AKRON, Ohio – Sophomore Deja Wimby finished two rebounds and three steals shy of a quadruple-double as she led the Western Michigan women's basketball team to a 73-57 win on the road over Akron Saturday afternoon at James A. Rhodes Arena. The Broncos, who completed the season sweep of the Zips, improved to 14-4 overall, 5-2 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and have now won 13 of their last 15 games.
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Wimby, who came in tied for eighth in the MAC in scoring, fourth in assists and the conference leader in steals, finished with 13 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and seven steals in 32 minutes of work. Western Michigan women's basketball has never recorded a triple-double in the program's 50-year history.
The Broncos outscored the Zips in every quarter besides the fourth, where the teams went even at 17-17. WMU led 37-24 at the break, improving the team's record to 12-1 when leading at the half. The Broncos went up double-figures with 7:32 left in the second quarter and stayed up by at least 10 the rest of the way. The Zips were held without a field goal for over 6:00 heading into halftime and then again for over 3:00 in the third quarter, helping the Broncos to claim their largest lead of the game (21) midway through the third quarter.
Four of the five starters did a large majority of the scoring for WMU, as sophomore Breanna Mobley led the team with 17 points and grabbed six rebounds, redshirt junior Marley Hill scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds and senior Meredith Shipman chipped in 15 points and went 4-for-5 from beyond the arc to go along with Wimby's big day.
WMU won the rebounding battle 41-32, improving the team to 11-0 this season when they finish with more rebounds. The Broncos went 28-for-61 from the floor, shooting 45.9 percent while holding the Zips to 34.5 percent (20-for-58). WMU was able to score 31 points off the 21 Zips turnovers, including a season-high 15 steals for the Broncos.
With Shipman's four 3-pointers, she moved into fifth place in WMU history with 142 made in her career, passing Julia Henson (2011-14).
The Broncos will now face five straight teams with winning overall records, first going on the road at MAC East favorite Ohio on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. and then welcoming in the 2016 MAC Tournament Champion Buffalo Bulls on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2 p.m.
