By Chris Schmidbauer, Sports Information Director
Toledo, OH -- In a back and forth affair, Express sophomore Taylor Works's layup with four seconds to go, was the difference maker in a 71-70 win over Schoolcraft on Wednesday night.
In the first half, Owens jumped out to an early lead. The Express led the game by three points at the end of the first half, and they pushed the lead to eight points at the break, outscoring Schoolcraft 17-12 in the second period.
The Ocelots would get hot in the third though. Schoolcraft shot a scorching 61% from the floor and coupled with some Owens turnovers, the Ocelots were able to climb back into the game and tie the score at 51-51. The game would come to a furious finish over the final ten minutes of play.
In the fourth, the two teams would trade baskets throughout the period. Schoolcraft would begin to pull away though late in the fourth. The Ocelots stretched the lead to six point, their largest of the game, at 67-61 with just 2:51 remaining on a Megan Sandiha layup. Owens would get two point back at the line courtesy of Moreina Moore, and then just forty ticks later, Shyah Wheeler nailed a three from the left wing to trim the Ocelot lead to one with 1:23 to play in the ball game.
The Ocelots would split a pair of free throws to push their lead back to two points, before Moore would hit a spinning layup to tie the score at 68-68 with 41 seconds remaining in the contest.
After a Schoolcraft turnover, Moore would split a pair of free throws to regain the lead for the Express at 69-68 with just 12 seconds left.
The Ocelots would get a driving layup, out of a timeout, to give the visitors a one point lead at 70-69 with just seven seconds left in regulation.
Owens would take a time out, and after is when Works went to work. The Waite High School alum would get bank a layup off the dribble with four seconds remaining. Schoolcraft would inbound the ball, but Works was able to steal the ball away with a second left to secure the Express victory.
Owens shot 42% (29-69) from the field for the game but just 21.1% from three. The team was led in scoring by Moreina Moore, who had 22 points on 9-19 shooting from the field. The Worthington, OH native also grabbed six rebounds during the contest.
Beyond hitting the winning shot, Works also finished with a double-double. She scored 19 points on 7-19 shooting and had 10 boards to lead the Express. Shyah Wheeler scored nine points, while battling foul trouble most of the evening.
The Express move to 7-7 overall and remain 2-1 in conference play. After a rough weekend in the Bobcat Classic, Owens has strung back to back wins over two of the top teams in Michigan in Mott on Monday and Schoolcraft tonight. This week was also a chance for the Express to avenge two earlier losses from this season. Owens lost to Mott in overtime at home, while falling to Schoolcraft on the road last month.
Owens will close out the 2018 calendar year with a game on Saturday on the road in their first conference game since December 5th. The Express will play Columbus State down in the state's capital, with tip off set for 1 PM.