Hall, Foster Lead No. 9 Express Past Edison State, 62-48

Kieona Foster produced four points, a career-high 15 rebounds, eight steals, six assists and two blocks against Edison State. Photo by Seth Foley
Kieona Foster produced four points, a career-high 15 rebounds, eight steals, six assists and two blocks against Edison State. Photo by Seth Foley

By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, OH---The No. 9 Express earned their 20th win of the season with a hard-fought 62-48 victory over OCCAC foe Edison State in the SHAC on Wednesday night.

The Express opened the game strong and led 14-4 with 14:27 remaining in the first half. Edison State started chipping away, however, and cut its deficit to three with 8:21 remaining. Owens then took a 28-22 lead into the half. After Edison tied the game at 30 with 15:30 remaining, the Express went on a 27-11 run, took a 57-41 lead with 4:34 remaining, and seized control of the game.

Aja Hall led the Express with 21 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. However, despite struggling from the field, Kieona Foster had the best all-around game for the Express. The sophomore point guard finished with four points, a career-high 15 rebounds, eight steals, six assists and two blocks.

Hall, who shot 9-for-21 from the field overall, 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 1-for-4 from the foul line, now has 878 career points. She is now seven points away from tying Niccole Brown for sixth place on the career scoring list.

Uniqua Mitchell added 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal for the Express, while Emma-Jean Ricketts finished with 10 points, three assists and two rebounds for Owens. Karahn Scott had seven points, 10 rebounds and one steal off the bench.

Edison State was led by Kendra Brunswick, who finished with 18 points, six rebounds and two steals. Mackenzie May added 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while Lottie Hageman had six points and 11 rebounds.

Despite the ups and downs of the game, the Express never trailed, and the game was only tied twice. Owens finished 27-for-78 from the field overall, 4-for-19 from 3-point range and 4-for-8 from the foul line. Edison finished 19-for-65 overall, 5-for-25 from 3-point range and 5-for-7 from the foul line.

The Express outproduced Edison in rebounds (53-48), assists (16-12), blocks (6-3), steals (15-3), points in the paint (36-18), and points off turnovers (23-9). They also had fewer assists (14-24). Edison had more second chance points (12-11) and bench points (19-11).

With the win, Owens improves to 20-4 overall and 5-1 in the OCCAC, while Edison falls to 12-7 overall and 1-4 in the OCCAC.

The Express will travel to Columbus State this Saturday for a 1 p.m. matchup.