2017–18 Akron Zips women's basketball team

The 2017–18 Akron Zips women's basketball team represented the University of Akron during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Zips, led by twelfth year head coach Jodi Kest, played their home games at the James A. Rhodes Arena as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 9–21, 3–15 in MAC play to finish in a tie for last place in the East Division. They lost in the first round of the MAC women's tournament to Ohio.

2017–18 Akron Zips women's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	East Division
Record	9–21 (3–15 MAC)
Head coach	Jodi Kest (12th season)
Assistant coaches	Melissa Jackson Brianna Sanders Preston Reid
Home arena	James A. Rhodes Arena

2017–18 Mid-American Conference women's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Buffalo	16	–	2		.889			29	–	6		.829
Miami (OH)	12	–	6		.667			21	–	11		.656
Ohio	9	–	9		.500			16	–	15		.516
Kent State	5	–	13		.278			13	–	19		.406
Bowling Green	3	–	15		.167			11	–	19		.367
Akron	3	–	15		.167			9	–	21		.300
West
Central Michigan †	17	–	1		.944			30	–	5		.857
Ball State	13	–	5		.722			25	–	7		.781
Western Michigan	9	–	9		.500			18	–	15		.545
Toledo	8	–	10		.444			18	–	15		.545
Northern Illinois	7	–	11		.389			15	–	15		.500
Eastern Michigan	6	–	12		.333			11	–	20		.355
† 2018 MAC tournament winner As of March 24, 2018

On April 21, Jodi Kest announced her retirement after 12 seasons at Akron and 26 seasons as a head coach. She finished with a 26 year record of 405–348.

Roster

2017–18 Akron Zips women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 2 Alyssa Clay 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Pike Indianapolis, IN G 3 Shaunay Edmonds 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) So Seton LaSalle Pittsburgh, PA G 4 Shayna Harmon 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) So Teays Valley Ashville, OH F 5 Haliegh Reinoehl 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Westfield Westfield, IN F/C 10 Sarah Leyendecker 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Fr Mother of Mercy Lawrenceburg, IN G 11 Megan Sefcik 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) RS Jr Austintown Fitch Austintown, OH G 12 Lauren Hung 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Waterford Mott Waterford, MI G 13 Kynnedy Azubike 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Africentric Columbus, OH F 14 Greta Burry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Sr St. Joseph Academy Lakewood, OH G 21 Kaitlyn Flowers 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) RS Jr St. Joseph Lompoc, CA F 24 Caitlin Vari 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Revere Richfield, OH G 32 Destiny Perkins 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Lawrence North Indianapolis, IN F 34 Fredniqua Walker 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr Shaw Cleveland, OH	Head coach Jodi Kest (Slippery Rock) Assistant coach(es) Melissa Jackson (Richmond) Preston Reid (Akron) Brianna Sanders (Ohio State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: December 30, 2017

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/05/2017* 2:00 PM		Notre Dame (OH)	W 66–39		James A. Rhodes Arena (485) Akron, OH
Non-conference regular season
11/12/2017* 2:00 PM		at Bucknell	L 52–63	0–1	Sojka Pavilion (722) Lewisburg, PA
11/17/2017* 7:30 PM, ESPN3		Southeastern Louisiana Akron Classic	W 66–54	1–1	James A. Rhodes Arena (713) Akron, OH
11/18/2017* 2:30 PM, ESPN3		Florida Gulf Coast Akron Classic	L 63–82	1–2	James A. Rhodes Arena (611) Akron, OH
11/22/2017* 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Eastern Kentucky	W 62–45	2–2	James A. Rhodes Arena (545) Akron, OH
11/28/2017* 10:30 AM, ESPN3		Winthrop	W 69–43	3–2	James A. Rhodes Arena (1,450) Akron, OH
12/02/2017* 2:00 PM, ESPN3		No. 15 Maryland	L 54–75	3–3	James A. Rhodes Arena (656) Akron, OH
12/05/2017* 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Youngstown State	W 75–58	4–3	James A. Rhodes Arena (485) Akron, OH
12/07/2017* 3:00 PM		at Duquesne	L 60–66	4–4	Palumbo Center (1,213) Pittsburgh, PA
12/16/2017* 4:30 PM, ESPN3		Ohio Christian	W 93–33	5–4	James A. Rhodes Arena (524) Akron, OH
12/20/2017* 4:30 PM		vs. SIU Edwardsville FGCU Hilton Inn Garden Classic	W 59–58	6–4	Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
12/21/2017* 4:30 PM		vs. Harvard FGCU Hilton Inn Garden Classic	L 63–76	6–5	Alico Arena  Fort Myers, FL
MAC regular season
12/30/2017 2:00 PM, ESPN3		Buffalo	L 66–89	6–6 (0–1)	James A. Rhodes Arena (522) Akron, OH
01/03/2018 7:00 PM, ESPN3		at Toledo	L 54–60	6–7 (0–2)	Savage Arena (3,392) Toledo, OH
01/06/2018 1:00 PM, ESPN3		at Ohio	L 54–60	6–8 (0–3)	Convocation Center  Athens, OH
01/10/2018 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Ball State	L 61–74	6–9 (0–4)	James A. Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
01/13/2018 4:30 PM, ESPN3		Bowling Green	L 64–66	6–10 (0–5)	James A. Rhodes Arena (544) Akron, OH
01/17/2018 7:00 PM, ESPN3		at Miami (OH)	L 67–75	6–11 (0–6)	Millett Hall (256) Oxford, OH
01/20/2018 2:00 PM, ESPN3		Central Michigan	L 86–95	6–12 (0–7)	James A. Rhodes Arena (682) Akron, OH
01/24/2018 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Western Michigan	L 51–59	6–13 (0–8)	James A. Rhodes Arena (473) Akron, OH
01/27/2018 2:00 PM, ESPN3		Kent State	W 75–60	7–13 (1–8)	James A. Rhodes Arena (704) Akron, OH
01/31/2018 7:00 PM, ESPN3		at Ball State	L 65–97	7–14 (1–9)	Worthen Arena (1,205) Muncie, IN
02/03/2018 2:00 PM, ESPN3		at Western Michigan	L 60–76	7–15 (1–10)	University Arena (607) Kalamazoo, MI
02/07/2018 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Northern Illinois	L 61–84	7–16 (1–11)	James A. Rhodes Arena (505) Akron, OH
02/11/2018 2:00 PM, ESPN3		at Eastern Michigan	W 77–65	8–16 (2–11)	Convocation Center (933) Ypsilanti, MI
02/17/2018 1:00 PM, ESPN3		at Buffalo	L 66–89	8–17 (2–12)	Alumni Arena (1,001) Buffalo, NY
02/21/2018 7:00 PM, ESPN3		Miami (OH)	L 67–75	8–18 (2–13)	James A. Rhodes Arena (553) Akron, OH
02/24/2018 2:00 PM, ESPN3		at Kent State	L 55–60	8–19 (2–14)	MAC Center  Kent, OH
02/28/2018 7:00 PM, ESPN3		at Bowling Green	L 63–84	8–20 (2–15)	Stroh Center (1,204) Bowling Green, OH
03/03/2018 2:00 PM, ESPN3		Ohio	W 62–59	9–20 (3–15)	James A. Rhodes Arena (591) Akron, OH
MAC Women's Tournament
03/05/2018 7:00 pm	(12)	at (5) Ohio First Round	L 73–85	9–21	Convocation Center (375) Athens, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

See also

• 2017–18 Akron Zips men's basketball team