By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---Sierra Harley (Africentric/Columbus, Ohio) collected 20 points and 11 rebounds off the bench to lead the No. 2 Owens Community College women's basketball team to a 90-67 win over Columbus State Community College in the SHAC tonight.
In a battle of the league's top two teams in the standings, Owens claimed an outright OCCAC championship and the No. 1 seed in next weekend's district tournament. Columbus State entered the game needing a win and help on Saturday to claim at least a share of the title, but Harley and her teammates made sure that didn't happen.
Over the game's first nine minutes, Columbus State had Owens on the ropes. The visitors held a 23-12 lead thanks to four straight points from Paige Lewis, and Jaslynn Rollins grabbed a defensive rebound off a Harley miss. That's when the turning point in the game happened, though.
Zhana Randolph (Rochester/Rochester Hills, Mich.) stole the ball from Rollins and hit a jumper to begin a 13-2 run that tie the game up with 7:11 remaining. After each team traded baskets, Owens began a 13-3 run to take a 40-30 lead with 2:01 left. During the run, freshman guard Courizma Williams (Hughes/Cincinnati, Ohio) had nine points on a 3-pointer and two three-point plays.
Briana Williams (Stebbins/Dayton, Ohio) sank a pair of free throws with five seconds left to give Owens a 42-33 at halftime.
In the second half, the Owens offense came out flat as Columbus State scored the first five points. It wasn't until a 3-pointer from Briana Williams with 17:07 left that Owens got on the board in the half.
The Williams three, however, started a 13-2 run that gave Owens a 55-39 lead with 13:58 left. The run was capped when Harley stole the ball, drove the length of the court and dished to Williams, who buried another three to cap the run she started.
A few minutes later, Demy Whitaker (Notre Dame Academy/Toledo, Ohio) hit a pull-up jumper in the paint to give Owens a 66-45 lead and force a Columbus State timeout. Owens would later lead by as many as 25 on a 3-point play from Randolph that made it 88-63 with 1:05 left.
Harley, a freshman point guard, tallied her 20 points on 8-for-17 shooting. Moreover, nine of her game-high 11 rebounds came on the offensive glass, and she added five assists, four steals and one block.
Two other linchpins in today's win were Tunstall and Briana Williams. Each had 15 points, while Tunstall added nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. She had five offensive rebounds and finished a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line. Williams finished 5-for-7 from the field (3-for-4 from 3-point range) and 2-for-2 from the foul line, while adding three rebounds and two assists.
In the first half, though, it was the play of Courizma Williams that helped give Owens a nine-point lead at the break. The freshman guard was 4-for-9 from the field and scored all of her 12 points in the game. While she didn't score in the second half, she did all her work in 14 total minutes of play.
The fifth player in double figures was Randolph, who had 12 points, three assists and two steals on 5-for-8 shooting off the bench.
With the win, Owens broke the program record for most consecutive regular season wins at home with their 43rd straight dating back to Jan. 21, 2012. They finished that season with three home wins, followed by back-to-back 14-0 marks at home the past two seasons. They are 12-0 at home this year.
With tonight's win, the Owens women also picked up their 28th straight win overall and their 21st straight regular season win in conference play.
Owens (28-1, 13-0 OCCAC) will go for history on Saturday at home against Cincinnati State Technical and Community College at 1 p.m. Should they win, they would tie the single season record for most wins currently held by the 1997-98 team. They are currently tied with the 2012-13 and 1996-97 teams for the second highest single season win total in program history.
Furthermore, no Owens women's basketball team in program history has went undefeated in conference play during the regular season, and this year's team could do that with a win Saturday.
Columbus State falls to 19-4 overall and 10-3 in OCCAC play with tonight's loss. They are 0-21 all-time at Owens in the 21-year history of the series. Owens is 37-5 overall all-time vs Columbus State.
Notes
Harley is now averaging 22.5 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three steals in two games against Columbus State this year.
The OCCAC title for Owens is their third straight and fourth over the past five seasons.
Owens will be having a "Red Out" day against Cincinnati State on Saturday. They are asking everyone to wear as much red as possible for the regular season finale.
Tonight's game was initially scheduled for this past Saturday, but was moved due to heavy snow in the Columbus area.
Columbus State lost by just three to Owens in the previous meeting between the two teams in Columbus on Jan. 24. It was the closest win Owens has had during its 28-game winning streak.