“It’s rewarding to see Kemi and TEMPESTT CASEY, who was Rookie of the Week last week, get recognition for our program,” said City Tech head coach Fred DeJesus, a former assistant at Hunter when he recruited Owoseni out of high school. “We have a great mix of players this year. The team is starting to jell nicely and they are playing with passion. There are a lot of positive signs here by winning four straight games, while the team is still working to improve their level of play and gain more experience throughout the season.”
Owoseni enjoyed back-to-back solid performances for the 2-0 Yellow Jackets last week (12/11-12/17). The 5’8” forward averaged 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in two games. The Brooklyn native, who converted 55 percent (12-for-22) of her field goal attempts, opened her week with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the victory over St. Joseph’s (LI) on December 11th. The Brooklyn Tech native followed that up with a career-high 20 points (8-of-16 field goals) and eight rebounds versus USMMA on December 13th.
City Tech moved to 4-1 in December with a thrilling 67-62 overtime victory over the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at the Klitgord Center last week. The Yellow Jackets actually were up by as many as 12 points, 22-10 with eight minutes remaining in the first half, before settling for a 29-25 lead at the break. The Yellow Jackets controlled most of the second period and had a chance to end the game in regulation, as they held took a two point lead following a 53-53 tie on an Owoseni short jump shot off the backboard with 1:30 remaining. Sophomore guard DYSHEA SMILEY (Bronx Leadership / Bronx, NY) then went to the charity stripe with 0:29 left and hit 1-2 free throws to make it a 56-53 home lead. But the Mariners (5-3) received a three-point basket from guard Brooke Picillo with three seconds left to send the game into overtime. Five different players scored in the extra stanza, as the Yellow Jackets pulled away for a five-point victory. Besides Owoseni, Sophomore point guard DYSHEA SMILEY also had her best game of the season, almost reaching a triple-double with 11 points, seven assists and a team-season-high 21 rebounds. Junior guard AMANDA ZIEMINSKI, the team’s leading scorer last year, had her 2006-07 season high with 15 points in the game for City Tech.
“Our team is hitting a stride at the right time, just before we get into CUNY Conference play and as the student-athletes break for finals and the holiday season,” continued DeJesus. “The lay-off should provide us time to heal some injuries and continue to pull for each other on and off the court. We’ll regroup next week and try to forge ahead with 11 of our next 14 games versus CUNY Schools.”
The Yellow Jackets will return to action on Thursday night, December 28th, as St. Joseph’s College (Brooklyn) comes to the Klitgord Center for an early 5:00 pm tip-off. Then on Wednesday, January 3rd both the City Tech men (1-9) and women will go down Flatbush Avenue to Brooklyn College for a doubleheader beginning at 5:30 pm.