Career Day From Schwarzmann Caps Off Regular Season For #10 Lady Owls

A convincing 50-point win from the NJCAA Division III No. 10 ranked Lady Owls over visiting CCBC Catonsville on Saturday, February 12^th wrapped up the Prince George's Community College women's basketball regular season. The Owls finished the year with a 15-5 record and 8-3 in conference play. The 15 regular season wins are the most by the women's program in over a decade, when the Owls finished 21-5 before postseason play began in 2010-11.

While first year head coach Devin May has pushed his team to new levels, it was freshman guard Vanessa Schwarzmann who stole the show on Saturday. Schwarzmann caught fire early in the game, launching up six three-pointers in the first quarter as she connected on all six attempts to help give her team a 28-12 lead. One of Schwarzmann's early three's came while the Cardinals fouled her in the process, sending her to the line where she connected on the free throw to complete the four-point play. She added one more in the second period to remain a perfect 7-for-7 as the Owls entered halftime with a 44-22 lead. 

Schwarzmann's points at the half matched the entire Cardinals team points scored at the break with 22. Teammate Janiah Williams had 9 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists at halftime. 

The Owls offense didn't let up in the second half as Prince George's outscored Catonsville 15-11 in the third period and routed the Cardinals 29-5 in the fourth for an 88-38 win. Schwarzmann finished as the game's leading scorer with 28 points on 8-of-9 from deep and a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. Williams collected another double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds. RaMyah Yearwood scored 14 and grabbed 6 rebounds while Kelsey Vallair put up 13 points and 8 rebounds.

After the game coach May had the following to say of his team's performance, "I'm proud and impressed by the way our team played the entire 40 minutes of basketball today. Playing a complete game has been one of our areas that we've really focused on improving and to be able to see us execute at a high level was a proud moment." Later speaking on Schwarzmann's career performance, May stated "Vanessa got us going early and the team rallied around her and when Catonsville switched their attention to stopping her, her teammates stepped up and took advantage of their opportunities. The energy in Novak Field House was amazing and it helped up stay engaged."

As the Owls wrapped up their best regular season since 2011-12, coach May took a moment to reflect on his first year at the helm: "Even though this is our first year together and we have a limited roster comprised of all freshman, including myself, we came into this season with very high expectations of ourselves and we set out to win championships and qualify for the national tournament. To finish the season 15-5 and be ranked in the top ten is an amazing feeling and I'm proud of this team for staying committed to one another despite adversity."

With the regular season now in the rearview mirror, May and his team will look ahead to their next challenge – finishing as Region 20 Division III champions. The Owls enter the tournament as the #1 seed after a perfect 4-0 finish in division play and await the winner of #2 Butler County and #3 Anne Arundel. The two teams will play in the semi-finals on Saturday, February 19^th before playing the Owls in the finals the next day, Sunday, February 20^th.  This year's tournament is hosted by Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, MD. Sunday's women's championship is scheduled to tipoff at 12 PM.