Anita Brown’s 37 sparked a Zips win

Cleveland, OH- The Akron women’s basketball team enters the MAC championship as the number 5 seed, with Toledo standing at the number 4 seed. This quarterfinals game took place at the Q in Cleveland. The game had a lot of hype because Akron took the first game with a score of 81-71 midseason.

The game started off very quickly with Akron’s DiAndra Gibson hitting a 3, and having 5 points in the beginning of the quarter along with Anita Browns’ 5. Toledo was giving a solid effort but could not keep up with Akron’s 22 in the first quarter. Anita Brown was ripping through the lane, and put up 11 points in the first quarter. Toledo had a collective team effort with 5 players on the board in the first but Akron held the lead with the score being 22-17.

In the beginning of the of the 2^nd quarter Akron’s Hanna Plybon came of off a mean screen and hit a quick three, and Toledo’s Janice Monakana responded with a three of her own. Toledo’s senior Brenae Harris put in 10 points of her own by the middle of the second quarter, and was an impact player while it was still a tight game. Anita Brown made it very difficult for Toledo as the 2^nd quarter went on, but they hung in there.

DiAndra Gibson hit a deep three in the Q with two minutes remaining in the first half, and continued scoring. Gibson ended the first half with 8 points and a rebound along with Anita Brown’s 21 and 4 rebounds. Toledo’s leading scorers were Janice Monakana with 11 points and 5 rebounds, and Brenae Harris’s 10 points and a rebound. The end score of a hard fought game at the half was 40-36 with Akron leading.

The third quarter started off with a very fast pace, and a added a quick layup for Anita Browns 23^rd point of the day. Janice Monakana went out early in the 3^rd with a knee tweak, and that put a damper on scoring. Things got a little scrappy midway through the third quarter while Akron had a comfortable lead of 10.

After 3 quarters the Akron Zips led the game 50-44, and the leading scorer for Akron had 25 while Toledo’s leading scorer had 15. Megan Barilla ended the quarter with 6 points, and 9 rebounds, and really made a huge impact.

In the 4^th quarter the star player for the Rockets returned, and continued to make an impact while starting the 4^th quarter with 11 points, and 7 rebounds. With 8 minutes remaining in the 4^th, the forward for Toledo, Ana Capototso hit a 3 pointer to tie the game up at 50-50.

Going down the stretch of the 4^th, Akrons Anita Brown hit a difficult contested shot to put the lead up by 2. DiAndra Gibson received her 5^th foul with 3 minutes left in the game and really put a hole in the Akron Zips offense. Toledo’s Brenae Harris put in a solid 19 with 2 minutes left, but Anita Brown kept it tight with a fast break layup.

With an exciting ending, Akrons Greta Burry hit a layup that tied the game with 10 seconds left with a score of 60-60. Akron regained possession with 2.6 seconds left, and used a quick timeout to bring have a chance at a game winning shot. Anita Brown was very close to hitting a game winning shot but slightly missed off of the backboard, and brought it to OT, with a score of 60-60.

Akron started off hot in OT, and Anita Brown got a quick bucket to stretch the lead 64-61. Hannah Plybon hit a very clutch 3 for Akron with time running down to give Akron a 67-63 lead, and really broke the game open for Akron. The action was non-stop as Brenae Harris hit a pair of free throws to bring the game within 2.

In the final moments of the game, Anita Brown hit a pair of free throws to end the game. Akron Zips won a nail biter, 73-71 and advanced to the semi-finals to face Buffalo.