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Ti Fulton shoots a jumper against Akron on Dec. 30, 2023
Max Sacco
53
Winner Akron UA 5-5,0-0 MAC
48
Canisius Canis 7-4,2-0 MAAC
Winner
Akron UA
5-5,0-0 MAC
53
Final
48
Canisius Canis
7-4,2-0 MAAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Akron UA 13 11 13 16 53
Canisius Canis 6 21 10 11 48

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Basketball Win Streak Snapped by Akron

Akron used a 7-2 run midway through the fourth quarter to pull away and defeat Canisius, 53-48, in college women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
 
The win moved the Zips to 5-5 on the year, while the Golden Griffins fell to 7-4 with the loss, which ended the team's five-game win streak.
 
Reagan Bass paced Akron with a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds, while Alexus Mobley totaled 12 points and four assists in the winning effort. Morgan Haney totaled a game-high three steals for the Zips, who have now won two straight.
 
Junior Athina Lexa led the Griffs with 14 points and graduate student Grace Heeps chipped in 11 points. Reigning MAAC Co-Player of the Week Sisi Eleko collected a game-high 10 boards, while senior Mackenzie Amalia dished out five assists and registered two steals for the Griffs.
 
Tied 37-37 entering the fourth quarter, the Griffs and Zips would trade buckets to begin the frame, but a jumper by graduate student Tihanna Fulton would give the Griffs a slim 43-42 edge with 6:08 left to play.
   
Bass put the Zips in the lead on the very next play, sinking a layup to give Akron a 44-43 edge with 5:43 remaining. That bucket ignited a 7-2 Akron run, highlighted by a pair of layups from Haney and Mobey less than 24 seconds apart to give the visitors a two-possession lead at 49-45.
 
Trailing 50-45 with less than 30 seconds to play, Heeps drilled a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left on the clock to get the Blue and Gold within two at 50-48, however, Akron sealed the win by making 4-of-5 free-throw chances in the game's closing moments.
 
Earlier in the contest, the Griffs found themselves down 23-9 midway through the second quarter. With 5:57 left in the opening half, Lexa would drain a 3-pointer to kick-start a 15-0 run, capped by an Amalia 3-pointer, over the next 4:32 to swing the game to the Griffs' favor at 24-23 with 1:44 left before halftime. Heeps would send the Griffs into the intermission up three at 27-24 thanks to a late 3-point field goal make, one of her team-leading three 3-point field goals on the day.
 
In the third quarter, Akron would go up by as much as five points at 37-32 with 4:38 to play in the frame. Canisius would respond to the Zips push, holding them scoreless for the remainder of the quarter, while adding in five points of its own to head to the fourth quarter tied at 37-37.
 
POSTGAME COMMENTS FROM HEAD COACH SAHAR NUSSEIBEH:  
 GAME NOTES:
  • Today marked the eighth all-time meeting between the Zips and Griffs. Akron still leads the all-time series 6-2. The Griffs also fall to 1-3 against the Zips at home.
  • Lexa finished in double-digits for the fifth-straight game with her 14 point outing Saturday.
  • This is the first time all season the Griffs have failed to reach 50 points in a game. The last instance was on March 7, 2023 against Mount St. Mary's in the first round of the MAAC Women's Basketball Championship.
  • Canisius did not attempt a free-throw in Saturday's game, the first time the team had zero chances from the charity strip since Dec. 11, 2016 at Ohio State. Saturday also marked the first time the Griffs failed to make a free-throw in a game since March 2, 2019 at Manhattan, ending a stretch of 107 consecutive games with at least one free-throw made.
  • Akron totaled 36 points in the paint compared to 12 for Canisius, and the Zips scored 24 points off turnovers while the Griffs only had seven.
 
UP NEXT:
The Blue and Gold continue their three-game home stand against Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 4, 2024, for Independent Health Kid's Day. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m., at the Koessler Athletic Center, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
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