By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

POST GAME VIDEO 

North East, Pa.---A balanced effort offensively led the No. 3 Owens Community College women's basketball team to an 86-40 win over Mercyhurst North East Community College tonight.

With the win, Owens (1-0) snapped its three-game losing streak in season openers, while extending its regular season winning streak to 15, which dates back to Jan. 6 of last season.

Jeryn Reese (Mansfield/Mansfield, Ohio), who tied Essence Cowan (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio) for the team-high in points with 14, scored the game's first basket to give Owens the early lead. Olivia Frost (North Baltimore/North Baltimore, Ohio) followed with a 3-pointer moments later as the visitors scored seven of the first 11 points.

Following a free throw moments later from Mercyhurst North East's Sharda Dunn-Hogue, Owens took control of the game with a 16-0 run. Brenda Pennington (Bishop Noll Institute/Hammond, Ind.) started things with a jumper just inside the 3-point line. Cowan followed with a 3-pointer before Pennington picked up her second bucket.

Reese then capped the run with 2:04 left in the first quarter by hitting a mid-range jumper to give Owens a 23-4 lead.

The second quarter saw Owens start slow offensively, as they only had four points in the first three and a half minutes, although they scored six points in less than a minute midway through to highlight a 10-0 run that gave them a 41-10 lead with 2:30 left. The run was capped by a pair of free throws from Reese, and it was highlighted by four points from Sybil Roseboro (Elyria/Elyria, Ohio) and three steals from Ariel Bethea (Huron/Ann Arbor, Mich.).

Haley Pickard (Genoa/Genoa, Ohio) was then fouled following an offensive rebound with just under 30 seconds remaining. She hit both free throws to give Owens a 47-17 lead at halftime.

The second quarter saw Owens outscore Mercyhurst North East 14-0 in the paint and off the bench. They also held a 12-5 advantage in points off turnovers.

Frost opened the second half with a layup, which was followed by a 3-pointer from Cowan and a layup from Reese to give Owens a 35-point lead just two minutes in.

Despite a layup with just less than a minute left in the third quarter from Roseboro, Owens struggled in the quarter. They failed to produce a point off turnovers and got outscored 5-0 in that area, although they did hold a 10-2 advantage in the paint.

The offense improved in the fourth quarter as a 3-pointer from Courizma Williams (Hughes/Cincinnati, Ohio) pushed the lead up to 41 with 5:38 left, and it actually spurred a 10-0 run that was capped by a put-back jumper from Denissa Sly (Northmont/Englewood, Ohio) with 3:08 left, which gave Owens an 84-36 lead.

Kaylah Ivey (Westerville South/Westerville, Ohio) closed her team's scoring with a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left.

In the fourth quarter alone, Owens produced 17 points from its bench. Overall, they outscored Mercyhurst North East 46-8 in the paint, 33-10 off turnovers and 46-0 from the bench. They also held a 14-5 advantage in second chance points.

Reese, who is now two points away from 500 in her career, finished 6-for-11 from the field and produced six rebounds. Cowan went 3-for-9 from the field, including a 3-for-6 performance from 3-point range, and she made 5-for-6 from the foul line.

Roseboro tallied 13 points, along with three rebounds while finishing third on the team in scoring behind a 6-for-11 shooting performance. Bethea was the fourth and final player to score in double figures as she went 5-for-10 from the field and swiped a game-high seven steals to go along with six rebounds and two assists.

Every player scored for Owens, while Ivey (8) nearly became the fifth player to reach double figures. Despite playing just 12 minutes, Haili Mossing (Evergreen/Metamora, Ohio) tied Reese and Bethea for the team-high in rebounds with six.

Kamryn Troike (St. Wendelin/Fostoria, Ohio), who is slowly working herself in the lineup after missing time due to injury in the preseason, talled two points, four rebounds and one block in 14 minutes.

Ariel Packer led Mercyhurst North East (0-1) in the loss with 13 points and nine rebounds, although she finished just 3-for-13 from the field due to the pressure from the Owens defense.

Next up for Owens will be its home opener on Nov. 9 against Wayne County Community College at 5:30 p.m.