The Opening Tip
The University of Akron women's basketball team begin the final homestand of the regular season when Miami (Ohio) comes to Rhodes Arena Saturday afternoon. The Zips and RedHawks will tip off at 2 p.m. (EST)

On the Radio
Because of a scheduling conflict with the men's team, Saturday's game will not be broadcast on 1350 AM (WARF).

On the Web
Fans can listen to a live broadcast on-line, however, on www.GoZips.com as part of the Zips Zone subscription package. UA play-by-play veteran Bill Morgan and former Zips assistant coach Jacki Windon will have the call.

Series Breakdown
Series: UA trails 7-28 since 1981-82
UA Series Streak: 2W
Last 10 Meetings: 4-6
Notes: The Zips and RedHawks will be meeting for the 36th time Saturday ... UA has won the last two meetings, including a 55-40 win in Oxford earlier this season ... Only two of Akron's seven wins against Miami have come at Rhodes Arena, where the Zips are 2-14 all-time versus the RedHawks ... UA's last win against MU at home was during the 2006-07 campaign.

Coaches
• Jodi Kest (Slippery Rock, '84) is in her fourth season at Akron and 18th season overall as a head coach. She is 43-74 (.368) in 117 games at UA and 269-227 (.542) in 496 games for her career. She led the Zips to an 11-19 record, Including a 6-10 mark in MAC play, last winter.

• Maria Fantanarosa (Miami [Ohio], ‘90) is in her 12th season at Miami where she has a record of 192-187 (.507). Fantanarosa led the RedHawks to a 16-15 record, including a 7-9 mark in MAC play last winter.

MAC Tournament Preview
Unlike in year's past when divisional seeding was used for the MAC Tournament, the league has adopted a new format for this year's postseason.

As such, the East and West Divisional champions will secure the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. The remaining teams will then be seeded No. 3 through No. 12, based on overall conference winning percentage, regardless of division. The top four seeds will earn first round byes in the tournament.

Teams seeded fifth through eighth will then host first-round games with seeds nine through 12 at campus sites on Saturday, Mar. 6. The quarterfinals will begin at Quicken Loans Arena on Wednesday, Mar. 10.

Here is how the league would be seeded if the regular season was to end prior to Saturday's game (with tie-breakers considered): 1. Bowling Green (12-2); 2. Toledo (11-3); Kent State (11-3); 4. Akron (9-5); 5. Eastern Michigan (9-5); 6. Central Michigan (8-6); 7. Miami (6-8); 8. Ball State (6-8); 9. Northern Illinois (4-10); 10. Ohio (3-11); 11. Buffalo (3-11); 12. Western Michigan (2-12).

What Does It Mean?
• With two games left to play, Akron is in control of its own destiny. By defeating Miami Saturday and Ohio Tuesday, the Zips will clinch the No. 4 seed and thus earn a first-round bye.

• Akron and Eastern Michigan enter Saturday's game with identical 9-5 conference records. The Zips own the tie-breaker with the Eagles however as a result of their 73-66 win in Ysilanti last month.

• Because of that, UA can still earn a first-round bye with a split over its final two games, provided that Eastern Michigan loses at least one of its remaining games. The Eagles will play at Northern Illinois (10-16, 4-10) Saturday before hosting Toledo (21-6, 11-3) in its final regular season game Tuesday.

The Last Time Out
After trailing by as many as 10 points late in the second half, the Zips saw their comeback fall just short in a 67-64 setback at Kent State Wednesday night at the M.A.C. Center.

Down 64-56, Ayla Guzzardo and Kyle Baumgartner connected on back-to-back threes to cut he KSU lead to two with 47 seconds left. But Kent State's Jamilah Humes, who led all scores with 31 points, converted a pair of free throws on the subsequent possession to hold off the Zips.

Akron, which was attempting to sweep a season series from its arch rival for the first time in school history, had one last chance, but a 3-pointer by Taylor Ruper, who finished with nine points, fell just short as time expired.

The defeat overshadowed a career performance by sophomore Jasmine Mushington, who led UA with 16 points. The forward from Baltimore, Md., scored eight points in each half on 6-for-10 shooting from the field and 3-for-4 shooting from the free throw line and finished with five rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes off the bench.

Freshman Rachel Tecca joined Mushington in double digits, recording 12 points and six rebounds, as the Zips' reserves out-scored KSU's bench, 42-7.
Moreover, Akron out-rebounded Kent State, 40-26, but Kent State scored 23 points off of 23 UA turnovers and rode Humes' big night to victory. Yoshica Spears also had a strong game for the Golden Flashes. Spears scored 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in 34 minutes for KSU.

About The RedHawks
The young RedHawks (8-19, 6-8) have struggled to find consistency in the past month, having alternated wins and losses in their last nine games.

Miami, which suffered a 69-56 setback at rival Ohio University Wednesday night has gone 4-6 since dropping a 55-40 decision at home to the Zips in mid January but also scored 96 points in a win against Northern Illinois and cruised to a 79-63 victory at Eastern Michigan during that stretch.

After playing to a 29-all tie in Athens, the Bobcats out-scored MU 40-27 in the second half in Miami's last game. The RedHawks' leading scorer, freshman Courtney Osborn, who averages 16.8 points per game, was held to six points in 27 minutes before fouling out.

Osborn is ranked sixth in the MAC in scoring and fifth in assists (4.04) as Miami's starting point guard. Sophomore guard Maggie Boyer (10.6) is MU's other double-digit scorer on the season.

As a team, Miami is ranked seventh in the league for offense (66.5) and 11th in defense (71.6). MU is 3-12 in games on the road or at neutral sites, including a 2-5 mark in league play.

Last Time Versus Miami
Behind one of its best defensive efforts of the season, the Zips defeated Miami, 55-40, at Millett Hall on Jan. 16.

Kara Murphy and Rachel Tecca each paced the Zips with 13 points and Jolene Tamboue was a force on the boards with a game-high 11 rebounds, but it was Akron's swarming defense that proved to be the difference.

UA held Miami without a field goal for the first six minutes of the game and held the RedHawks to just 18.5 percent (5-for-27) shooting from the floor in the first half and took a 25-14 lead into the intermission.

The Zips' defensive intensity continued after the break as UA held Miami without a field goal over the first 6:30 of the second period. Kyle Baumgartner scored seven points to spark a 9-2 run to open the period as Akron opened up to an 18-point advantage, 34-16, and the rout was on. UA led by as many as 20 points six times in the second half before clearing the bench.

Record Watch
Junior Kara Murphy enters Saturday's game in third place on the school's all-time scoring list. With 1,402 career points, the all-conference first-teamer trails Pam Arnold, who scored 1,544 points in 108 games from 1979-83, by 142 points for second place on the prestigious list.

Murphy, who began the season ranked 10th all-time, has led the Zips in scoring 13 times in 27 games this season and 48 times in 88 games (54.5 percent) for her career.  Cheryl Bowles is the school's all-time scoring leader with 1,712 points in 115 games from 1997-01.

On The Line
A win Saturday against Miami would...
... represent the first time Akron has ever swept a season series against the RedHawks.
... extend Akron's win streak against MU to three games.
... match UA's highest win total (10) in MAC play in program history.
... match UA's highest overall win total (16) in Division I history.
... improve UA's home record to 10-1, which would set a program record for most home wins in a season.

Zips Notebook
• Saturday's game will feature two of the best freshmen in the league in Akron's Rachel Tecca and Miami's Courtney Osborn. In fact, Osborn (16.8) and Tecca (10.6) represent the top two scoring freshmen in the conference. Both players have proven to be multi-dimensional as well as Osborn is ranked fifth in the MAC for assists (4.04) while Tecca is ranked 10th for rebounding (6.1).

• With 12 points at Kent State Wednesday night, Tecca reached double-digits in scoring for the 14th time in 27 games this season.

• But it was sophomore Jasmine Mushington, who truly shined against the Golden Flashes. The forward from Baltimore, Md., filled the stat sheet with her best performance in an Akron uniform to date, leading the Zips with 16 points, on 6-for-10 shooting; five rebounds and five assists in 25 minutes. Her point and assist totals represented career highs.

• Despite allowing 64 points to Kent State, the Zips continue to lead the MAC in both scoring defense (59.5) and field goal percentage defense (37.8 percent).

• Along those lines, Akron is working on one of the greatest defensive seasons in MAC history. It's average of 59.5 points allowed per contest is currently ranked third-lowest all-time. Bowling Green set the league record, allowing 56.3 points per game in 2005-06. Kent State (57.3 in 2004-05) follows closely on the record list.

• No matter what happens over the next two games, Akron is assured of third place in the MAC East, representing the second-highest finish in program history. UA's highest finish in league play came in 1998-'99 when it placed second in the MAC East with a 10-6 conference mark.

• UA was defeated by Toledo in the MAC Tournament semifinals that season but made its first and only appearance in the WNIT where it was defeated in the first round, 76-65, at Michigan State.

• Under fourth-year head coach Jodi Kest, the Zips have now won more games in her past two seasons alone (26 and counting) than in the six seasons prior to her arrival (24)

• With 43 wins since taking over as head coach in 2006, Kest is already ranked fourth on the school's all-time list. With three more victories, Kest will match Roxanne Allen, who won 46 games from 1997-'02, for third place on the coaching list. Mary Ann Tripodi (1974-'81) and John Street (1982-'89) share the top spot with 65 wins apiece.