KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Western Michigan took down the defending conference tournament champion, defeating Akron 67-61 in the 2015 Mid-American Conference opener Saturday at University Arena.

It was just the second loss for the Zips, who fell to 10-2 on the season and 0-1 in the MAC. Western Michigan meanwhile improved to 8-4 overall, 1-0 in the MAC, and kept its undefeated streak going at home this season at 5-0.

The Broncos led from start to finish and held onto a 29-21 lead over the Zips at halftime. Junior forward Miracle Woods ignited a 9-0 run that helped WMU open up a one-point lead with 6:49 left in the half. She poured in seven straight points with three buckets down low and converted a free throw after a foul for a three-point play. Michelle O'Brien capped the 9-0 run with a jumper off a baseline drive that gave WMU its first double-digit lead of the game, 25-21, with just over five minutes left in the first.

Western Michigan stayed hot out of the gates in the second half, going on a 6-0 run that forced Akron to take an early timeout. The Broncos went up by as many as 18 (44-26) with 15:39 left to play for their largest lead of the game.

WMU continued to lead by double-digits all the way down until the 2-minute mark before Akron cut an 11-point deficit down to five with a 7-1 run over the next 60 seconds. Alex Morton stepped up to hit two needed free throws and Jessica Jessing followed with a layup to push WMU's margin back to nine with 25 seconds left to put the game away.

The Broncos had four players score in double figures and won the battle on the boards, 44-34. Jessing tallied her first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Woods led the team with 17 points, followed by Morton with 13. Marquisha Harris added 10 points and O'Brien finished with nine. Woods, Harris and Jazmine Windham each had seven rebounds apiece while O'Brien pulled down six.

Morton paced the offense with five assists. Jessing tied a career-high with three helpers and O'Brien also had three assists.

The Broncos shot 45.5 percent for the game but were off the mark from distance, going 0-for-11 from three-point range. Akron didn't fare much better, going 2-for-14 from behind the arc. The Zips shot 41.7 percent from the field and were led by Sina King with a game-high 23 points. She added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Anita Brown backed King with 16 points; however the next highest scorer for Akron only had six points.

The Zips entered the game as with the top offense in the MAC, averaging almost 83 points per game during non-conference play. Western Michigan held them 22 points under their season average with only 61 points.

Western Michigan returns to University Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 7, hosting Ohio at 7 p.m. The Bobcats (10-2, 1-0 MAC) won their conference opener at Buffalo Saturday, 61-50.


GAME NOTES: WMU is 2-1 under head coach Shane Clipfell in MAC openers ... the Broncos have won back-to-back meetings against Akron in Kalamazoo, also winning in 2013 ... it was just the fifth game this season WMU out-rebounded its opponent ... it was the first game this season WMU did not make a three-pointer ... Morton tied a career-high with two blocked shots.