Greene's 25 Points Powers Prince George's Women's Basketball Past Butler County 62-57 And Into NJCAA Region XX Championship Game

Greene's 25 Points Powers Prince George's Women's Basketball Past Butler County 62-57 And Into NJCAA Region XX Championship Game

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Asisha Greene (Washington, D.C.) scored four of her game-high 25 points in an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter to power Prince George's Community College past Butler County Community College 62-57 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region XX Semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the MC-Rockville Gymnasium on the campus of Montgomery College.

With the win, the Owls (12-12) move onto the NCJCAA Region XX Division III Championship Game on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the MC-Rockville Gymnasium on the Rockville campus of Montgomery College. Prince George's will be in search its fifth Region XX title and will play the winner of the Montgomery-Westmoreland County semifinal matchup.

After the Pioneers (16-9) rallied to tie the game and take a 50-48 lead with 5:17 remaining, Gina Seifert (Owings, Md.) gave the Owls the lead for good on a jumper at 5:06 before Greene followed with consecutive baskets in the paint at 4:44 and 4:33 and Tatiana Garvin (Bowie, Md.) capped the run with a basket in the paint with 3:45 left for a 58-50 advantage. Butler County scored seven of the final 11 points, but Prince George's held on for the victory to advance to the Region XX title game for the first time since the 2014-15 season with the squad took home the crown.

Greene made 10 shots from the field, including three from behind the arc, along with two free throws to finish with 25 points while adding six rebounds and five steals. The freshman has posted 20 points in a game 14 times this season and has registered double figures in points in all 24 contests this season.

Seifert narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with nine points and 12 rebounds while stuffing the stat sheet with three assists, three steals and a block in the winning effort.

Julia Baxter powered the Pioneers with 28 points and 17 rebounds while Kaylnn Callihan added 14 points and Christina Davis chipped in eight points and 13 rebounds in the loss.

The Owls maintained the lead for most of the game before Butler County made a furious comeback to take the edge only to see the Owls close string together four-straight layups midway through the fourth quarter to give Prince George's the victory and a spot in the NJCAA Region XX Championship Game on Sunday.

After the Owls took a 37-26 lead after two charity tosses by Dakota Kingard (Capital Heights, Md.), the Pioneers used a 20-7 run to grab its first lead since the beginning of the game at 46-44 with 8:22 left in the game. Baxter fueled the spurt with 10 points.

The two teams then traded baskets for the next couple of minutes. After Baxter tied the game at 50 on a layup with 5:17 left, Prince George's scored eight-straight points and 12 of the next 14 points to take a 62-51 lead. Butler County scored the final six points of the game to set the final score at 62-57.

The Owls went on a 13-0 run in the final six minutes of the first quarter to take the lead and go into the locker room with the advantage. Trailing 8-3, Seifert started the spurt with a layup at 6:05 before Durant-Smith scored in the lane to cut the deficit to 8-7 with 3:51 left in the quarter. Greene converted a traditionally 3-point play at 3:02 to give Prince George's its first lead of the afternoon at 10-8 before the freshman scored in the lane at 2:42 for a four-point advantage. Seifert and Andrea Durant-Smith (Temple Hills, Md.) each scored in the lane to end the stanza with the Owls leading 16-8.

Butler County scored seven of the first 10 points in the second quarter to trim the margin to 19-14 with 6:19 remaining only to see Prince George's register nine of the next 11 points to extend its advantage to 28-16 with 1:30 on the clock.

Greene started the spurt with a triple at 4:55 before Baxter answered with a basket in the lane at 3:49. The Owls then rattled off the next six points in the lane with baskets by Smith, Greene, and Durant-Smith for a 12-point lead with 90 seconds left in the half. Callihan hit consecutive 3-pointers for the Pioneers in the final 86 seconds to cut the deficit to 28-22 at the break.

Prince George's opened the third quarter with a 9-2 spurt to take a 37-26 advantage with six minutes on the clock. Four different Owls scored in this stretch. Fueled by Baxter, Butler County closed the stanza with a 16-7 run to make it a 44-42 margin going into the final frame. The Pioneers took the lead, but Prince George's closed the game strong to earn the win.