By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Morristown, Tenn.---Despite solid outputs from a pair of freshmen, the No. 4 Owens Community College women's basketball team lost to No. 11 Walters State Community College on the road last night.

The game pitted a pair of teams coming off NJCAA Final Four appearances. Owens finished third in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament last year, while Walters State finished fourth at the NJCAA Division I level.

Game Details

Neither team looked strong in the first quarter, and the home team held an 8-3 lead with just over two minutes left. Sparked by freshman guard Ariel Bethea (Huron/Ann Arbor, Mich.), though, Owens closed the quarter on a 6-0 run.

Bethea started the run by penetrating the lane and hitting a pull-up jumper with 1:56 left. On the ensuing Walters State possession, Bethea swiped a pass and converted a layup to pull her team within one. Then, with 34 seconds left, her former high school teammate Mikayla Ward (Huron/Ypsilanti, Mich.) put back a missed 3-pointer by Tatyana Reynolds (Rogers/Toledo, Ohio) to give Owens a one point lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Bethea drained a jumper and a 3-pointer, and Aysah Ingram (Trotwood-Madison/Trotwood, Ohio) converted 1-for-2 from the foul line to give Owens a 15-8 lead just a minute and a half into the quarter.

Walters State answered back, though, by producing from long range. Despite allowing a jumper while falling down in the paint from Reynolds, Walters State drained a a trio of 3-pointers and a layup to take a 19-17 lead with 5:04 remaining in the half.

The rally didn't stop there as Walters State pushed its lead to 25-17 with 1:54 left. Similar to the first quarter, though, Owens responded once again and closed strong to pull within two at the break.

During the rally, Owens got a second chance layup from Mekaila Grose (Madison/Mansfield, Ohio), a driving layup on the left side from Briana Williams (Stebbins/Dayton, Ohio) and another layup from Ingram via a post feed from Williams.

After a pretty even first half statistically, Walters State began to pull away in the third quarter. Owens was still within striking distance after a layup from Ingram pulled them within five with 6:30 left in the half, but Walters State closed on an 8-0 run to take a 13 point lead into the final quarter.

Owens got as close as 10 in the final quarter thanks to a layup from Williams with 7:55 remaining, but Walters State stretched the lead to as many as 18 on three occasions down the stretch.

In the deciding second half, Owens shot 7-for-28 (25 percent) from the field overall and 0-for-5 from 3-point range. Furthermore, they had 12 turnovers compared to just five for Walters State, while the home team shot 14-for-31 (45.2 percent) over the final two quarters.

Wrap Up

Bethea led Owens in scoring with 11, while adding four rebounds and three steals. Her steal total tied Lakyn Gulley (South Side/Fort Wayne, Ind.) for the team-high, as well.

Ingram nearly had a double-double as she finished with nine points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. Williams added eight points and a team-high three assists. Jeryn Reese (Mansfield/Mansfield, Ohio) chipped in eight rebounds out of the starting lineup, and Ward had six rebounds off the bench.

Ingram led the team with five offensive rebounds, while Reese finished just behind her with four.

For Walters State, three players notched double figures. Destiny Alston led all scorers with 17, Ant'Treasia Patton added 14 and Tasha McGruder had 11. That trio also combined for 11 steals as they swiped 17 passes from Owens in the game. Alston led her team with seven rebounds and seven assists, as well.

Owens was without the services of freshman guard Sybil Roseboro (Elyria/Elyria, Ohio) in the game. Aside from her, everyone played, including Jami Huth (Notre Dame Academy/Toledo, Ohio) and Kyra Johnson (Stevenson/Livonia, Mich.).

Looking Ahead

Owens (0-1) closes out play in the Walters State Classic today with a 4 p.m. matchup against Roane State Community College.

This is the third consecutive season that Owens has started off the regular season with a loss. If history repeats itself, though, that won't be a hinderance to a good season as they combined for a 60-5 record over that stretch.