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Women’s Express Basketball Midseason Report
Nicholas Huenefeld/ Outlook Reporter
nicholas_huenefeld@pipeline.owens.edu
“Attitude.“ That is the one word Owens Women’s Basketball
coach Mike Llanas states as the strong point of his team this year.
“We’ve got a great base of local kids, some who have been
out of the game for one or two years, and they have stepped in and met
our challenges head on. Mix in the fact that the adjustment from high
school to college coaching can sometimes be difficult, and I’m even
more proud of out team and it’s attitude.”
One example of the attitude on the team is Heather Peer, a sophomore from
Ypsilanti, Michigan. Heather came off the bench in the game against Clark
State to provide tough minutes while adding six points and five assists.
The Lady Express are 11-6 overall with a 2-0 conference record and feature
a nice inside, outside game this year with Nicole Brown playing tough
down in the post while Misti Horton and Bridget Buss leading the team
in three point shooting. Misti Horton, a sophomore from Woodward High
School, is averaging nine points a game while shooting 45.7% from behind
the arc.
Bridget Buss is a freshman from Whitmer High School who is averaging 10.1
points per game while shooting an astonishing 60.7% from three point land
this year. Katie McClure, a graduate of Liberty Center High School, is
third on the team in three point field goals made at 41.7%.
When asked the number one goal for his team the rest of the year, Llanas
responded that he wanted to win the conference. He says, “We’ve
been to the nationals two out of the last three years and if we can play
with the best teams in the nation, we can certainly play with the best
teams in our conference”.
The turning point of the season has been, according to Llanas, back-to-back
losses to Genesee and Kellogg, the 15th and 8th ranked teams in the country
respectively. “Although I hate to point to losses as turning points,
I feel that those two games have helped us to find strength, meet challenges,
and be humble. We were only down by three to Genesee and two to Kellogg
at halftime in both of those games. We now know what we have to do to
play with the best teams in the nation, explains Llanas.
Llanas says the leader of the team this year has been Niccole Brown. Brown
is a great presence down low averaging 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per
game this season. “Niccole is a legit Division I prospect. She’s
had calls from numerous Division I schools such as Butler, Ashland, Findlay,
Youngstown State, Cleveland State, UNC Charlotte and UNC Asheville.
The most improved player on the team would be Ashley Williams, a freshman
from Start High School. Ashley is averaging 5.2 points and 2.6 rebounds
per game this year. “She’s a first year player from the local
area who is exciting, but disciplined. She has met all the challenges
the coaching staff has thrown at her”.
Llanas says the toughest game the second half of the year will be at Cincinnati
State on January 22nd. “They are the only Division I school in our
conference and the team to beat. He says if they can focus on improvement,
have good coaching and a lot of luck, their season will turn out to be
a success.