By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---The No. 7 Owens Community College women's basketball team received more good news as Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) postseason awards were announced over the weekend.
Highlighting the news was freshman forward Jeryn Reese (Mansfield/Mansfield, Ohio), who not only earned First Team All-OCCAC honors, but was named the OCCAC Player of the Year after averaging 16.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.8 steals, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 assists per game in conference play. She shot 46.4 percent from the field, while finishing eighth in the league in scoring, second in rebounding, third in steals and fifth in blocks.
During the season, Reese was a four-time OCCAC player of the week and a one-time National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II player of the week.
Following the Region XII District I tournament, Reese was also named the tournament's MVP after producing 30 points and 20 rebounds over two games.
Reese becomes the second straight OCCAC player of the year recipient for Owens, joining Sierra Harley (Africentric/Columbus, Ohio), who won the award last year.
In addition to Reese, sophomore guard Lakyn Gulley (South Side/Fort Wayne, Ind.) earned First Team All-OCCAC recognition after averaging 14.4 points, 4.1 steals and 4.8 assists per game. She finished second in the league in steals and third in assists, while tying for 11th in scoring.
Gulley has already broken the program's single season 3-point field goal attempts and made records, the single game 3-point field goal attempts record, and she is six steals away from breaking the single season steals record.
Sophomore guards Briana Williams (Stebbins/Dayton, Ohio) and Tatyana Reynolds (Rogers/Toledo, Ohio) were named Honorable Mention All-OCCAC. Williams finished 13th in scoring at 13.7 PPG, while finishing second in assists (6.6 APG) and 10th in steals (2.0 SPG). Reynolds finished 19th in scoring (12.7 PPG), while also averaging 2.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
Both players eclipsed 500 career points late in conference play.
In addition, Williams has 186 assists this year and 308 in her career. She is 40 away from tying the single season record and 21 away from tying the career mark. She joined Reese by also earning a spot on the Region XII District I All-Tournament team.
Outside of player recognition, Owens head coach Michael Llanas was voted the OCCAC Coach of the Year and Region XII District I Coach of the Year for the second straight year. Over the past seven seasons, he has led the team to a 193-36 record with at least 25 wins in each of those seasons, five OCCAC championships and three Region XII District I championships.
Notes
Owens is currently 26-6 overall and finished OCCAC play at 14-0 for the second straight season. On Saturday, the team captured a thrilling 71-69 win over Cincinnati State Technical and Community College in the Region XII District I championship game, and will thus advance to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in Overland Park, Kansas next week.
The NJCAA Division II National Tournament, which is the NJCAA's version of the Sweet 16, will have its seeding announced early this week, likely tomorrow.