By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, OH---The Express men's and women's basketball teams had six players and two head coaches receive Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) honors over the weekend.
Aja Hall, Uniqua Mitchell, Emma-Jean Ricketts and Kieona Foster were named to the All-OCCAC team for women's basketball, while Justin Edmonds and James Kelly were honored for men's basketball.
Express women's basketball head coach Michael Llanas and Express men's basketball head coach Dave Clarke were both named OCCAC Coach of the Year.
Hall and Edmonds were both All-OCCAC First Team selections.
Hall averaged 18.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Overall, she averaged 18.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and two steals per game. She finished her Owens career with 1,010 points and became only the second women's basketball player in school history to eclipse 1,000 career points (Amy Amstutz, 1997-99). She earned second-team honors last season.
Edmonds was the leading scorer for the Express as a freshman. In conference play, he averaged 20.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Overall, he averaged 18.8 points, four rebounds and 3.1 assists. He scored 600 points exactly this season.
Mitchell and Kelly were All-OCCAC Second Team selections.
Kelly was the second leading scorer and leading rebounder for the Express men. He averaged 17.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game overall. His 58 blocks broke the single season school record, as well. In OCCAC play, he averaged 15.7 points and 9.3 rebounds.
Mitchell averaged 12.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, three assists, 1.7 blocks and one steal per game overall. In OCCAC play, she averaged 13.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and two blocks per game.
Ricketts and Foster were named All-OCCAC Honorable Mention. Ricketts was the second leading scorer for the Express as she averaged 13.3 points, six rebounds, 1.6 assists and one steal per game overall. In OCCAC play, she averaged 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and just over one steal per game.
Foster led the Express at the point as a sophomore. She averaged 7.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, almost three steals and just over one block per game. In OCCAC play, she averaged 8.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6.4 assists, three steals and one block per game.
The Express women were 25-6 overall this year and finished in second place in the OCCAC with a 10-2 record. Their 25 win season was their third consecutive with at least 25 - a first in program history. The season came to an end with a 92-88 OT loss to Sinclair Community College in the Region XII District I Semifinals.
The Express men had their best season since 2006-07 as they finished 24-8 overall. That included a 9-3 record in OCCAC play, which earned them a second place finish. The team had a 14 game win improvement from last year's 10-21 finish, and that helped Clarke, in his first season with the Express, earn OCCAC Coach of the Year honors. The team's season ended with an 80-58 loss to Lakeland Community College in the Region XII District 10 Finals.
The OCCAC Coach of the Year honor for Llanas is his second consecutive and third overall since joining Owens in 2004-05. He also won in 2006-07 and 2010-11.