The Opening Tip
The University of Akron women's basketball team will officially tip off its 2009-10 campaign Friday afternoon when IUPUI comes to Rhodes Arena for a Noon start. It will mark the first meeting between the two schools.
Game #1
Akron Zips (0-0) vs. IUPUI Jaguars (0-0)
James A. Rhodes Arena (5,500) • Akron, Ohio • Fri., Nov. 13, 2009 • 12 p.m. (EST)
On The Dial
WARF (Sports Radio 1350 AM) will carry the broadcast locally in Akron. UA play-by-play veteran Bill Morgan will have the call.
On The Web
The broadcast will also be available on the Internet via streaming audio on www.GoZips.com.
Series Breakdown
Series: First Meeting
UA Series Streak: n/a
Last 10 Meetings: n/a
Last Meeting: n/a
Notes: The Zips and Jaguars will be facing each other for the first time in school history ... UA is 1-7 all-time versus schools from the Summit League.
Coaches
• Jodi Kest (Slippery Rock, '84) begins her fourth season at Akron and her 18th season overall as a head coach. She is 28-62 (.311) at Akron and 254-215 (.542) for her career. She led the Zips to an 11-19 record, INcluding a 6-10 mark in MAC play, last winter.
• Shann Hart (Norfolk State, '89) begins her sixth season at IUPUI and her 13th season overall as a head coach. Hart led the Jaguars to a 16-15 record, including 10-8 mark in the Summit League last winter.
Zips Reset
Kara Murphy led all scorers with 26 points and Rachel Tecca recorded a double-double to lead the University of Akron women's basketball team to a 80-47 exhibition victory over Ashland Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Arena.
Murphy, the Mid-American Conference's leading scorer from a year ago, scored 14 points in the first half as the Zips stormed out to a 47-19 lead at the break and never looked back. Tecca, a freshman from Tallmadge, Ohio, added 18 points to go with 15 rebounds to help pace the Akron attack.
"We won the game and didn't have any injuries so it was a good outcome," said UA head coach Jodi Kest. "I thought we did some good things and also saw some things that need to be worked on. Overall, it was a good learning tool that will help us get ready for our first game against IUPUI next week."
The Zips dominated the paint, out-rebounding the Eagles, 60-41, while also owning a 34-8 points advantage in the key. Senior Jolene Tamboue was especially active in the paint with a game-high 16 rebounds to go with six points, two assists and a steal.
Murphy, an All-MAC First Team selection last season, shot 11-for-18 from the field en route to her game-high total and also grabbed six rebounds in 23 minutes of play. Sophomore Jasmine Mushington joined Murphy and Tecca in double-figures with 11 points and five rebounds.
Akron's defense was a factor all game as the Zips forced 25 Ashland turnovers - leading to 34 UA points - while holding the Eagles to 27.6 percent (16-for-58) shooting from the floor. This was especially true in the early going as Akron jumped out to an 11-3 lead - with 10 points coming off six Eagle turnovers - at the first media time out.
Natasha Williams assisted back-to-back lay-ins by Murphy and Tecca to force an Ashland timeout at the 11:45 mark as UA pushed its advantage to 20-7 before Murphy scored seven straight points to give the Zips a 35-13 lead with 4:13 left in the half.
Just before the half, Ayla Guzzardo set up a three-ball by Katie Bubna, who had a hot hand with eight points off the bench, to close out the half and the rout was officially on.
About IUPUI
The Jaguars have 10 newcomers and just four returning letterwinners from a team that went 16-15 last year, including a 10-8 mark in the Summit League. It was the Jaguars' fourth straight season with a .500 or better winning percentage in conference play.
IUPUI was picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll of the league's coaches, media and sports information personnel. Senior center Julia Whitted is an all-conference first team honoree who averaged 13.8 points and 8.4 rebounds per game in 2008-09.
The Jaguars were 6-7 in away games last season and 3-3 in neutral site matches.
Look Who's Back
For the first time under fourth-year head coach Jodi Kest, the Zips will return all five starters from a year ago in Ayla Guzzardo, Amber Witt, Kara Murphy, Jolene Tamboue and Kyle Baumgarter. Of that group, Murphy and Witt started all 30 games, while Tamboue started 29.
In all, the five starters represent 74.5 percent (1,331 of 1,786) of UA's scoring total and 65.6 percent (709 of 1080) of UA's rebounding total from a year ago.
What a Season!
From its season-opening victory against Michigan to the final tip, it was clear that Zips made serious strides in 2008-09. The young program recorded highs for wins in both its overall record (11) and in league play (6) while reversing a number of dubious trends along the way.
With 58-49 win over the Wolverines, UA recorded its first ever victory against Michigan as well as its second ever against a Big 10 school. The Zips then got a big monkey off their back by defeating Buffalo, 62-56, to snap a seven-game losing streak to the Bulls. Not to be outdone, UA followed that up with its biggest upset in recent history - holding off their long-time rival, Kent State, for a 64-62 decision at Rhodes Arena in late January, snapping a string of 18 consecutive defeats to the Golden Flashes.
The Zips then halted another serious losing skid by defeating Miami (Ohio) in Oxford a month later for its first league victory on the road since 2004-05, ending a string of 19 straight losses.
Akron also posted eight wins at home - including a 67-59 win against Lehigh, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament last winter - to tie the second-highest total in program history.
Murphy Making Her Mark
All-MAC junior Kara Murphy set numerous school records last winter. In addition to breaking UA's single-season scoring record (580 points), the physical forward became the youngest player in program history to record her 1,000th-career point.
Moreover, her 32-point effort versus Central Michigan at the MAC Tournament set a high-water mark for a postseason contest and was the 11th-highest, single-game total in MAC Tournament history.
For her efforts, the two-time MAC East Division Player of the Week became just the second player in school history (Cheryl Bowles, 1999-00) to earn All-MAC First Team honors. Moreover, her 19.3-point scoring average led the league and was ranked 19th in the nation.
She also paced the conference with 16 20-point performances last winter and has led UA in scoring 35 times in 61 career contests.
Murphy Movin' On Up
With 1,029 career points entering her third season, Murphy is ranked 10th on the school's all-time scoring list but won't likely be there for long. In fact, she trails Alisa Peddicord for ninth place by just eight points and Stacey Burrier for eighth place by just 15 points.
Kudos to Coach Kest
Head coach Jodi Kest also achieved some significant individual milestones in 2008-09.
Kest, who is entering her fourth season at the helm at UA, recorded the 250th win of her coaching career by leading Akron to a 64-62 win over local rival Kent State on Jan. 21. Moreover, Kest finished the year with 28 career victories as the Zips' head coach, tying her for fourth place on the school's all-time list. John Street, who led the Akron program from 1982-89, is the school's all-time wins leader with 79 career victories.
Kest was rewarded for her accomplishments after the season with a three-year contract extension that will keep her on the UA sidelines through the 2013-14 season. But to truly appreciate the turnaround Kest has initiated, it is important to understand the state of the program she inherited.
In the six seasons prior to her arrival in 2006, Akron had won an average of just 3.5 games per season. In fact from 2000-01 to 2005-06, Akron won a total of 24 games, a number Kest has already surpassed in just three seasons.
For Starters
Historically speaking, Akron has not fared well in season openers, posting an all-time mark of 9-26 in 35 years as a program.
That being said, Akron defeated Michigan in the first game last year for its first season-opening win since the 2000-01 season and is 15-20 all-time in season openers at Rhodes Arena.
Courtesy: Jeff Harwell-Zips Sports Photography
