By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Kalamazoo, Mich.---Ashley Tunstall's (Huber Heights Wayne/Dayton, Ohio) 18 points led the No. 16 Owens Community College women's basketball team to a 77-51 rout of No. 2 Kalamazoo Valley Community College on the road today in the Turkey Shootout championship game.

Kalamazoo Valley, who came into the game undefeated at 6-0, was barely able to eclipse 50 points. In fact, nine of their final 11 points came from the foul line in the last three minutes.

Owens, the winners of eight in a row since a season-opening loss on the road to NJCAA Division I Wabash Valley, physically dominated Kalamazoo Valley in the first half.

Similar to yesterday's win over Schoolcraft, LaKayra Carlisle (Pershing/Detroit, Mich.) got things going offensively for Owens. After Kalamazoo valley scored the game's first points on a jumper from Khadijah Seawood, Carlisle hit a jumper, followed by a 3-pointer to give Owens a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

In fact, Carlisle sparked a 13-0 run that put Owens up 11 with 15:21 left in the half. Kalamazoo Valley responded by scoring the next four points and slowly chipping away at the lead, eventually trimming the deficit to 19-17 with 10:34 left.

Tunstall, who had scored five points in the opening 13-0 run, responded with a bucket down low to start a 6-0 Owens run. Kalamazoo Valley pulled back within three with 4:30 left, but a corner 3-pointer from Tatyana Reynolds (Rogers/Toledo, Ohio) calmed the storm and helped Owens close the half on a 13-5 run, which game them a 40-29 lead at the break.

Through one half, Owens outscored Kalamazoo Valley 20-12 in the paint and 11-4 in points off turnovers, while both teams were close in second chance and bench points.

In the second half, it was almost all Owens. Kalamazoo Valley opened the frame similar to the first half as they got a jumper from Brooke Martin to trim the lead to nine. However, Owens would stretch the lead to 19 over the game's next five minutes. During that run, Tunstall scored six points, and a 3-pointer from Courizma Williams (Hughes/Cincinnati, Ohio) put Owens up 53-34 with 13:57 left and forced a Kalamazoo Valley timeout.

Out of the timeout, Owens went on a 10-4 run to push the lead to 25 with 9:35 left. Later, three straight driving lay-ups from Briana Williams (Stebbins/Dayton, Ohio) gave Owens its largest lead of the game at 71-40 with 3:11 left.

Following that, Owens allowed Kalamazoo Valley to outscore them 11-6 with nine of the ponts coming from the foul line.

Overall, Owens outscored Kalamazoo Valley 40-24 in paint points and 22-10 in points off turnovers. Additionally, thanks to an 8-2 second half advantage, Owens held a 15-8 overall advantage in that category.

Tunstall, who had a game-high 18 points, scored in double figures for the seventh time in nine games this year. Her point total was one off her season-high. She added seven rebounds, two steals and one assist. Carlisle, meanwhile, added her second straight double-double. as she finished with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, along with three assists and one steal. Both of those players combined for just one turnover, while shooting 13-for-20 from the field.

Kheri Motley (West Bloomfield/West Bloomfield, Mich.) had a strong game off the bench as she finished third on the team in scoring with 11 points. She added five rebounds and one assist.

Briana Williams had a team-high six assists, while Sierra Harley (Africentric/Columbus, Ohio) added five. Both also finished with six points.

The Owens defense held the nation's No. 2 team to 17-for-63 shooting (27 percent), while the offense finished 32-for-71 (45.1 percent). Moreover, their defense held Kalamazoo Valley to just 11 points in the first 17 minutes of the second half.

Kalamazoo Valley did not have a player score in double figures, as Mallory Sewell had a team-high eight points on 4-for-19 shooting.

Owens (8-1) will be back in action when they host Mott Community College at 5:30 p.m. next Wednesday in the Student Health and Activities Center (SHAC).

Notes

Schoolcraft College, who lost to Owens by 20 points last night, defeated Edison Community College 66-45 in the consolation game.

During their eight game win streak, Owens has won by at least 20 points in all but one of those contests.