By Chris Schmidbauer, Sports Information Director
Toledo, OH -- After a record setting weekend against Hocking College, the #5 Owens Express returned to the court against Edison on Wednesday evening, and the team came away with an 83-59 victory.
It was a tighter than expected first half. The Express were up just four after the first period, and they increased to as much as 16 in the second quarter. But the Chargers would close the half on a solid run, trailing by single digits at 47-38 at the break.
The third quarter was a different story. The Express would outscore the Chargers by 10 over the period, stretching the lead to 19 points on a Dai'Shona Polk layup with 41 seconds to go in the third. Owens would push the lead to 24 for the final margin of victory in the fourth period to claim the victory.
Owens was led offensively by freshman Dai'Shona Polk. She scored 18 of her game and career high 27 points in the first half, missing just one shot during the game's opening 20 minutes. She finished the game 12-15 from the floor, using her size down low to punish the Edison interior defense most of the evening. She also finish tied for the team lead in rebounds at six, had six assists, and she also had a game high four steals on the evening.
Polk's post presence helped out her teammates offensive games as well. Da'Vina Shelton entered halftime with just six points, after her record setting performance this past weekend. She got hot in the second half, finishing with 18 points on the night. She would finish 6-12 from the field, and she shot 50% (3-6) from three. She tied with Polk for the team high in rebounding with six.
Essence Cowan and Brenda Pennington both finished in double figures for the night as well. Cowan would score 14 points and she was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line during the game. Pennington would finish with 12 points as well as a team high eight assists and five rebounds during the game.
Edison was led in scoring by Kailani Broyles, who scored 20 points during the game. Lauren Monnin added 12 points for the Chargers.
The Express shot 46.8% (29-62) for the game from the field while Edison shot 38.5% (20-52) from the floor. The Express forced 22 turnovers in the game to just 11 for the home team.
Owens is now 21-4 on the season and 11-1 in the OCCAC, which gives them a half game lead on Sinclair with the Tartan Pride sitting idle tonight. They have now won eight games in a row, which is the second longest win streak of the season. The women's team won 10 in a row earlier this season from November 21 through December 28.
Edison fell to 20-4 overall and 5-4 in the OCCAC. They are currently fourth in the OCCAC behind Lakeland.
The Express will have the weekend off before playing Lakeland in their final regular season home game of the 2017-2018 season next Wednesday. The Express defeated Lakeland back on January 24 by a final of 68-56. Lakeland, as mentioned, is third in the conference standings, at 7-3 and a 15-5 record overall. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 from the SHAC on Wednesday, February 21.
Notes:
- The Express remained at #5 in the latest NJCAA Top 20 Division II poll. The top five from the previous week remained unchanged. Owens is ranked behind in order: Monroe CC, Kirkwood, Highland (KS), and St. Louis.