By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---The No. 7 Owens Community College women's basketball team will open National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Tournament play against No. 19 Dean College (Mass.). on Wednesday at 2 p.m.
The No. 5 seed Owens (26-6 overall) women will take on a No. 12 seed Dean College team that is 24-4 overall. Dean defeated Monroe College 74-64 in the Region 15/21 tournament and then took down Union County 55-53 in the District N championship game.
This year's tournament is being held March 15-19 at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kan. for the third straight season.
Dean College Preview
The Bulldogs are led in scoring by 5-6 freshman guard Vianah Smith, who is averaging 16.6 points and 3.3 steals per game. Six-foot-one freshman forward Denisha Gardener is second in scoring at 11.1 per game, while pulling down 11.9 rebounds per game. Another freshman forward, 5-10 Fataya Larry, is averaging 9.4 points and 11 rebounds per game.
Those three players each earned All-Region honors along with 5-6 freshman guard Chelsea Johnson, who averages 8.9 points and 2.9 assists per game.
This will be Dean County's first ever national tournament appearance in women's basketball. They have achieved a school record with 24 wins this year.
Owens Community College Preview
The Express, meanwhile, defeated Columbus State Community College 79-55 in the Region XII District I semifinals and then outlasted Cincinnati State 71-69 in the championship game to earn their bid. They have won 16 straight games.
For Owens, 6-0 freshman forward Jeryn Reese (Mansfield/Mansfield, Ohio) averages a team-high 13.5 points along with 10.7 rebounds per game. She leads a group of six players who average double figures including 5-7 sophomore guard Lakyn Gulley (South Side/Fort Wayne, Ind.) at 12.9 PPG, 5-2 sophomore guard Briana Williams (Stebbins/Dayton, Ohio) at 12.4 PPG, 6-0 freshman forward Aysah Ingram (Trotwood-Madison/Trotwood, Ohio) at 12.1 PPG, 5-8 sophomore guard Tatyana Reynolds (Rogers/Toledo, Ohio) at 10.7 PPG and 5-9 freshman guard Ariel Bethea (Huron/Ann Arbor, Mich.) at 10.5 PPG.
Ingram also leads the team in rebounding at 10.8 per game, which gives Owens a duo of players who average a double-double in the post. Williams leads the team in assists at 5.8 per game, while Bethea leads the team in steals at 3.8 per game.
Looking Ahead
Should Owens advance past Dean College, they would take on the winner of the game between No. 4 seed Kansas City Kansas (KS) and No. 13 seed Waubonsee (IL) on Thursday at 9 p.m. The loser of the first round game will fall into the consolation bracket. For Owens, the bracket would set up for a potential matchup with No. 1 seed Monroe Community College (NY) in the semifinals and either No. 2 seed Illinois Central College or No. 3 seed Pima (AZ) Community College in the championship game.
The Tournament
Top Left Bracket
No. 1 Monroe Community College (29-0) vs No. 16 United Tribes Tech (18-14), March 15 at 7 p.m.
No. 8 North Arkansas College (24-5) vs No. 9 Kankakee (27-5), March 15 at 9 p.m.
Winners to meet in quarterfinals on March 17 at 7 p.m.
Notes: Monroe Community College enters the tournament as the favorite to win it all after No. 1 Johnson County Community College saw its undefeated season end in the district championship game. North Arkansas is seeded eighth, and they will be the host of the tournament beginning next year. United Tribes Tech has a big hill to overcome as they enter the tournament with the worst seed among all teams and face the only undefeated team in the first round. Kankakee has won six straight entering the tournament.
Bottom Left Bracket
No. 4 Kansas City Kansas Community College (29-3) vs No. 13 Waubonsee Community College (26-7), March 16 at 12 p.m.
No. 5 Owens Community College (26-6) vs No. 12 Dean College (24-4), March 16 at 2 p.m.
Winners to meet in quarterfinals on March 17 at 9 p.m.
Notes: Owens was seeded lower than expected after finishing third in last year's tournament and being ranked ahead of Kansas City Kansas in the final regular season poll, although Kansas City Kansas had its seeding status improve with an upset win over Johnson County in the district championship game. Dean College is expected to bring a lot of athleticism, while Waubonsee has won 18 straight games entering the tournament. Of note, Kansas City Kansas is the only team in this portion of the bracket that didn't finish undefeated in conference play.
Top Right Bracket
No. 2 Illinois Central College (29-4) vs No. 15 Union County College (24-6), March 15 at 10 a.m.
No. 7 North Iowa Area Community College (22-10) vs No. 10 Lake Michigan College (26-5) on March 15 at 12 p.m.
Winners to meet in quarterfinals on March 16 at 7 p.m.
Notes: Illinois Central enters the tournament as winners of nine straight. They will take on the first round opponent of Owens last year in Union County, who feature a few solid returners from last year's team. North Iowa, or NIACC, has won 10 straight entering their game against Lake Michigan, who took down Kalamazoo Valley (27-2) in their district championship game.
Bottom Right Bracket
No. 3 Pima Community College (25-7) vs No. 14 Hagerstown Community College (24-6), March 15 at 2 p.m.
No. 6 Cape Fear Community College (25-1) vs No. 11 St. Clair County Community College (21-10), March 15 at 4 p.m.
Winners to meet in quarterfinals on March 16 at 9 p.m.
Notes: Pima gets a potentially very favorable draw. They play in a conference loaded with NJCAA Division I teams and are bunched together with the No. 6, No. 11 and No. 14 seeds in the tournament.
Semifinal No. 1: Top Left Bracket Winner vs Bottom Left Bracket Winner, March 18 at 9 p.m.
Semifinal No. 2: Top Right Bracket Winner vs Bottom Right Bracket Winner, March 18 at 7 p.m.
Championship Game: March 19 at 8:30 p.m.
Notes and Important Links
While this is the first ever appearance in the NJCAA's version of the Sweet 16 for Dean College, this will be the second consecutive and third appearance in four years for Owens. They finished in third place last year after finishing seventh in 2012-13. This year marks the third time the program has earned back-to-back trips to nationals and this will be the seventh trip in program history overall.
All of the tournament games will be streamed live and archived for free here
The official tournament website can be found here