By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---LaKayra Carlisle (Pershing/Detroit, Mich.) will continue her basketball career at Central State University next year.
Central State, an NCAA Division II institution located in Wilberforce, Ohio, will join the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) next season. Last year, the team finished 12-18 overall and 7-9 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). Along with Carlisle, the team will feature three former Owens players next year along with Meshia Smith and Jordyn Bond.
"Both of my parents nearly went to Central State around my age, and I knew going there would make that somewhat possible," Carlisle said. "I always wanted to go to an HBCU and I knew Central State was perfect for me after my visit. The campus, the gym, the coaches and just the overall atmosphere all played a part in the decision."
As a sophomore this past year for the No. 2 Owens Community College women's basketball team, the forward averaged 8.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. On Dec. 4, she became the first Owens women's basketball player since Jasmine Blanton on Jan. 5, 2010 to earn NJCAA player of the week honors after averaging 15 points and 14.5 rebounds in a pair of wins that week.
In her two-year career, Carlisle averaged 6.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals during a period in which she helped the team compile a 60-5 record, win two Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) championships, one Region XII District I championship and make a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Final Four appearance. She helped the team to an 18-game winning streak her freshman year and a school record 33-game winning streak her sophomore year.
Carlisle becomes the fourth player from last year's team to sign with a four-year school. Sophomore forward Ashley Tunstall (Huber Heights Wayne/Dayton, Ohio) previously signed with NCAA Division I Bowling Green State University, freshman guard Sierra Harley (Africentric/Columbus, Ohio) signed with NCAA Division I Florida Gulf Coast University and sophomore guard Zhana Randolph (Rochester/Rochester Hills, Mich.) signed with NAIA University of Saint Francis (Ind.).