By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, Ohio---The No. 16 Owens Community College women's basketball team scored the game's first 19 points en route to a 104-65 win over Delta College in the Student Health and Activities Center (SHAC) today.

Briana Williams (Stebbins/Dayton, Ohio) opened the game up by knifing through the Pioneer defense for a left-handed lay-up. She then ripped the ball from Mercedez Willis and passed to Sierra Harley (Africentric/Columbus, Ohio), who made a move on a defender and finished a lay-up. LaKayra Carlisle's (Pershing/Detroit, Mich.) jumper in the paint on the next possession helped the Express start the game 3-for-3 from the field.

The Express then kept another streak going despite missing three shots on the next possession as three offensive rebounds, the final one by Williams, led to a 3-pointer from Harley as the Express scored on their fourth straight possession to open the game. That was followed by a Harley to Ashley Tunstall (Huber Heights Wayne/Dayton, Ohio) 3-point play and the Express were up 12-0.

Another turnover by the Pioneers led to the sixth straight scoring possession as Tunstall rebounded and put back a missed shot by Williams for a 14-0 lead. On the ensuing possession, Carlisle kept the streak going with two more second chance points, followed by a 3-pointer from Demy Whitaker (Notre Dame Academy/Toledo, Ohio) to finish the 19 point run.

When the dust settled, the Express had scored on eight straight possessions before the Pioneers got their first points on a jumper by Cassidy Vieau. During that stretch, the Express shot 8-for-12 from the field.

In fact, it wasn't until two possessions later in which the Express first came up empty. After Vieau's jumper, Tunstall picked up an offensive rebound, was fouled and converted both free throws to push the lead to 21-2. A turnover on the ensuing possession ended the streak at nine.

The Pioneers scored the game's next four points and had the deficit at 15 with 12 minutes remaining, but the Express offense picked back up and pushed the lead to 31 over the next six minutes. The lead stretched to as many as 33 before the Pioneers trimmed the deficit to 25 at halftime thanks to a 15-for-16 first half foul shooting performance as a team.

In the first half, the Express held a 30-6 advantage in paint points, a 31-10 advantage in points off turnovers, a 20-2 advantage in second chance points and a 17-11 advantage in bench points.

The second half started a lot like the first half as Tunstall, Harley and Williams hit 3-for-4 from the field as the Express scored the first seven points. The Pioneers rallied somewhat to trim their deficit to 30, but a mass substitution helped the Express take a 76-46 lead with 11:36 left up to a 94-52 with 6:17 left.

The 42 point lead was the largest of the game, and the Express pushed it to that mark three times over the game's final minutes. 

Harley led six Express players in double figures as the freshman guard totaled 21 points, eight rebounds and a team-high six assists. Tunstall, a sophomore forward, produced a double-double with 19 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Williams had 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals and one block, while Cheyenne Bryant (Central Catholic/Cleveland, Ohio) and Courizma Williams (Hughes/Cincinnati, Ohio) each had 10 points. Carlisle added eight points, eight rebounds, two steals and one assist.

Bryant's point total, which came in 10 minutes of play, was her season-high through seven games. Courizma Williams now has four straight double figure scoring games. Briana Williams picked up her second straight double figure scoring game, and Harley has now scored in double figures in all but one game this year. She had her second 20 plus point effort of the season today.

Tunstall, meanwhile, followed up her season-low two point game vs Wayne County with a season-high in scoring. She also notched a season-high in field goals made (8) and produced her second double figure rebounding game of the season.

The Express have now won six straight since their season opening loss on the road to NJCAA Division I Wabash Valley College. They will now have a break before being back in action in the Turkey Shoot Out Nov. 28-29 in Kalamazoo, Mich. They will take on Schoolcraft College on the first day before battling No. 2 Kalamazoo Valley Community College on the second day.

Delta College fell to 2-1 this year with the loss. They were led by Champagne Arthur's 19 points today.