The MU Ancilla Chargers Women's Basketball Team returned to action at home on Wednesday against the #1 ranked team in NJCAA Div 3 and defending National Champion, Owens CC. The Chargers were looking to bounce back from a Saturday loss at Edison State and that is exactly what they did. The Chargers shot out of the gate early, leading 20-11 after the 1st quarter thanks to some very strong half court defense and high percentage shooting. The lead swelled to 34-17 in the second quarter thanks to even better shooting and a dominating performance on the boards. The Owens Express, as highly ranked teams often do, made a strong push at the end of the half, finishing on an 8-1 run to cut the gap to 35-25. Kyra Duncan had 17 first-half points to pace MU Ancilla thanks to 6-10 shooting from the field and 5-6 from the free throw line.
The Express kept their momentum going right away in the 3rd quarter, opening on a 9-2 run to cut the Charger lead to 37-34. After a Charger timeout, Owens continued to chip away, eventually take their first lead of the game at 40-39 and again at 42-41. Both teams traded baskets as the 3rd quarter wore on with MU Ancilla making a late push to take a 51-48 lead into the 4th quarter. The 4th quarter saw the Chargers stretch their lead to as many as 10 points before Owens would bring it back to 3 points on a couple of occasions. Timely shooting from Nicole Swain down the stretch and Jayci Allen controlling the boards allowed for MU Ancilla to pull away for a 73-64 win over the highly-respected Owens Express.
Kyra Duncan finished another strong outing, this time with 26 points and 5 rebounds as well as 2 steals. Jayci Allen finished with her 1st collegiate double-double, finishing with 18 points and an amazing 15 rebounds of which 12 came on the defensive end. Nicole Swain just missed a double-double of her own finishing with 15 points and 9 rebounds on an outstanding 5 of 6 shooting and 4-4 from the FT line. Alexis German pitched in with 7 points and 3 assists while Samaria Freeman added 7 points as well.
The Chargers shot a very solid 44% from the field while limiting Owens to 39% and also shot a very impressive 24-29 from the FT line for 83%. In addition, MU Ancilla outrebounded the Express by a resounding 45-20 total and limited Owens to only 4 offensive rebounds.
Coach Gould was very impressed with the play of the Chargers and the way they executed. "We talked the past two days about limiting St. John and Schroeder who are two outstanding players and that being a key to the game. We were able to hold them to a combined 7 points which is about 22 points under what they combine to average per game. We also talked about how when you play such a strong team and program, you have to make shots, you have to rebound, and you have to have a quick start to the game. I felt like we did those things. Kyra, Jayci, and Nicole were really solid for us offensively and I thought Jayci, Samaria, and Nicole did a great job on St. John and Schroeder."
The Chargers return to action on Friday at home against Lincoln Trail, a team they were able to knock off on the road by the score of 55-54 to open the season.
