By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---Sierra Harley (Africentric/Columbus, Ohio) and John Murry (North Central/Indianapolis, Ind.) have both been named National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Americans.
Harley, a freshman point guard for the Owens Community College women's basketball team, was named a First Team All-American. She becomes the program's fifth overall All-American and its third First Team All-American (Michelle Vorst, 2002-03 and Amy Amstutz, 1998-99).
Harley engineered the best team in women's basketball history at Owens. She averaged 15.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game overall, including 15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 3.3 steals per game in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC). For her efforts in conference play, she earned First Team All-OCCAC and OCCAC Player of the Year honors, and she was First Team All-Region XII. Her 541 points is the seventh most in a single season in program history.
Her play helped Owens tie an overall Owens athletics record (2011 softball team) and break a program record with 33 straight wins, its third straight OCCAC championship and its second Region XII District I championship in the past three years. The team finished 34-2 overall and advanced to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament for the second time in three years, where they made the Final Four and finished third in the nation.
At the national tournament, Harley averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game en route to NJCAA Division II All-Tournament team honors.
Prior to being named an NJCAA First Team All-American, Harley was named a Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) First Team All-American. She is the first player in program history to earn both honors in the same season.
Murry, meanwhile, earned NJCAA Third Team All-American honors as a member of the Owens Community College men's basketball team.
Individually, the sophomore guard completed an incredible two-year stretch. This past season, Murry averaged 17.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. In conference play, Murry averaged 17.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He finished second in conference voting for OCCAC Player of the Year honors behind Lakeland Community College's Mike Davis.
As a freshman, Murry averaged 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He finished just a few points short of the league's scoring title while averaging 20.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in conference play.
In his two-year career, Murry averaged 17.6 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He totaled 1,107 points, 319 rebounds, 172 assists, 59 steals and 24 blocks. He is the program's all-time leader in free throws made (274) and free throws attempted (371), breaking the old marks (260-for-362) previously set by Jeff Massey from 1991-93.
Murry is a two-time First Team All-OCCAC and First Team All-Region XII player. He finished in the top three in OCCAC Player of the Year voting both seasons.
In his two seasons, Owens finished 50-13 overall and won two straight OCCAC championships. The team finished just one win shy of a trip to the NJCAA Division II National Tournament each year, losing both games by a combined three points.
Murry is the second straight NJCAA Third Team All-American in the program (Bikramjit Gill, 2013-14) and the program's third straight All-American including James Kelly, who earned Second Team All-American honors in 2012-13. Overall, Murry is the eleventh All-American in Owens men's basketball history.
Notes
Harley and Murry join Ciarra Wirick (Benjamin Logan/West Liberty, Ohio), a sophomore libero for the Owens Community College women's volleyball team, as one of three NJCAA All-Americans for Owens athletics so far in the 2014-15 school year. Wirick earned NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American honors.