Women’s Basketball Finishes Season With a Win Over Northampton In National Tournament

The Prince George's Community College women's basketball season came to a close on Thursday, March 16^th following a consolation game in the National Championship being held in Rochester, Minnesota. The Lady Owls entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed out of 12 teams and were pitted against No. 9 seed Anoka-Ramsey in the first round held on Wednesday, March 15^th.

Despite holding a lower seeding, Anoka-Ramsey could have been viewed as the home team versus the Owls in the opening as the Golden Rams handed Prince George's a 59-41 loss. The Golden Rams are located less than two hours away from the tournament site which was played in the Rochester Regional Sports Center while Prince George's travelled into a different time zone for the tournament. A slow start plagued the Owls who were unable to get much going offensively until the final quarter which they entered trailing by 26. A particularly poor third quarter saw Prince George's be outscored 22-6 which seemed to put the game out of reach with only ten minutes remaining to keep their National Championship hopes alive.

The Owls managed to close the gap, scoring 17 while holding Anoka-Ramsey to only 9 points in the last quarter, but there just wasn't enough time for Prince George's to pull off the upset as the final horn sounded an 18-point defeat for the Lady Owls. Prince George's was outshot in nearly every category against Anoka-Ramsey, excluding three-pointers which has been a staple for the Owls this season who finished top-10 in the nation in shots made from beyond the arc.

The Owls lone freshman Danielle Ellerbee led Prince George's in scoring in the defeat as she finished with 11 points and also grabbed 5 rebounds. Janiah Williams also finished in double figures with 10 points and was two rebounds shy of another double-double, finishing with 8.

Due to division III expanding to 12 teams in recent years which guarantees each tournament participant at least two games, Prince George's earned a matchup against No. 12 seed Northampton who also lost in their opening round matchup. The Owls had the most familiarity with the Spartans of anyone else in the tournament, having played them over four months ago in their season opener which the Owls won 81-45 at home.

While the team recognized they were no longer playing for a national title they made sure to end their season, and several of their careers as an Owl, on a high note as they defeated Northampton 50-38 to close out the year. The Owls played a close game with the Spartans at times, but refused to allow Northampton to outscore them, matching each other in points scored in both the first and third quarters. Prince George's, however, managed to gain a four-point advantage (8-12) in the second quarter and showed up when it mattered the most in the final quarter to outpace Northampton by 8 to seal a 50-38 victory and finish the season the same way they started it, with a win against a ranked opponent.

Alicia Jones finished as the game's leading scorer with 19 points which she paired with 5 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists in a complete game on both sides of the floor for Prince George's. Williams concluded her own career with a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double which she has done so often while dawning the blue and white for the Owls.

Thursday's final horn signaled the end for 7 student-athletes on the Lady Owls roster, 6 of whom were on their second straight visit to Minnesota for the NJCAA National Championship. Joining Williams and Jones listed above were two-year players Vanessa Schwarzmann, Kelsey Vallair, Tori Tolson, and Sonia Chofong. Maranda Carey, a sophomore transfer, also wrapped up her junior college career after starting 19 games for the Owls this season.

Following back-to-back trips to a National Championship in just two seasons at the helm for head coach Devin May, the future appears to be bright for the Largo program that has won three consecutive Region 20 titles and back-to-back District Championships.