for the Zips against Ohio, the Akron women have shot the ball strongly in the last two contests. Ruper highlighted the hot shooting, hitting 8-of-10 shots behind the arc in a 78-65 victory over Ball State Saturday. The team looks to keep the streak shooting going this Saturday at Ohio’s Convocation Center.

The Zips’ next home game is scheduled for Feb. 22, when Bowling Green visits James A. Rhodes Arena.

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