Owens advances to regional final

Owens' Brittany Darling sizes up a shot against St. Clair County. She led the Express with 24 points and 19 rebounds.

Brittany Darling scored 24 points, grabbed 19 rebounds, and blocked six shots as Owens Community College crushed St. Clair County Community College 100-67 yesterday in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II women's regional semifinal game at Owens.

Darling, a Genoa graduate, is one blocked shot shy of tying the school season record held by Stephanie Galant, who had 125 in the 1999-2000 season.

Darling made 12 field goals, two shy of the team single-game record. Her 19 rebounds were two short of tying her single-game record she has accomplished twice this year.

"She was a beast today," Owens coach Mike Llanas said. "At the same time, she can't be satisfied with today's performance. Tomorrow will bring much more strength and depth with whichever opponent we play, so she's got to be prepared."

Jasmine Blanton scored 15 points and Demi Moschetti 10 for the No. 6-ranked Express (27-5). St. Clair County falls to 21-8.

"I'm really pleased to see the girls playing hard as a team and shooting the ball well," Llanas said. "We need to continue to be enthusiastic, support one another, and fight through adversity versus whichever team we play tomorrow. We know it's going to be a battle."

Owens found out last night that they will face No. 5-ranked Schoolcraft (30-1) in today's 1 p.m. championship game.