By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---Brenda Pennington (Bishop Noll/Hammond, Ind.) poured in a season-high 20 points to help the No. 3 Owens Community College women's basketball team overcome some holiday break rust in a 78-45 win over Macomb Community College in the Student Health and Activities Center (SHAC) tonight.
Owens, which improved to 13-0 this year with the win, will look to close the 2016 calendar year with a 33-1 record when they host Jackson College at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow in the SHAC.
Pennington finished 9-for-12 from the field as she eclipsed her previous scoring high of 13. She reached double figures in scoring for the fifth time this year, bumped her scoring average up to 9.2 per game and recorded at least six rebounds for the fourth time over the past five games. On top of that, she drew the game's lone charge.
Following a seven day break from game action due to the holiday, Owens came out slow offensively. They produced season-lows in shooting across the board - 38.0 percent from the field, 15.4 percent from the 3-point line and 60.9 percent from the foul line.
Those struggles contributed to them scoring just six points over the game's first six minutes. During that stretch, they shot just 3-for-9 from the field with three turnovers, but never trailed and held a 6-5 lead.
A pair of free throws from Kaylah Ivey (Westerville South/Westerville, Ohio) and a layup from Courizma Williams (Hughes/Cincinnati, Ohio) on a fast break quickly pushed the lead to five, which forced Macomb's first timeout with 3:30 left in the quarter.
Out of the timeout, Owens gradually increased its lead. Sybil Roseboro (Elyria/Elyria, Ohio) and Haili Mossing (Evergreen/Metamora, Ohio) combined for five free throws and Pennington closed the quarter with a jump shot to give Owens a 19-12 lead.
Macomb's Ashley Wilson drained a 3-pointer with 6:59 left in the second quarter to pull her team within four, but that's when Owens kicked it into another gear and went on an 11-0 run behind the play of Essence Cowan (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio) and Ariel Bethea, who combined for all of the points during the run.
Owens then closed the first half with eight of the final 12 points, which included a three-point play from Bethea, a jumper from Mossing and a 3-pointer from Williams, to give them a 40-24 lead.
Four different players scored as Owens opened the second half on a 7-2 run to push its lead to 21. Macomb trimmed its deficit back to 16 moments later, but Pennington answered with eight points, two steals and one assist during a 12-0 run that spanned the next 55 seconds.
Owens, which held Macomb to just nine points in the third quarter, pushed its lead to 30 for the first time with just under a minute left on a layup from Williams. Midway through the final quarter, a layup from Ivey gave Owens a 33-point lead, which was a margin they would reach three times, including the final score.
In addition to her scoring, Pennington pulled down five of her six rebounds on the offensive glass, while adding three steals and two assists. It was the first time she led the team in scoring this year.
Outside of Pennington, three others scored 11 points apiece, including Cowan, Williams and Bethea. Cowan, who fought through a tough shooting performance to produce a season-high seven rebounds, a season-high five steals and three assists. Bethea, meanwhile, had a team-high six steals for the fourth time in five games.
Jeryn Reese (Mansfield/Mansfield, Ohio) led Owens in rebounds with nine, while Roseboro added eight along with her seven points and team-high four assists. Mossing, who returned after missing the team's game on Dec. 21, had eight points and seven rebounds.
Owens held a 40-14 advantage in paint scoring tonight, along with a 31-8 advantage in points off turnovers and a 26-1 margin in second chance points. Their bench also outscored Macomb's 30-14. Defensively, Owens forced a five second call on an inbounds play and a 10 second backcourt violation.
Notes
Owens is now 66-1 at home since February 2012 and increased its regular season winning streak to 27, which is just two short of tying the program's record of 29, which is held by the 2014-15 team that won its final 29 regular season games after losing the opener.
Owens is now 8-2 all-time against Macomb.
While tonight's 78 point effort tied the team's season-low in scoring, the 33-point margin of victory was the fourth closest game Owens has played this year, and they haven't won a game by fewer than 22 points to open the season.