Prince George's Women's Basketball Rally Is Too Strong For Pennsylvania Highlands, 58-55

LARGO, Md. – Myanna Strong (Upper Marlboro, Md./Largo) keyed a 12-6 run to end the game with six points to help Prince George's Community College come-from-behind to defeat Pennsylvania Highlands Community College 58-55 in National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) women's basketball action on Wednesday.

Trailing 49-46 with 4:07 left in the fourth quarter, Strong started the rally by making the backend of two charity tosses twice to trim the margin to 49-48 with 3:31 left. After Rickkia Jackson (Washington, D.C./Ballou) tied the game on a free throw 25 seconds later, Strong nailed a jumper at 2:41 for as 51-49 lead.

The Black Bears (0-1) had one last jolt in them when Maddie Sprankle drained a triple with 2:22 left to restore the visitor's lead at 52-51. Strong assisted Markaila Carter's (Little Rock, Ark./Potomac) go-ahead basket with 1:59 on the clock for a 53-52 lead. Strong then made it a three-point game after converting two at the line with 92 seconds left. Imani Yates (Seatpleasant, Md./Friendship Collegiate) scored in the lane with 24 seconds left and Gina Seifert (Owings, Md./Northern) made 1 of 2 at the free throw line to help seal the victory. Sprankle made three at the line with four seconds left to set the final score at 58-55.

Strong finished the night with a career-high 18 points and reached double figures in points for the third time in her career. The sophomore did most of her damage at the free throw line after converting 10 of 15 in freebies. She also added five steals, three assists and two rebounds in the winning effort.

Seifert posted her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Owls (2-2) while also recording three blocks and Yates added a career-high 12 points. Jackson notched her second 10-rebound game of her career on the night.

Penn Highlands jumped out to a 19-13 lead in the game before Yates, who had eight points in the stanza, hit a 3-pointer to close the quarter with 39 seconds left to make it a three-point lead.

The Owls used a 14-6 second quarter to go into the locker room with a 30-25 advantage. With the game tied at 25, the Largo program scored the final five points of the half thanks to three free throws by Strong and a Giovanni Thomas (Riverdale, Md./Fairmont Heights) layup in the closing seconds of the period.

The Black Bears rallied to tie the game at 31, but Strong started a 9-2 run on a basket in the paint to end the quarter that saw four different players' record points in the quarter for a 40-33 edge going into the final period.

Fueled by a 12-2 run by Penn Highlands, the Owls would need Strong to help rally the Owls by scoring 12 of the final 18 points of the game for the victory.

Prince George's returns to action on Nov. 15 when the squad opens Maryland Junior College Athletic Conference play against Allegany College of Maryland. Game time is 5 p.m.