By Nicholas Huenefeld/OCCAC Sports Information
Springfield, Ohio---Owens Community College, a program that has captured the past four OCCAC regular season championship and finished in the top five in the nation in back-to-back seasons, has been picked by the conference coaches to win the 2016-17 OCCAC women's basketball championship.
Owens, which enters the 2016-17 season having won 35 straight regular season conference games, received seven of the nine first place votes, while Cincinnati State Technical and Community College and Cuyahoga Community College split the other two votes. Owens received an average finish of 1.33, while Cincinnati State was picked to finish second with a 2.22 average. Cuyahoga was third with a 3.44 average.
The league's remaining five teams were picked to finish in the following order: Sinclair Community College (3.67), Columbus State Community College (5.11), Edison Community College (6.44), Clark State Community College (6.67), Lakeland Community College (7.33) and Lorain County Community College (8.78).
Top 3
Owens, which finished 29-7 overall and 14-0 in OCCAC play last year while capturing the OCCAC and Region XII District I championship, advanced to the national quarterfinals and finished fifth at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.
This year's team returns the reigning OCCAC and Region XII District I player of the year in 6-0 forward Jeryn Reese, who averaged 13.8 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game last year.
In addition to Reese, Owens returns a pair of guards in Ariel Bethea (10.7 PPG, 3.9 SPG and 3.4 APG) and Sybil Roseboro (6.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 2.1 APG) The team also returns another guard, Courizma Williams, who sat out last year after averaging 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game for the 2014-15 Owens team that went 34-2 overall and finished third in the country.
Joining those returners is a talented recruiting class that is headlined by 6-4 center Kamryn Troike, 5-6 guard Essence Cowan and 5-2 point guard Brenda Pennington. Also joining the team this year are 5-9 guard Haili Mossing; 5-9 guard Haley Pickard; 5-8 guard Denissa Sly; 6-1 center Kaylah Ivey and 6-0 forward Olivia Frost.
"We have high expectations, but we'll face a challenging test as, top to bottom, the league is improved this year," said 13th year Owens head coach Michael Llanas.
Cincinnati State, which went 22-10 overall and finished tied with Cuyahoga at 10-4 in league play before nearly taking down Owens in the district championship game, is picked to finish second this year. Fifth year head coach Sonya Beeler said her team will be young this year.
"We have some very talented freshmen who we will look to early for leadership and playing time," she said. "Our style will continue to be up-tempo and pressure defense."
The team's top returner is Chloe Baird, who averaged 14-5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game last year, and the top newcomers are Takyra Gilbert and Hannah Tubbs.
Cuyahoga, which finished 17-12 overall and 10-4 in OCCAC play, which was good for a second place tie with Cincinnati State, advanced to the district semifinals last year. The team did not submit any preseason information, though, for this year. They do open their season Nov. 5 in the Kennedy King Tip Off Classic.
The Others
Sinclair, picked to finish fourth, has a pair of sophomores on this year's roster, including one returner from a team that went 14-13 overall and 6-8 in OCCAC play. The lone returner is Doriann Carter, a guard who averaged 1.2 points and 2.7 rebounds last year.
In addition to Carter, the team's top newcomers are Aaryn Evans, a freshman forward from Thurgood Marshall, Nia Martin, a freshman guard from Trotwood-Madison, and Tajah Parker, a forward from Chaminade Julienne. In addition, 5-10 volleyball standout Meg Reineke will join the team.
"I am excited about this season as we approach the start of something great with this program," said second-year head coach Victoria Jones. "This is our first recruiting class since I have been their leader. With this class, we have a good group of players that has speed and length throughout all positions. We plan to be aggressive on defense and pay attention to details."
Coming in just behind Sinclair in the season predictions is Columbus State, which advanced to the district semifinals and finished 13-16 and 7-7 in the conference last year. This year, though, the team joins Lorain County as the conference's two NJCAA Division III teams.
The team's top returner is Carli Codner, who averaged 18.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, two assists and 1.7 steals per game last year. The team's top newcomer is Antishay Rahim.
In addition to Codner, Columbus State also returns Hunter Kershaw and Keyvona Davis, who along with Codner, comprised the team's top three scorers last year. Kershaw averaged 15.2 points and 8.4 rebounds, while Davis averaged 11.1 points and 12.4 rebounds, which led the team. Actually, Davis and Kershaw finished 1-2 in rebounds on the team.
"With a good mix of returning players and hard working newcomers, I feel that we will have a solid season," said first-year head coach Byron Allgood.
Edison, which finished 12-18 overall and 5-9 in OCCAC play last year, is picked to finish sixth in the conference this year. Their top returner is Sydney Miller, who averaged 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last year. Joining her will be the team's top newcomer, Jessica Crowell of Covington High School.
Clark State, which went 7-9 against OCCAC teams during its probationary year last season, finished 10-16 overall. This year, they enter the conference as full members at the NJCAA Division II level. They did not submit any preseason info, however.
Lakeland and Lorain County were selected to finish eight and ninth, respectively, this year. While Lakeland didn't submit any preseason info after finishing 11-18 overall and 4-10 in conference play, Lorain County returns Madi Bonner, who averaged 12.2 points per contest last year. In addition to Bonner, the team brings in point guard Rachel Downing from Western Reserve High School.
"We have much more stability and consistency this year," said head coach Vincent Granito. "Last year I was hired late in the year, so there was a great deal of learning on the fly. This year we have had a full year to prepare for the season, which has resulted in a large group of players coming in having had successful high school careers. Our numbers will allow us to run on offense and press a bit more."
Hocking College is joining the conference this year, too, as probationary members, which means they won't be eligible for conference awards or the league championship, and their head-to-head games against conference members will only count for postseason seeding. They compete at the NJCAA Division III for postseason play.
This Year's Schedule
Most of the teams in the conference will open their seasons Nov. 1 and Nov. 2. There are five games on the schedule each of those days. Conference play will begin Dec. 10 with a four-game slate.