By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---Ashley Tunstall (Huber Heights Wayne/Dayton, Ohio) and Sierra Harley (Africentric/Columbus, Ohio) each had 17 points to lead the No. 2 Owens Community College women's basketball team to an 87-66 win over Cincinnati State Technical and Community College in the SHAC today.
With the win, Owens closes the regular season at 29-1 overall and a perfect 14-0 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) play. Their 29 wins ties the 1997-98 team for most wins in a single season in program history, and they are the first team in program history to complete an undefeated conference season. Moreover, they previously clinched the program's third straight OCCAC title.
Furthermore, the team has now won 29 straight overall, 44 straight at home and 22 straight in conference play in the regular season. They capped their third straight undefeated home season.
Tunstall, who was playing in her final home game as a member of the team's five person sophomore class, produced 17 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Six of her offensive rebounds came on the offensive glass.
Two other sophomores, LaKayra Carlisle (Pershing/Detroit, Mich.) and Zhana Randolph (Rochester/Rochester Hills, Mich.) also reached double figures. Carlisle had a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and one steal, while Randolph had 12 points, four rebounds and two steals.
Assisting the sophomores were a pair of freshman guards, Harley and Demy Whitaker (Notre Dame Academy/Toledo, Ohio). Harley finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Whitaker had 14 points and two steals. Whitaker was 5-for-9 from the field, including a 4-for-8 finish from 3-point range.
The Owens defense held Cincinnati State's leading scorer and rebounder, Jonessa Moore, to 17 points and a season-low three rebounds. Her point total tied her second lowest scoring output of the season. The sophomore center has only played 12 games this year - all in conference play.
Midway through today's first half, Cincinnati State held a 19-16 lead. Despite Owens answering with a 5-0 run, they held a 28-27 lead with 4:51 left on a Jada Jackson layup.
That's when Owens started to pour it on, though. Harley grabbed a defensive rebound and threw an outlet pass to Whitaker, who hit a layup from the right side. Harley followed with a layup, Whitaker drained a 3-pointer, and Owens was off on a 17-0 run to take a 44-28 lead with 1:33 left. Whitaker capped the run with two more 3-pointers.
Cincinnati State's Kasia Cicha ended the run with a jumper with just over a minute left in the half to trim the Owens lead to 14 at the break.
In the second half, a 3-pointer from Carlisle gave Owens a 52-35 lead with 15:34 left, but Cincinnati State responded with a 6-0 run. From there, the Owens lead never fell below 10. Courizma Williams (Hughes/Cincinnati, Ohio) hit a 3-pointer, followed by a layup from Harley to give Owens a 17-point lead with 7:44 left.
Down the stretch, Owens led by as many as 26 with just over a minute left before emptying their bench - allowing Cincinnati State to finish the game on a 5-0 run.
Jackson finished with a game-high 18 points for Cincinnati State, while Cicha added 13 points and nine rebounds. She made three of the team's four 3-pointers.
Notes
Owens will open postseason play on Friday in the Region XII District I semifinals. They will play the winner of Tuesday's quarterfinal game between Sinclair Community College and Lakeland Community College at a time TBA.