By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, OH---Despite missing two of their top players and having a so-so second half offensively, the No. 12 Owens Express women defeated Kellogg Community College 78-48 in the SHAC Wednesday night behind five players in double figures.
Owens played without their leading scorer Aja Hall (Fostoria/Fostoria, Ohio) and the nation's leading shot blocker Hailey Galvan (Archbold/Archbold, Ohio). It was the fourth straight game Galvan has missed, and the first that Hall has missed. Both may possibly be back for the team's next game.
Mackenzie Heacock (Arlington/Arlington, Ohio) scored 15 of her team-high 16 points in the first half as the Express opened up a 51-26 lead at the break. She finished the game 5-for-10 from the field, 3-for-3 from three point range, and 3-for-4 from the foul line and totaled 16 points, six rebounds, four steals, two assists and one block.
As a team, the Express started the game strong as they held leads of 6-0 and 18-3. Heacock scored the first six points for the Express.
Emma-Jean Ricketts (Anthony Wayne/Waterville, Ohio) and Uniqua Mitchell pitched in 15 points each. Ricketts added six rebounds and one steal, while Mitchell had eight rebounds, four blocks, three assists and one steal.
Kieona Foster (Shawnee/Lima, Ohio) added 12 points, five assists, two steals and one rebound for the Express, while Karahn Scott (Scott/Toledo, Ohio) had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Five players had at least five rebounds for the Express, while four had at least three assists. Heacock and Alyssa Lassey (Ida/Ida, Mich.) had four steals to lead the team, while Lassey's six assists was a team-high. Mitchell and Scott tied for the team-high in rebounds with eight apiece. Mitchell led the team in blocked shots with four.
Overall, Owens shot 29-for-75 from the field, 5-for-19 from three point range and 15-for-19 from the foul line. Kellogg finished 21-for-68 overall, 2-for-8 from three point range and 4-for-6 from the foul line. The Express held advantages in points in the paint (42 to 28), points off turnovers (30 to 14), bench points (22 to 13), rebounds (51 to 39), assists (20 to 12), blocks (10 to 9) and steals (15 to 11). They also had less turnovers (20 to 28).
Samantha Krueger led the Bruins with 16 points, four rebounds, three steals, two blocks and one assist. Megan Parker had a strong second half defensively for the Bruins as she blocked all five of her shots in the half. Aside from Krueger, nobody else hit double figures for Kellogg.
The game marked the second night of a back-to-back for the Express, and they produced their second straight 30 point win. It was also their fourth consecutive win.
The Express (12-3) will now head into holiday break as their next action isn't until Dec. 30 when they travel to Roscommon, Mich. to take on Kirtland Community College at 5:30 p.m.