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owens17 Owens Express' head coach Michael Llanas, center, keeps and eye on his team during practice at Owens Community College in Perrysburg Township.
Owens Express' head coach Michael Llanas, center, keeps and eye on his team during practice at Owens Community College in Perrysburg Township.
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Published: Tuesday, 3/17/2015 - Updated: 5 days ago

Owens CC women ready for national tournament

NJCAA DIV. II No. 2 seed Express has won 31 games in a row

BY RACHEL LENZI
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

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Winning a regional championship was a goal of the Owens Community College women’s basketball team. But it wasn’t the primary goal for the Express.

By virtue of winning the Region XII District I championship, Owens earned a berth in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II tournament that begins today in Overland Park, Kan.

“It was definitely satisfying to win the regional,” Owens coach Michael Llanas said. “Our kids were happy to get the job done, but I got a sense that the win wasn’t the end-all, be-all for them. They felt that they expected to win that, and that’s not a word that comes out of my mouth.

“Now, they want to get back on the floor.”

Owens (31-1) opens the tournament at 10 a.m. today against Union County (N.J.) College (26-5).

Paced by Sierra Harley, a freshman guard who averages a team-high 15.5 points and five assists per game, and Ashley Tunstall, a sophomore guard/​forward who averages 13.2 points and a team-high 9.3 rebounds, the Express is the No. 2 seed and the No. 2-ranked team in the NJCAA Division II poll.

The 16-team tournament ends Saturday with the championship game.

“This year’s tournament is very strong,” said Llanas, whose team has won 31 straight games. “The teams, for the most part, are athletic. It’s going to take not only athleticism, but a cerebral team to win it all.”

Owens’ opener comes at an uncharacteristic hour. The morning game forced Llanas and his staff to shuffle its schedule in the days leading up to the opener.

The Express practiced at 8 a.m. Saturday, then left for Kansas at 7 a.m. Sunday and bussed the entire day to Johnson County CC, the host of this year’s tournament. Owens then had a team meeting at 6:30 Monday morning.

“We want to get them into the habit of getting up early and being focused,” Llanas said. “ It’s going to be a challenge for both teams being from the Eastern time zone, with the change of time and having to get up earlier.”

Yet with more than a week off from basketball — a time that overlapped with Owens’ spring break — Llanas also said there was some concern.

“It’s an eternity, in some ways,” Llanas said. “But our challenge was the wait. Your imagination starts to wonder when you have so much time on your hands.”

That wait ends today when the Express faces No. 15 Union County, a team that has four players who average at least 10 points per game — guards Zhane Robinson (17.6) and Ricshar Benjamin (13.3), guard/​forward Shaniece Wright (10.5) and forward Yasmine Dorrielan (10.0).

Dorrielan also leads Union County with 12.2 rebounds per game, and the Owls are fourth in nation in rebounding (51.7).

“They play in a very athletic league, and they’re very athletic themselves,” Llanas said. “They’re not a great shooting basketball team but rely on second- and third-chance opportunities. They don’t turn the ball over much.”

The winner advances to a quarterfinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday to face either South Suburban (Ill.) or Monroe College (N.Y).

Contact Rachel Lenzi at: rlenzi@theblade.com, 419-724-6510, or on Twitter @RLenziBlade.


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