Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Some More ESPN Love for the Zips and Hanna Luburgh!!!





Hanna Luburgh, Akron: If you aren't watching Akron, and it's admittedly not the easiest thing to do, you're missing some of the more entertaining basketball being played in Division I. Few deserve a curtain call more than Luburgh, a senior guard for a team that is almost Oregon-like in its love of pushing tempo and piling up points. In three games this past week, the senior guard averaged 28.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists and shot 50 percent from the field. That run included 37 points against Dayton and 33 points against Tennessee Tech.
Luburgh actually scored more points a season ago than any Akron player had in any season up to that point. Unfortunately for her place in the record book (not to mention teams tasked with slowing down the Zips), she happened to score her 549 points during the same season that teammate Rachel Tecca scored 609 points.
While it was a tough week overall for Akron, which couldn't bounce back from a loss at Dayton well enough to avoid a defeat Sunday against Wright State, Luburgh more than held her own.

Senior Hanna Luburgh Earns MAC Player of the Weak Honors!!!




University of Akron shooting guard Hanna Luburgh has been selected as the Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week.
This is Luburgh's fourth MAC Player of the Week honor of her career, and the second consecutive week the award has gone to an Akron player.
Luburgh was nearly unstoppable offensively last week for the Zips, reaching a career milestone in the process. In Akron's three games, she averaged 28.7 points per contest, including two 30-point games, and shot 50.0 percent from the field en route to surpassing 1,000 points for her career

Senior Rachel Tecca Earns MAC East Player of the Year!




University of Akron forward Rachel Tecca has been named the Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week.
This is the first time this season and the seventh time in her career Tecca has earned the conference's weekly award.
As the reigning MAC Player of the Year, Tecca set the bar high once again in the first game of her senior season last week. In Akron's 98-69 win over Florida Atlantic, Tecca shot 63.2 percent from the field (12-of-19), setting a new career-high with 36 points in just 27 minutes of action.

#5 in ESPN Mid Major Poll!!!





5. Akron (Last season: 23-10, WNIT)

The MAC might be the most competitive mid-major conference in the country this season, and Akron gets the nod as its first representative on this list. The team suffered an unfortunate loss when Sina King, who averaged 15 points and 8.7 rebounds, was ruled out for the season because of blood clots. But the Zips still return their top two scorers in Rachel Tecca and Hanna Luburgh (one of the best 3-point shooters in the country last season), as well as point guard Kacie Cassell, who led the nation at 7.8 assists per game. The catch is that outside of a game at Dayton early in the season, there is little on the schedule to help the at-large NCAA profile. It's going to be automatic bid or bust.
Player to watch: Rachel Tecca. She had the most prolific offensive season in school history, averaging 18.5 points per game, and earned MAC player of the year honors as a result, beating out players like Crystal Bradford, Courtney Osborn and Naama Shafir. Not bad from a player who was coming off a season-ending knee injury the previous year.