Owens' women's head coach Stephen Perry takes home DIII Coach of the Year
Charlotte, NC - Owens (OH) head women's basketball coach Stephen Perry has been named the 2021-22 NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball Coach of the Year.
Perry was named the head coach in 2018 and has helped the Express program into one of the most consistent in NJCAA Division III. He helped lead the Express to a 27-4 record and an NJCAA No. 1 ranking since November 15. Owens entered the NJCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship as the top overall seed and put together a tournament run that led to the school's first women's basketball title.
"Coach Perry and his staff did a tremendous job in all facets of developing the 2021-22 team that captured Owen's first-ever Women's Basketball National Championship, especially coming off a COVID year where we did not sponsor the sport last season," said Owens' Community College Athletic Director Shelley Whitaker. "He literally had to recruit a brand new team, develop the mission for the program and instill a championship mindset to a team that had no college playing experience.
Coach Perry had three student-athletes earn honors during the 2021-22 season: three 2021-22 NJCAA DIII Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team members; Cierra Harris, Taylor Starks, Dasia Hardison, Tournament Most Valuable Player; Cierra Harris, two OCCAC Player of the Week; Hayley St. John and Malorie Schroeder, and NJCAA Player of the Week; Hayley St. John. Perry was named the Coach of the Tournament for the 2021-22 NJCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship.
Prior to this year's national tournament, Perry led the Express to the 2019 National Championship game and holds a 357-93 (.793) all-time record as head coach.
"This focus cannot only be seen on the court but also in the classroom as the goal is to succeed in each player attaining their Associate degrees and transitioning on to 4-year institutions. I applaud Coach Perry not only for his National Coach of the Year and Owen's first Women's Basketball National Champion honors but also in the way his staff and team represented the entire Owens Community with class in a national spotlight," Whitaker said.
2021-22 Accomplishments
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2021-22 NJCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship Title
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2021-22 NJCAA DIII Women's Basketball Coach of the Year
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2021-22 NJCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship Coach of the Tournament
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Coached NJCAA DIII Women's Basketball Championship Tournament MVP – Cierra Harris.
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Coached three all-tournament team selections: Cierra Harris, Taylor Starks, Dasia Hardison
- Two NJCAA DIII Women's Basketball All-America Selections
