Women’s Basketball Downs Essex County in Season Opener

The Prince George's women's basketball team kicked off their 2024 season hosting Essex County College in Novak Field House on Sunday, November 10^th. Debuting a completely new starting lineup from last year's National Tournament team, the Owls used a balanced attack of first and second-year players to secure a 60-55 victory over the visiting Wolverines.

The Owls held a narrow 34-31 lead at halftime as sophomore Kristin Smith led the Owls in scoring with 12 points to go along with 6 rebounds. Freshman Kryslynn Stewart was also already in double digits at the break with 10 points. Teammate Aaliyah Membrino helped to set the tone early in the first quarter with 7 points and 3 offensive rebounds before finishing the first two quarters with a total of 5 offensive boards already.

Prince George's kept up the pace in the second half, growing their lead to as many as 10 points, 50-40, with just under a minute to play in the third period before heading into the final stretch. Essex County came to within 6 points early in the fourth, but a 3-minute scoreless run by either team stalled any momentum from the New Jersey program with time winding down. The Owls later again grew their lead to 10 points before the Wolverines came to within three with 2:32 to go. The Owls managed the only basket over the remaining time to make it a two-possession game while keeping Essex County off the scoreboard to close out the win, 60-55.

Stewart finished as the Owls leading scorer during her debut in an Owls uniform, ending with 16 points. Smith (14 points, 9 rebounds) and Membrino (9 points, 10 rebounds) both narrowly missed out on a double-double on the day. Sunday's game marked the third time in four seasons under head coach Devin May that the Owls have opened the season with a win, this time coming as a division II program looking to make another run at a National Title.