AKRON, OHIO – The Winthrop women's basketball team dropped a 69-43 contest Tuesday morning on the road to the Akron Zips.

Winthrop falls to 1-4 on the year with the loss while Akron improves to 3-2.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Eagles and Zips traded runs in the first quarter.  After Winthrop scored the first bucket of the contest, Akron went on an 8-0 run.  The Eagles responded with a 10-0 run of their own, taking a 12-8 lead with just under four minutes remaining.  The Zips limited the Eagles to only two more points for the quarter as they went on a 7-2 run, to take a 15-14 lead after the opening 10 minutes.

Winthrop scored the first three points of the second period to take a 17-15 edge but Akron responded with an 11-0 run to take a 26-17 lead with three minutes to play in the half.  The Eagles were able to cut the deficit down to four with 2:15 on the clock but the Zips again pulled off a big run.  Akron closed the half on an 8-1 run, taking a 34-23 lead into the break.

Akron increased its lead to 15 just over two minutes into the second half but Winthrop battled back to get within 10 with 6:20 on the clock but couldn't cut the deficit to single digits.  The Zips slowly built their lead back to 16 with 3:35 to play in the third but didn't connect on another field goal for the rest of the period.  Winthrop was able to get back within 12 at 48-36 going into the fourth.

After Winthrop converted one of two free throws to start the fourth quarter, Akron then went on a 10-0 run, opening a 58-37 lead with 7:06 remaining.  Freshman Emily Kelley stopped the run with a three-pointer but Akron connected on three more three pointers in the fourth, five overall in the period and went on for the 69-43 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Marissa Cantrell narrowly missed a double-double, scoring nine points and pulling down 10 rebounds.  Kelley led the Eagles with 11 points while Ronata Rogers led the team with 13 board and added five points.

Winthrop connected on 29 percent of its shots from the floor and 19 percent from beyond the three-point line.  Akron finished 38 percent from the floor and from three-point range.  The Eagles struggled at the free-throw line, converting only eight of 17 free-throw attempts

The Eagles bested the Zips on the boards, 46-40 but Akron took full advantage of Winthrop's miscues, scoring 34 points off of Winthrop's 24 turnovers.

WHAT'S UP NEXT
Winthrop will remain on the road as the Eagles head to Huntington, West Virginia to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd Thursday at 6 p.m.