By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, Ohio---Courizma Williams (Hughes/Cincinnati, Ohio) made some key shots from 3-point range to help the No. 2 Owens Community College women's basketball team overcome a sluggish offensive performance in a 67-52 win over Sinclair Community College in the SHAC today.

With the win, Owens picked up its 24th straight victory and improved to 24-1 overall and 9-0 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) play.

With Owens up just four and approaching the end of the first half, Sierra Harley (Africentric/Columbus, Ohio) and Williams buried back-to-back 3-pointers, followed by a 3-point play from Ashley Tunstall (Huber Heights Wayne/Dayton, Ohio) to put Owens up 36-23 at halftime.

In that first half, Owens shot 14-for-32 (43.8 percent) from the field, but were outscored in points off turnovers 12-8. The game was tied twice, while the lead changed four times.

Then, in the second half, both teams really struggled offensively for the first 10 minutes as Owens held a 10-8 advantage during that stretch. With the game leaning either way, Williams hit a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 17, blocked a shot on the other end, hit another 3-pointer, stole the ball and hit a layup for eight straight points as Owens opened up a 58-33 lead with 7:21 remaining.

At that point, Owens emptied its bench and Sinclair trimmed its deficit to as few as 14 down the stretch.

Williams finished with a game-high 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting (4-for-8 from 3-point range). She added three rebounds, along with her key block and steal.

Harley was the second and final player in double figures for Owens as she totaled 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Tunstall finished with five points, but added a game-high 11 rebounds, one assist and one steal.

Harley and Zhana Randolph (Rochester/Rochester Hills, Mich.) each tied for the game-high in assists with three, while Randolph added a team-high three steals.

While the offense struggled, the Owens defense picked it up to hold Sinclair to a 14-for-55 (25.5 percent) finish from the field, including a 3-for-18 (16.7 percent) mark from 3-point range. They were helped by a 21-for-29 finish from the foul line.

Jenae Curtiss had a team-high 13 points for Sinclair, while Sara Thornton added 11. O'Sha Owens, who came into the game averaging 23.5 points over her past five games, was held to eight points on 3-for-13 shooting. In fact, the Owens defense held her and Curtiss to a combined 6-for-25 finish from the field.

Sinclair falls to 15-10 overall and 5-5 in OCCAC play with the loss. They came in having won four of their past five games.

Owens will be back in action on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. against Lakeland Community College in the SHAC. In the first matchup between the two teams, the game was tied with eight minutes left before Owens pulled away for a 15 point victory.

Notes

With today's win, Owens extended its program record overall winning streak to 24, while increasing its regular season home winning streak to 40 and its regular season league winning streak to 16, which also extends a program record. The team is two away from tying the record of 42 straight home wins.