Two-tenths of a second. That’s how close The University of Akron women’s basketball team was to beating Bowling Green Tuesday night. The 47-45 loss came in heartbreaking fashion, as Bowling Green’s Lauren Prochaska sunk a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds to go in the game.
They got the ball to their player, and she made the play, said Head Coach Jodi Kest.
Two-tenths of a second. That’s how close The University of Akron women’s basketball team was to beating Bowling Green Tuesday night. The 47-45 loss came in heartbreaking fashion, as Bowling Green’s Lauren Prochaska sunk a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds to go in the game.
They got the ball to their player, and she made the play, said Head Coach Jodi Kest.
Prochaska shot only 3-of-14 from the field and 1-of-5 from behind the arc, but hit the biggest shot of the night. The corner three in the final second gave the Falcons the two-point lead, and left Akron’s Rachel Tecca with a desperation turnaround heave at the basket, ending up well short.
I felt like we were the better team tonight, said Kest, who saw her team consistently flip-flop leads with arguably the best team in Mid-American Conference.
The Falcons (23-4, 11-3 MAC) shot just 23.6 perfect from the field, as Akron (13-13, 6-8 MAC) limited Bowling Green to its second-lowest point total of the season.
I’m so proud of our kids, they did everything we asked them to do, said Kest.
After only two days of practice between the Ohio victory on Feb. 19, the Zips forced 12 first-half turnovers, taking a 20-19 lead into the locker room
Bowling Green opened the second half with a 4-0 run, but Akron answered right back with a 7-0 run of their own. The margin did not get any wider than a four-point spread for either team in the second half.
Bowling Green’s Tracy Pontius drained a big three to tie the game up at 37 with just over six minutes to play.
Clutch free throws by Kara Murphy gave the Zips a 43-42 lead in the closing minutes. Tecca’s layup in heavy traffic gave the Zips a 45-44 lead with just seven seconds to go.
After a Bowling Green timeout, Pontius found Prochaska in the left corner for the game-winning three-ball.
She had not made a three all game and she made it. You have to give her credit, said Kest.
Despite the loss, the Zips got another strong performance from Tecca, who posted 14 points and 13 boards. Tecca was the only player to hit double figures.
Taylor Ruper hit two from downtown, totaling eight points on the night. Kara Murphy struggled from the field, but made big plays down the stretch and pulled down nine rebounds on the night.
We have our ups and downs and we just keep fighting, said Murphy.
The Zips will have a three-day layoff before they travel to Oxford Saturday to take on Miami (Ohio).
We can’t allow this game to affect our performance versus Miami. We’re going to have to forget about it, said Kest.
After Saturday’s road game, the Zips wrap up the regular season as Kent State comes to James A. Rhodes Arena on March 2.
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” #1.2013626:1696361809.jpg:Rachel Tecca:Rachel Tecca earned her 13th double-double of the season which ties a program record.:Ernie Aronyosi”