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Owens Claims OCCAC Title, Eyes Big Run in Postseason

Owens sophomore forward Liv Mullins and the Express claimed their fourth OCCAC title under coach Stephen Perry

For the fourth time under coach Stephen Perry, the Owens Community College women’s basketball team earned an Ohio Community College Athletic Association (OCCAC) championship. But don’t think the Express are done yet.

“We have high expectations for the postseason. We want to win the Regional Championship next Wednesday, then win the Mid-Atlantic District Championship,” Perry said. “Winning the District Championship gets you an automatic bid to the national tournament in Brownwood, Texas. We want to get a top-4 seed in the national tournament and secure a first round bye.”

The Express enter the home stretch 19-7 overall and 11-2 in the OCCAC this season. They’re only the third Division III team to ever win an OCCAC title, matching their own feat from 2019 and 2023. This championship marks the 16th overall OCCAC title for Owens.

“We pride ourselves on our ability to compete with anyone no matter what division they are,” Perry said. “I think it makes us tougher heading into the postseason. Our team knows we can play with anybody. The teams in the OCCAC are very physical and it prepares us for the postseason grind. We are starting to play our best basketball now and peaking at the right time.”

They’ve never had a losing conference record under Perry, going 62-21 (.756 winning percentage) in seven seasons. Overall, Perry has guided Owens to 123 wins in 192 games (.644).

Owens has one more regular season game — at Edison State on Tuesday, Feb. 17 — before opening the postseason by hosting Lorain County Community College on Wednesday, Feb. 18 in the Region XI championship.

Owens enters the postseason winners of nine of its last 10 games December 20. In that span, the Express have scored 86 points per game, topping the 90-point mark in their last three games, while allowing 58 points per game.

Through 25 games, the Express ranked as one of the best offenses in the NJCAA national rankings. Their 82.2 points per game rank second nationally, and their field goal percentage (.413), 3-point field goal percentage (.333) and free throw percentage (.647) all rank in the top-10.

“We have a really good complimentary team,” Perry said. “We have post players that can score inside and when teams collapse in, we have really good shooters on the outside. Our defense really helps our scoring as well. We generate a lot of turnovers with our defensive pressure which leads to a lot of easy baskets.”

Sophomore guard Da’Cariya Lanier (Port Clinton/Port Clinton H.S.) leads the team with 19.8 points and 3.5 steals per game, shooting nearly 46 percent from 3-ponit range.

Sophomore forward Liv Mullins (Akron/Firestone H.S.) adds 16.8 points and 11.8 rebounds per game, freshman guard Emily Baer (Bowling Green/Toledo Central Catholic H.S.) averages 15.8 points, 3.3 steals and 3.6 assists, and freshman forward Sakiya Turner (Windsor, ON/Toledo Bowsher H.S.) adds 10.1 points and 5.6 boards.

Sophomore guard A’Leah Hodges (Toledo/Springfield H.S.) is putting up averages of 9.6 points and 4.7 assists.