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Injuries to starters force Akron women's basketball team to 'roll with the punches'
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- Injuries to starters force Akron women's basketball team to 'roll with the punches'
The University of Akron women's basketball team is not playing with the lineups coach Ryan Gensler envisioned in the preseason.
Akron dressed nine players in Saturday's 80-71 loss at home to Buffalo, seven who started the season in uniform and two who joined the team this month.
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Junior Kam'Ren Rhodes and sophomore Teniesha Clarke are sidelined with season-ending injuries after starting 12 games and 13 games, respectively.
Freshman Kyara Bakker, sophomore Ella Wigal and junior Caroline Lyles are utilizing a redshirt.
Senior Kaia Woods entered the transfer portal earlier this season and junior Lanae Riley is "away from the team."
Akron coach Ryan Gensler talks with his team during a break in the action against Central Michigan on Jan. 15, 2025, in Akron.
Akron's Shelbee Brown drives to the basket over Central Michigan's Ayanna-Sarai Darrington on Jan. 15, 2025, in Akron.
So, who is left as Akron (9-11, 3-5) meets Bowling Green (9-10, 3-5) in a Mid-American Conference game at 7 p.m. Wednesday?
Gensler started redshirt seniors Shelbee Brown and Emily Hall, seniors Alexus Mobley and Zakia Rasheed and freshman Ni'Rah Clark on Saturday against Buffalo (17-2, 6-2).
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Junior Maddie Vejsicky, who has returned from an injury, logged minutes as a reserve along with junior Liisa Taponen, senior Ellen Kinnaird and freshman Liz Murphy.
Akron's Alexus Mobley drives to the basket between Michigan's Greta Kampschroeder, left, and Jordan Hobbs on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024.
Kinnaird, a Olentangy High School graduate, played on Akron's volleyball team for four seasons and made her Zips basketball debut in a 61-56 win at Eastern Michigan on Jan. 11.
Murphy graduated from Albury-Wodonga High School in Yackandandah, Australia, in December and made her Akron debut in a 75-55 loss to visiting Central Michigan on Jan. 15.
"This is not how I imagined my senior year to go, but we roll with the punches," Rasheed said Jan. 8 after Akron dressed seven players and defeated Northern Illinois 73-71. "We come together, we stay together, we stick to us and that is how we get through it."
Akron's Zakia Rasheed puts up a 3-pointer over Central Michigan's Ayanna-Sarai Darrington on Jan. 15, 2025, in Akron.
Rasheed made a career-high seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 21 points in 35 minutes in the victory over NIU. Brown and Mobley scored 17 points apiece.
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"She has seen it all," Gensler said of Rasheed. "She has been here the longest. She has been through a lot. She knows what it takes to get to Cleveland [for the Mid-American Conference Tournament]. She knows what it takes to win on the road in this league. She has that common voice of reassurance and of stability. She has done an unbelievable job in the locker room. She has done an unbelievable job of setting the example for everyone."
Akron's Maddie Vejsicky shoots a 3-pointer as Central Michigan's Demetria Prewitt defends on Jan. 15, 2025, in Akron.
Akron opened MAC play 3-1 with a 74-61 win at Ohio University on Jan. 1, a 74-54 loss at home to Toledo on Jan. 4, the 73-71 win at home over NIU on Jan. 8 and the 61-56 win at EMU on Jan. 11.
But the Zips have since lost in a four in a row to visiting CMU 75-55 on Jan. 15, host Ball State 80-57 on Jan. 18, host Miami 76-54 on Jan. 22 and visiting Buffalo 80-71 Saturday. Ball State is atop the MAC at 16-4 overall and 8-0 in the conference.
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"I am exceptionally proud of the level of preparation and the fight that we had," Gensler said after Saturday's loss. "As I told the group in the locker room, I am so proud to fight with this group. Basketball is a fun sport when there is emotion attached, when there is investment attached. These guys are giving it everything that they have. I truly appreciate that.
"They are still giving in to the discipline and the preparation and the executions of what we need and being super positive about making the corrections that we need to in the limited time that we are able to practice. To come out and execute it, I think speaks a lot to their character, it speaks a lot to the type of basketball players they are the type of people that they are."
Akron coach Ryan Gensler guides the Zips against Central Michigan on Jan. 15, 2025, in Akron.
Akron led Buffalo 25-12 at the end of the first quarter, but the Bulls outscored the Zips 68-46 the rest of the way.
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"With all of the people that we have had go down [with an injury], it kind of brings everyone into a different position," Vejsicky said. "We are all playing in different spots. We play with different subs. We are playing with more posts coming in. It is really unfortunate that we have had so many injuries, but it has also given us a time to figure out how to work with each other. ... The effort is there 100%."
Brown scored a career-high 21 points against Buffalo, Vejsicky contributed 17 points and Mobley had 16 points and nine rebounds.
"This requires me to step up, play with more consistency and to play a bigger role," Brown said regarding the revamped Zips. "I am stepping up to the challenge. ... I am thankful to have teammates this supportive."
Gensler said he dealt with a similar situation a decade ago as an assistant coach at Loyola University Maryland when the Greyhounds "were down to six or seven players" because of injuries.
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Gensler said Kinnaird and Murphy "believe in the core values of the program."
"They do the right things, they care a ton about their teammates, they play particularly hard and are very selfless," Gensler said of the newcomers.
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron women's basketball team navigates season with new lineups
