AKRON, Ohio -- Western Michigan graduate student
Hannah Spitzley became the 29th player in WMU women's basketball history to reach 1,000 points as she netted 22 points in the Broncos' 70-64 road win at Akron on Wednesday night.
Point 1,000 was a crucial one for Western Michigan (9-12, 6-5 MAC). WMU had a 49-48 lead just a minute into the fourth quarter when Spitzley nailed a three to push the lead to 52-48.
The Zips fought there way back to tie it up at 52-52 with 7:04 left to play. WMU responded with a 6-0 run thanks to free throws and a layup by Spitzley and a layup by Ali Carlson. There was no looking back for the Broncos, after a steal and triple by Carlson pushed the lead to 61-54, Akron never got within more than four of Western Michigan.
Spitzley also had four rebounds and shot 7-for-11 form the field. Junior
Marina Asensio had 21 points on 6-for-10 shooting and 6-for-8 from the free throw line, also contributing four rebounds, five assists and three steals. Carlson finished with 12 points and four rebounds.
Evyn Carrier had eight points off the bench.
As a team, the Broncos shot 52.2 percent from the field (24-of-46) and forced Akron to commit 19 turnovers.
In the first quarter, Akron built a small early lead of 12-7 with 4:17 left. The Broncos rallied and ended the quarter on an 11-2 run to take an 18-14 lead into the second quarter. The two teams exchanged runs in the second quarter with Akron taking a 29-22 lead, its largest of the game, with 4:49 left. Western Michigan responded again and ended the half on a 12-2 run, taking a 34-31 lead into the locker room. The Zips, once again, erased the Broncos' lead only for the Brown & Gold to rally back. Akron led 45-42 with 2:17 left in the quarter and Western Michigan scored the final five points to lead 47-45 going into the fourth.
The Broncos make the long trip down to San Marcos, Texas for their road portion of the MAC/Sunbelt Challenge, taking on Texas State on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. The game can be watched live on ESPN+ and will be joined in progress on the Bronco Media Network after the conclusion of the WMU men's basketball game.
