KALAMAZOO, Mich – The Western Michigan women's basketball team is outward bound once again, this time traveling to Akron, Ohio for a Wednesday night battle with the Zips. Tip-off tomorrow evening is set for 7 p.m. inside James A. Rhodes Arena.
WHERE TO WATCH
Wednesday night's matchup between the Broncos and Zips will be available for streaming via ESPN3. The link to the stream is listed above, and can also be found
HERE.
SCOUTING AROUND AKRON (9-6, 6-3 MAC)
Akron hosts WMU following a 10-point victory on the road against Central Michigan by a final score of 70-60. Strong shooting from three-point territory propelled the Zips past the Chippewas to give UA their sixth win of the season.
Redshirt senior forward Jordyn Dawson paved the way for Akron, posting a double-double with 23 points on 6-15 shooting (40 percent) and 12 rebounds during her 35 game minutes. Dawson was also named MAC Player of the Week earlier today. Redshirt sophomore guard Layne Ferrell almost notched a double-double herself, posting 15 points on 6-7 from the field to go along with nine rebounds in the contest.
As a group, the Zips score 66.1 PPG shooting at a rate of 42.1 percent from the floor, while giving up 64.9 PPG for a scoring margin of +1.2 on the year. UA is also third in the MAC in three-point percentage, shooting 33.4 percent from three and 69.0 percent from the charity stripe for an average of 6.6 made triples and 11.0 made free throws each game.
Akron pulls down 35.4 RPG and post a rebounding margin of -2.5 on the season, while dishing out 14.9 assists and swiping 6.7 steals each time out. UA also averages 3.73 blocked shots a game, which puts the team at second in the conference in that category. The Zips have been led this season by Jordyn Dawson, who averages 19.6 PPG on 38.9 percent shooting, as well as 9.6 boards and 4.1 assists each time she takes the floor.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM WESTERN MICHIGAN (11-6, 5-3 MAC)
The Broncos head back on the road after a tough shooting night against Northern Illinois last evening by a final score of 61-47, moving WMU to 11-6 on the season. The Huskies shot 66.7 percent from the field in the final two quarters to seal the deal.
Redshirt senior forward
Reilly Jacobson led Western Michigan last night, finishing with 15 points on 6-10 shooting and 3-6 from deep, as well as four rebounds and two blocks during her 32 game minutes. Junior guard
Sydney Shafer contributed 12 points and knocked down 3-6 from behind the arc while also grabbing a pair of boards in her night.
Collectively, the Broncos average 65.7 PPG on 41.4 percent shooting, and limit opponents to just 59.8 PPG this season, coming in at second place in the MAC in scoring defense. WMU also shoots 30.8 percent from three-point range and sinks 68.7 percent of their charity strip attempts for an average of 7.1 made three-pointers and 11.1 made free throws each outing.
Western Michigan also pulls in 33.6 rebounds each contest and find open teammates for baskets 12.6 times per game, while blocking 2.3 opponent shot attempts per outing. Furthermore, the Broncos swipe 9.9 steals per game, which ranks third conference-wide, and post a turnover margin of +3.2 on the season, which is also third in the MAC.
WMU has been piloted this season by sophomore guard
Lauren Ross, who averages 18.8 PPG on 45.3 percent from the field. Ross also grabs 5.7 boards each matchup, and finds nylon on 83.1 percent of her free throw attempts. Ross currently ranks sixth in the MAC in scoring, fourth conference-wide in field goal percentage, and fourth in free throw percentage, while leading all MAC sophomores in each of the three categories.
ON THE HORIZON
After Wednesday's bout with the Zips, Western Michigan returns home to take on the Miami RedHawks for the second time this season. Tip-off inside University Arena on Saturday, Feb. 5 is set for 2 p.m. and will be available for streaming via ESPN+.
Student get into all home games with a valid Bronco ID, and tickets to all Bronco home games can be found at
www.wmubroncos.com/tickets or by calling 1-888-4-WMU-TIX.
#LetsRide
