By: Parker Perry

The University of Akron women’s basketball team split their two games this week, placing them third in the Mid-American Conference East division.

UA fell to Ohio University Thursday night in Athens, Ohio, 71-72 in overtime, but rebounded by beating Ball State in Muncie, Ind., 76-70 Sunday.

In the Thursday night loss, Akron’s leading scorer was sophomore Sina King. King converted five of her 12 field goal attempts and landed her team 15 total points. Junior Taylor Ruper and sophomore Hannah Luburgh also contributed offensively, scoring 14 and 12, respectively.

Lack of defense and fouls hurt the Zips. Akron allowed Bobcat senior Tenishia Benson and sophomore Shavon Robinson combined for 39 points alone. Akron committed 17 fouls in the game, none bigger than the one committed with under a second to play in overtime with the score tied. Benson was allowed two free throws and made her first to give her team the victory.

In Akron’s victory over Ball State, King and Luburgh stole the show. The two combined for 34 points and led their team over BSU. Luburgh scored 14 of her team-leading 18 points in the second half.

In the win, Akron got off to an early start. They outplayed the Ball State Cardinals in the first half to the tune of 43-31. However, Ball State was able to fight their way back into relevancy in the second, but fell well short of a comeback.

This week, Akron will host Northern Illinois on Wednesday night, and then travel to Eastern Michigan Saturday as they continue their MAC West crossover schedule.