A win is a win, and this one came on the road.

The women’s basketball team earned a 60-55 win on the road against Akron Saturday night.

Coach Curt Miller said they continue to hang their hat on defense and rebounding, and this time it was against one of the best coached teams in the Midwest, he said.

“Not the most talented teams win games, it’s about tough teams and we are really showing how tough we are,” Miller said. “It would be a lot easier on ourselves if we could step up a little better offensively throughout the game and certainly in crunch time.”

BG took an early 7-4 lead, but Akron responded with eight straight points, and kept the lead for most of the first half.

The Falcons’ lead scorer Jessica Slagle, along with Alexis Rogers, scored to tie the game up at 28 going into the locker rooms.

“We were very fortunate to get out of the first half tied, and I think that was a big story,” Miller said.

Slagle left the game with 15 points and five rebounds.

BG held the Zips to their second-lowest point total in 27 games, and they lead the conference in scoring defense holding teams to just under 55 points per game.

For the Zips, their offense was fueled by an off the bench performance from Kacie Cassell, who scored 15 points.

Unfortunately for Akron, the Falcons’ bench produced Saturday, and Miller said he wished he could have given them more minutes.

“I just thought every single person that got in tonight really contributed,” Miller said. “I hope that gives them a boost of confidence heading into these last three games.”

The game was reminiscent of a tournament game, Miller said.

“In the long haul, with dreams and aspirations of regular season MAC East titles and seeding purposes … it was a huge road win.”

With the win, BG clinched at least a Mid-American Conference East divisional title, which will be the Falcons’ eighth straight divisional title.

“It’s unheard of,” Miller said. “We are really proud of that, but we’re greedy right now, we want the outright title.”