by Geoff Roberts/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---Despite a slow start, the No. 5 Express women's basketball team was able to top the Columbus State Community College Cougars 75-62 tonight to clinch at least a share of the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) title.
Kamilah Carter (Pioneer/Ann Arbor, Mich.) led the way for the Express on the scoresheet with 19 points, while adding a team-high six assists and five rebounds and going 7-for-18 from the field and 4-for-5 at the free throw line. Carter helped lead the Express to the win on her and the rest of the sophomores final game at the Student Health and Activities Center (SHAC).
The game was rough at the beginning for the Express. The Cougars opened the game with a 16-3 scoring run (including a 12-0 spurt) before head coach Michael Llanas called his second timeout of the half. Right out of the timeout, Carter hit a 3-point shot and the Express seemingly came back to life. The Express rattled off a 25-3 scoring run to regain control of the game and put the score at 28-19 with just under five minutes remaining in the first half.
Coming out of the gate in the second half, it took awhile for either team to get going. Eboni Adams (Maple Heights/Cleveland, Ohio) made the first shot for either team at the 18:18 mark of the second, pushing the score to 36-27. The Chargers continued to battle and pushed to within seven points of the Express multiple times in the second half, but in the end, the Express walked away with a 13-point victory to clinch at least a share of the OCCAC title.
Carter and Adams joined the three other members of the sophomore class: Paige Wright (Northrop/Fort Wayne, Ind.), Alyssa Lassey (Ida/Ida, Mich.), and Malaysha Cammon (Divine Child/Dearborn, Mich.) as the starters of Saturday's game in their final game at the SHAC.
Ashley Tunstall (Huber Heights Wayne/Dayton, Ohio) was the leading scorer off the bench, shooting 5-for-12 from the field and 6-of-7 from the line for 16 points. Tunstall also chipped in a game-high 12 rebounds, giving the freshman her third straight double-double.
Adams added 14 points, three assists and two rebounds.
Zhana Randolph (Rochester/Rochester Hills, Mich.) also contributed heavily off the bench, racking up 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting (1-for-2 from beyond the arc). She was also 2-for-2 from the free throw line.
As a team, the Express were 26-for-70 (37.1 percent) from the field. They also shot 21-for-30 (70 percent) on free throws. The Express battled for 49 rebounds on the night, although the Cougars had five more offensive rebounds as a team.
For the Cougars, it was a fairly balanced scoring night between the starters, with only six points total coming from the bench. Paige Lewis led all starters with 17 points. Hannah Frey and Erinn Bailey both added 12, and Chelsea Robinson rounded out the double-digit individual scoring with 11.
With the win, the Express move to 23-2 overall and 9-1 in the OCCAC. On the other side, the Cougars shift to 17-6 overall and 4-5 in OCCAC play.
Notes
By earning at least a share of the OCCAC title, the Express women's basketball team has now won the title three of the last four years and eight times overall since 1992-93. This is the fourth time Michael Llanas has led the Express to the OCCAC title since taking over in 2004-05. While the Express are guaranteed at least a share of the title, they can clinch it outright with a win in one of their last two games - at Cuyahoga Community College on Wednesday or at Sinclair Community College on March 1.
With the win against Columbus State, the Express avenged the only conference loss of the year. On Feb. 1, the Express traveled to Columbus and lost a 73-67 heartbreaker in which they were outscored 7-0 to close the game.
Carter's 19 points gives the sophomore guard 488 on the season, propelling her to 12th on the all-time single season scoring list. She passed Aja Hall (2010-11, 472) and Niccole Brown (2004-05, 481) tonight, while Tammy Murphy (1997-98, 495) is next up. Carter is averaging 19.2 PPG overall and 20.3 PPG in conference play.
