Akron (7-7, 1-1 MAC) vs. Northern Illinois (7-6, 1-1 MAC)
Wednesday, Jan. 8
James A. Rhodes Arena
Akron, Ohio

Series History: Northern Illinois leads 26-13
Live Stream: www.GoZips.com (subscription may be required) and ESPN App
Television: www.GoZips.com (subscription may be required) and ESPN App
Live Stats: www.GoZips.com 
Live Radio: www.GoZips.com
 
WHAT'S AHEAD
The University of Akron women's basketball team is set to battle Northern Illinois in a midweek MACtion showdown on Wednesday (Jan. 8) at James A. Rhodes Arena. The 6 p.m. tilt with the Huskies will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Michael Reghi and Jeff Phelps calling the action as well as on GoZips.com with Bill Morgan on the radio call.
 
Tickets for the contest against the Huskies are available for purchase at http://www.gozips.com/Tickets. Fans are asked to park in Lots 1 (Parking Deck) at corner of Carroll and Spicer Streets. For complete parking information click here.

HEAD COACHES
Northern Illinois: Lisa Carlsen (Northwest Missouri State, 1992), Overall Record: 325-307 (22nd Season), Record at Northern Illinois: 141-144 (10th Season)
Akron: Ryan Gensler (St. Joseph's, 2009), Overall Record: 18-25 (Second Season), Record at Akron: 18-25 (Second Season)

SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Northern Illinois comes into play versus Akron on Wednesday (Jan. 8) at 7-6 on the campaign, including 1-1 in the Mid-American Conference, following a 71-55 setback against Ohio on Saturday (Jan. 4).
 
Junior Alecia Doyle leads a trio of Huskies scoring in double figures averaging a team-best 12.6 points per game, while redshirt seniors Brooke Stonebraker and Chelby Koker are adding 12.1 and 11.0 points per night. As a team, Northern Illinois is recording 66.6 points, 39.4 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 4.9 steals and 2.5 blocks per tilt.
 
The Huskies are rated 12th in the NCAA in three-point percentage (.382) and 15th in defensive rebounds (29.8).

SERIES HISTORY
Akron and Northern Illinois are meeting for the 40th time in program history. The Huskies lead the series, 26-13. Akron earned a 61-59 victory over Northern Illinois on Jan. 27, 2024, in DeKalb, Ill., before besting the Huskies, 69-54, on March 2, 2024, at James A. Rhodes Arena.
 
IN OUR LAST MEETING (MARCH 2, 2024 – AKRON, OHIO)
Reagan Bass notched a double-double with a 25-point and 11-rebound performance to help the Zips to a 69-54 victory on Senior Day over Northern Illinois on March 2, 2024, at James A. Rhodes Arena.
 
The Zips had three players score in double figures, led by Bass, who had a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Morgan Haney added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists, while sophomore Teniesha Clarke (Burlington, Ontario) chipped in as well with 11 points and six rebounds.
 
Akron did a stellar job taking care of the basketball, dishing out 18 assists while turning the ball over a season-low eight times. Haney's five assists paced the Zips.
 
Akron did a great job disrupting Northern Illinois shots in the contest, coming away with six blocks. Bass' four rejections led the way individually for the Zips.
 
TOLEDO TRIUMPHS OVER THE ZIPS
Akron senior Alexus Mobley (Indianapolis, Ind.) scored 23 points while senior Zakia Rasheed (Avon, Ind.)  and redshirt senior Shelbee Brown (Memphis, Tenn.) added 11 each, but the Zips fell to Toledo, 74-54, at James A. Rhodes Arena on Saturday (Jan. 4).
 
Mobley led the Zips with 23 points and five steals. Rasheed added 11 points off the bench and Brown chipped in as well with 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Akron defense forced 14 Toledo turnovers. Those takeaways turned into 10 points on the other end of the floor. Mobley's five steals led the way individually for the Zips.
 
CLARKE SCORES 20 IN AKRON'S WIN AT OHIO
Teniesha Clarke scored a career-high 20 points to help lead Akron past Ohio, 74-61, in the Mid-American Conference opener for both schools on Jan. 1.
 
The Zips had three players score in double figures, led by Clarke, who had 20 points. Junior Liisa Taponen (Tampere, Finland) tacked on a career-best 17 points, including 14 in the decisive second half, while Alexus Mobley helped out with 15 points and seven rebounds.
 
Led by freshman Ni'Rah Clark's (Toledo, Ohio) five offensive rebounds, Akron did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down a season-high 19 boards that resulted in 19 second-chance points.
 
Akron did a great job disrupting Ohio shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Clark's three rejections led the way individually for the Zips.
 
ZIP TIDBITS
• Teniesha Clarke is averaging 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per contest in a pair of career games against Northern Illinois. Alexus Mobley is adding 6.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per tilt versus the Huskies.
• Alexus Mobley recorded an Akron season-high five steals against Toledo (Jan. 4).
• Akron set nine season-high and three career-best marks at Ohio (Jan. 1).
• Alexus Mobley was honored by the Mid-American Conference as its Women's Basketball Player of the Week, the league announced on Dec. 31.
• Redshirt senior Emily Hall (Phoenix, N.Y.) recorded season-high marks in scoring (7), assists (3), steals (2) and minutes played (38) in her first career start as a Zip against Ohio (Jan. 1).
• Liisa Taponen dished out a career-high two assists to go along with a career-best 17-point effort at Ohio (Jan. 1).
• Ni'Rah Clark's four blocked shots versus Miami Hamilton (Dec. 28) stand as the 11th-best single-game effort in program history matching a four-block performance from Shelbee Brown at Colgate (Nov. 30).
• The Zips shined in the classroom during the fall semester as Akron recorded a 3.04 team GPA, including three Zips turning in a perfect 4.0 GPA.
• Akron registered nine career-high marks against Miami Hamilton, including Ni'Rah Clark setting milestones in rebounds (13), blocks (4), assists (2) and minutes played (25).
• Emily Hall pulled down a season-high eight rebounds against Miami Hamilton (Dec. 28) after recording a team season-best four steals versus Canisius (Dec. 7).
• The Zips recorded season-high marks in rebounds (51), defensive rebounds (39) and blocks (10) versus Miami Hamilton (Dec. 28).
• Shelbee Brown equaled a then season-best 14-point scoring effort versus No. 20 Michigan (Dec. 20).
• Liisa Taponen recorded her first career double-digit rebounding game pulling down a career-best 11 rebounds against No. 20 Michigan (Dec. 20), while also posting a career-high three blocks.
• Ni'Rah Clark both posted a career-high scoring 13 points against Canisius (Dec. 7).
• Zakia Rasheed has dished out a team season-high six assists in back-to-back contests against Canisius (Dec. 7) and Slippery Rock (Dec. 4).
• The Zips recorded season-high marks in triples (10) versus Slippery Rock (Dec. 4), while junior Maddie Vejsicky (New Concord, Ohio) connected on a team season-best five three pointers.
• Akron is rated second in the Mid-American Conference in blocked shots (3.64), fourth in free throw percentage (.734), fifth in defensive rebounds (26.71), offensive rebounds (11.86) and scoring defense (64.14).
• Individually, Shelbee Brown is fourth in rebounding (7.86), fifth in defensive rebounds (5.79), seventh in steals (2.14) and ninth in offensive rebounds (2.07), Maddie Vejsicky is sixth in three-point percentage (.420), Liisa Taponen is fifth in offensive rebounds (2.64), sixth in blocked shots (1.00), while Ni'Rah Clark is third in blocked shots (1.08).
• In league-only games, Akron is ranked second in the MAC in rebounding margin (9.0) and in offensive rebounds (13.50), third in field goal percentage (.434) and fourth in blocked shots (3.50) and defensive rebounds (27.0).
• In conference-only tilts, Ni'Rah Clark is rated first in the league in blocked shots (2.50) and fifth in rebounding (8.00) and offensive rebounding (3.00). Additionally, Teniesha Clarke is first in free throw percentage (1.000), Liisa Taponen is first in offensive rebounding (4.50), second in field goal percentage (.667), Alexus Mobley is second in steals (3.00) and fifth in scoring (19.00), Zakia Rasheed is eighth in assist/turnover ratio (1.50), Emily Hall is sixth defensive rebounding (5.50) and seventh in minutes played (36.88) and Shelbee Brown is sixth in defensive rebounding (5.50) and seventh in rebounding (7.50).
• Individually, Maddie Vejsicky is ranked 41st in the NCAA in three pointers per game (2.64) and 44th in three-point percentage (.420).
• The Zips have posted five 20+ scoring games this season. Teniesha Clarke poured in 20 against both Ohio (Jan. 1) and Cleveland State (Nov. 16), while Alexus Mobley added 30 and 23 versus Miami Hamilton (Dec. 28) and Toledo (Jan. 4), while Kam'Ren Rhodes tallied 26 points against Georgia State (Nov. 4).
• Kam'Ren Rhodes was an All-Tournament selection at the Colgate Thanksgiving Tournament.
• The 2024-25 season marks the 51st season of competition for the Akron women's basketball program.
• The Zips own season-high marks in scoring (88-GSU), field goals made (32-CSU), triples (10-SRU), offensive rebounds (19-SRU | OHIO-1), defensive rebounds (39-MIAH), rebounds (51-MIAH), assists (22-CAN), steals (9-CAN) and blocks (10-TSU | MIAH).
• Eight different Akron players have scored in double figures this season led Alexus Mobley (10), Teniesha Clarke (8), Shelbee Brown (8), Maddie Vejsicky (5), Kam'Ren Rhodes (4), Liisa Taponen (4), Zakia Rasheed (3) and Ni'Rah Clark (1).
• Akron connected on five or more three pointers in 102 of its last 134 contests overall. The Zips hit on a season-high 10 triples in an 79-43 victory over Slippery Rock (Dec. 4).
 
AKRON UNVEILS TALENTED SEVEN-MEMBER NEWCOMER CLASS
Akron under the leadership of second-year head coach Ryan Gensler, boast a talented seven-member newcomer class for 2024.
 
Donning the Akron uniform this fall will be freshmen Kyara Bakker (Leiderdorp, Netherlands) and Ni'Rah Clark, Emily Hall, junior Caroline Lyles (Argyle, Texas), Kam'Ren Rhodes, Maddie Vejsicky and sophomore Ella Wigal (Granville, Ohio).
 
ZIPS' OFFENSIVE PROGRESS REPORT
In Akron's 14 games this season, this is how the Zips have fared from the field: 50 percent: NA, 40 percent: .492 (Cleveland State), .483 (Canisius), .464 (Bellarmine), .463 (Miami Hamilton), .444 (Ohio-1), .439 (Iona), .420 (Toledo-1), .420 (Slippery Rock), 30 percent: .396 (Michigan), .388 (Colgate), .379 (Tennessee State), .377 (Georgia State), .361 (Robert Morris), .333 (Binghamton).
 
ZIPS' DEFENSIVE PROGRESS REPORT
In the Zips' 14 games this season, this is how the Zips have fared defensively: 50 percent: .NA, 40 percent: .491 (Cleveland State), .485 (Michigan), .469 (Robert Morris), .463 (Bellarmine), .459 (Toledo-1), .414 (Binghamton), .403 (Tennessee State), 30 percent: .393 (Colgate), .368 (Ohio-1), .361 (Georgia State), .310 (Miami Hamilton), .310 (Iona), 20 percent: .298 (Canisius), .278 (Slippery Rock).
 
MAC PRESEASON POLL
The Zips under second-year head coach Ryan Gensler, were picked to finish ninth as a team behind preseason league and tournament favorite preseason favorite Ball State (10 first-place votes and 120 points). The Cardinals were followed by Kent State (2 first-place votes and 104 points), Buffalo (98), Bowling Green (96), Toledo (82), Northern Illinois (64), Ohio (64), Miami (44), Akron (43), Western Michigan (34), Eastern Michigan (23) and Central Michigan (20).
 
OVER THE LAST FIVE GAMES
Led by 15.8 points per game from Alexus Mobley, three Zips are averaging double-figures in scoring over the last five games. Joining Mobley with 11.4 and 10.2 points per outing is Shelbee Brown and Teniesha Clarke. Ni'Rah Clark and Brown are pulling down a team-best 7.4 rebounds per contest, while Clark is shooting a team-high 73.7 percent from the field.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Akron has once proved to be strong in the paint averaging 34.7 points per game for 486 total points. This season, the Zips posted a season-best 46 points in the paint in a 84-74 victory over Cleveland State (Nov. 16) as well as an 80-52 triumph past Miami Hamilton (Dec. 28). Additional inside the numbers for the Zips this season are below.
 
Points in Paint – 34.7 ppg (486) | Season-High - 46 vs. Cleveland State | Miami Hamilton
Points off Turnovers – 14.6 ppg (204) | Season-High - 24 vs. Cleveland State
Second-Chance Points – 11.9 ppg (166) | Season-High - 20 vs. Slippery Rock
Fast-Break Points – 7.1 ppg (99) | Season-High - 15 vs. Miami Hamilton
Bench Points – 17.8 ppg (249) | Season-High - 36 vs. Canisius
                       
HOME COOKING
Inside the friendly confines of James A. Rhodes Arena, the Zips have seen a lot of success over the course of the past 19 seasons. When playing on its home court, Akron owns a 138-90 record dating back to the 2004-05 campaign.
 
This season, the Zips are 5-3 in the JAR, averaging 71.1 points per tilt and connecting on nearly 43 percent (.429) of their attempts from the field, while recording 39.4 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.0 steals and 4.0 blocks per game.
 
UP NEXT
Akron travels to Ypsilanti, Mich., for a 1 p.m. contest at Eastern Michigan on Saturday (Jan. 11).
 
AKRON ATHLETICS NOW CASHLESS
The University of Akron Athletics Department announced its transition to cashless payments for all ticketing, concessions, and merchandise purchases at all Akron athletic venues, concession stands, and gear shops, beginning with the start of the 2024-25 sports seasons. For more information click here.