By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Dearborn, MI - The No. 12 Owens Express defeated Henry Ford Community College 81-58 on the road Wednesday night behind the play of sophomores Aja Hall (Fostoria/Fostoria, Ohio) and Hailey Galvan (Archbold/Archbold, Ohio).
Hall led Owens in scoring for the second straight game as she tied her career high with 29 points, while adding eight rebounds. She shot 13-for-17 from the field, 1-for-2 from 3-point distance, and 2-for-7 from the foul line. Meanwhile, Galvan had five points, 14 rebounds and nine blocks. Through the season's first two games, Galvan has 15 blocks and Hall has 50 points.
The Express led throughout as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead to begin the game. Henry Ford didn't score until the 14:43 mark. Then, the Express stretched their lead to 33-5 with 7:07 remaining in the first half. Henry Ford then rallied and went on a 26-14 run to close the half. Owens outscored Henry Ford by seven in the second half for the winning margin.
Uniqua Mitchell (Martin Luther King/Detroit, Mich.) added 11 points, two assists, one block and one steal for Owens, while Mackenzie Heacock (Arlington/Arlington, Ohio) had 10 points, four assists and three steals. It was Heacock's second straight double-figure scoring game to open her collegiate career, while Mitchell recorded her first double-figure scoring game in her second collegiate game.
Sophomore point guard Kieona Foster (Shawnee/Lima, Ohio) led the team in assists with six, while adding nine points and five rebounds.
As a team, the Express had 24 assists on 32 made field goals. They shot 32-for-67 (47.8%) from the field, but only 4-for-22 (18.2%) from long distance. Additionally, the Express failed to capitalize at the foul line as they finished 13-for-25 (52%). However, defensively, the Express held Henry Ford to a 22-for-78 (28.2%) performance overall from the field - including a 5-for-21 (23.8%) from 3-point range.
Charisse Carr and Jasmine Korczak each had 18 to lead Henry Ford in scoring. Korczak added 11 rebounds, while Carr was the player who carried Henry Ford early. She scored the first basket, as well as the first seven points for them.
Henry Ford is now 0-2 this season.
Owens outrebounded Henry Ford 48-43, had fewer turnovers (15) than Henry Ford (18), blocked nine more shots (12-3), had more points off turnovers (22-12), more points in the paint (56-22), and had eight more steals (11-3). Additionally, every player scored for Owens.
The Express (2-0) will next play in the Owens Tip Off Classic on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Mid-Michigan Community College. Should they win, they will play in the championship, which will be held at 12 p.m. on Sunday. The consolation game is at 10 a.m. on Sunday.