By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, OH -The No. 10th Owens Express women's basketball team bounced back from Friday's loss with a, 71-54 win over Schoolcraft College in the SHAC on Saturday in the finale of the 2011 Owens Community College Turkey Trot Shootout.
Emma-Jean Ricketts (Anthony Wayne/Waterville, Ohio) paced the Express with 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal. Aja Hall (Fostoria/Fostoria, Ohio) came off the bench for the first time this season and contributed 16 points, six rebounds and one assist. Uniqua Mitchell (Martin Luther King/Detroit, Mich.) continued her strong play recently with 10 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals.
Hall now has 647 career points. She is on the cusp of passing Michelle Vorst (648), Brittany Darling and Sparkle Williams (654), and her own cousin Tia Simms (659) to move into the top 20 in career points.
Kieona Foster (Shawnee/Lima, Ohio) had another strong game, as well. The sophomore point guard had six points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Karahn Scott (Scott/Toledo, Ohio) made her first start of the season and had seven points, 10 rebounds and one steal, while Hailey Galvan (Archbold/Archbold, Ohio) had nine points, five rebounds, five blocks and one steal.
Today's game marks the sixth time in eight games that Foster has either led or tied for the lead in assists for the Express, while this was the second game that Ricketts has led in scoring. It was Foster's career high in rebounds.
The Express outrebounded the Ocelots 54 to 42, but Schoolcraft had six more offensive rebounds (26 to 20) than Owens. Shanequa Braggs (0-for-8) and Ashley Beemon (0-11) combined to go 0-for-19 from the field for Schoolcraft, who was led in scoring by Charlise Slater with 12. Domonique Jones (11) and Shawnicka Thomas (10) also scored in double figures for Schoolcraft.
The difference in the game was in field goal percentage. While each team made the same amount of total field goals (21), Owens was much more efficient with their shots. The Express finished 21-for-55 (38.2%) from the field compared to 21-for-79 (26.6%) for Schoolcraft. The Ocelots hit more threes (5-for-18) than Owens (3-for-15), but the Express got to the line much more (26-for-37 for Owens compared to 7-for-15 for Schoolcraft).
The Express (6-2) travel to St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, Mich. on Tuesday for a 5:30 p.m. matchup.