University of Akron throttles Bowling Green in MAC women's basketball tournament
CLEVELAND – Wednesday night’s Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal between the University of Akron and Bowling Green was more of a foot race than a women's basketball game.
The third-seeded Zips raced out to a lead and pulled away in the game’s final quarter to beat the sixth-seeded Falcons 81-67.
The Zips advanced to play No. 2 seed Buffalo at approximately 12:30 p.m. Friday.
The Falcons hung with the Zips for the better part of three quarters before UA pulled away to create some breathing room. The Zips outscored the Falcons 23-15 in the fourth quarter behind a defense that created several turnovers.
UA forward Jordyn Dawson, the MAC Player of the Year, led four Zips in double figures with 22 points. She added seven rebounds, four assists and six steals.
Amy Valasco led the Falcons with 19 points.
The Zips shot 52% from the floor to the Falcons' 41%, outscored the Falcons 40-30 in the paint and topped the Falcons 36-28 in rebounds.
Here are several takeaways from UA coach Melissa Jackson's first MAC Tournament victory:
The Zips puncture Falcons' ball pressure
Zips find way to break press
The Falcons opened up the game pressuring the ball and forced the Zips into eight first-half turnovers, making it difficult for UA to take control of the game and forcing the teams into a duel. That ended midway into the third quarter for the Zips.
“Honestly, the first two games we played them we handled it really well,” Jackson said.
It was a different story to open the game this time.
“I thought we were rattled a little bit,” Jackson said. “Obviously, the first time being in Rocket Mortgage, but we settled in.”
Jackson gave credit to guard Kendall Miller (St. Vincent-St. Mary) and Dawson for helping the Zips break the Falcons' press.
"[We] made a few adjustments and then in the second half we were much more aggressive once we broke it,” Jackson said. “We went into attack mode, and I think that really opened up some things for us.”
Zips showed offensive balance
Zips show offensive balance
When a team has a player of the year, that player tends to be the focus of everyone's attention. The Zips, however, weren’t a one-player show. Yes, Dawson’s 22 points and spectacular defensive effort led the way, but three teammates — Reagan Bass, Lonasia Brewer (Archbishop Hoban) and Layne Ferrell — all scored in double figures.
Miller and Rachel Martindale each added nine points to give UA a balanced scoring attack.
The Falcons keying on Dawson helped that situation, Jackson said.
“Bowling Green, the way they were guarding Jordyn, they were really sagging off of everybody else and converging on her, and I thought she did a really good job of facilitating some things,” Jackson said. “That’s when we’re best — when we’re moving the ball within our offense. Our offense is built to get more people involved to get high assists.”
Buffalo Bulls are next
Looking at Buffalo
Next up for the Zips are the Bulls, who defeated UA twice by a combined 43 points, with the most recent loss coming just over a week ago. The task coming Friday would seem like a steep hill to climb.
“We’ll lock in on that tonight. We’ll watch that film,” Jackson said. “Obviously they turned us over a lot in that second game and I know there are some adjustments I want to make. We’ll dissect that, me and my coaching staff."
Reach George M. Thomas at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com or on Twitter @ByGeorgeThomas.
MAC Tournament
Akron vs. Buffalo
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Time: Approx. 12:30 p.m. Friday
Radio: WHLO (640-AM)
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jordyn Dawson leads Akron to MAC tourney rout of Bowling Green
