By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Cincinnati, Ohio---Jeryn Reese (Mansfield/Mansfield, Ohio) produced 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead the No. 7 Owens Community College women's basketball team to an 89-64 win over Cincinnati State Technical and Community College on the road today.
With the win, Owens closes the regular season at 24-6 overall and 14-0 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) play. They finished with a perfect record in the conference for the second consecutive season and have currently won 35 straight regular season conference games. The team's overall win streak has also reached 14.
Midway through the first quarter, Owens went on an 8-0 run to open up an 18-7 lead with 3:24 left. Ariel Bethea (Huron/Ypsilanti, Mich.) had four points and two steals during the run.
Later, Owens went on a 6-0 run, highlighted by a 3-point play from Reese. She then closed the quarter with a free throw to give Owens a 25-13 lead. In the first quarter, Reese produced seven points, while Bethea swiped four steals.
Reese continued her offensive outburst in the second quarter as she totaled her team's first eight points and helped push her team to a 33-16 lead just two minutes in.
After Cincinnati State scored the next four points, Lakyn Gulley (South Side/Fort Wayne, Ind.) swiped a pair of passes and finished a nice reverse layup on a fast break to put Owens up 39-20. Aysah Ingram (Trotwood-Madison/Trotwood, Ohio) converted a layup later in the quarter off an offensive rebound, and Owens held a 43-25 lead with about three minutes later.
Cincinnati State, however, closed the half on a 7-0 run and took momentum into halftime. Reese and Owens point guard Briana Williams (Stebbins/Dayton, Ohio) both were limited in the first half due to foul trouble. Williams only played seven minutes in the half, while Reese sat late as Cincinnati State's run occurred.
Following her team's slow offensive start in the third quarter, Williams picked everyone up with a layup and a mid-range jumper. Ingram followed with a 3-point play and Owens led 50-36.
Moments later, Owens started a 17-2 run that lasted until Chloe Baird hit a jumper for Cincinnati State to end the quarter. At that point, Owens led 69-45. In the quarter, Reese and Williams combined for 18 points, with Reese leading the way with 10.
Tiarna Harfield buried a 3-pointer to pull Cincinnati State within 17 early in the fourth quarter, but Williams led Owens on a 9-0 run. They led by as many as 28 down the stretch as Williams went 6-for-6 from the foul line in the quarter for 11 points.
Reese produced her 27 points on 9-for-12 shooting. She also went 9-for-11 from the foul line. Williams tied a single game free throw percentage record by finishing 10-for-10 for 21 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Nobody else scored in double figures, but Owens got 24 points from their bench, while Bethea and Gulley each had five steals.
Baird led Cincinnati State (20-9, 10-4 OCCAC) with 17 points, while Montrail Roberts had 15 points and Cierra Moran had 11.
Both teams combined to shoot 53-for-63 from the foul line. After turning the ball over 20 times in the first half, Cincinnati State only had five in the second half.
Postseason
Owens, on the strength of their conference championship and No. 1 seed, will earn a bye through the Region XII District I quarterfinal round. They will advance to take on the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 4 Columbus State Community College and No. 5 Sinclair Community College in a 1 p.m. semifinal on Friday at Ohio Christian University.
Notes
Reese produced her ninth double-double in conference play today. She finishes conference play with team-high averages of 16.1 points and 12.7 rebounds.
In conference play, Williams had a team-high 6.6 assists per game; Gulley (4.1) and Bethea (4.0) led in steals per game; and Ingram had a team-high 1.5 blocks per game.
Furthermore, six Owens players averaged double figures in OCCAC play - Reese (16.1), Gulley (14.4), Williams (13.7), Reynolds (12.7), Bethea (12.0) and Ingram (10.7). Ingram also joined Reese by also averaging a double-double with 11.0 rebounds per game.