Rockville, MD - The Howard Community College Dragons entered the Montgomery College Tip-Off Classic with confidence and momentum, but their opening match up brought an unexpected setback as they fell 73–55 to Raritan Valley Community College in a tough, fast-paced contest on Saturday afternoon.

From the jump, the Dragons showed energy, pushing the ball in transition and applying pressure on defense. Sophomore guard London Galbraith (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate Academy) set the tone early as she scored the first points for the Dragons with a drive to the rim. Yet the poor perimeter shooting proved to be costly, as Howard only shot 20% from behind the arc. This allowed their opponent to rebound and run in transition the other way, with a series of quick baskets that swung the momentum.

By halftime, Howard trailed by double digits, and the deficit proved to be too much to overcome. However, sophomore forward Savannah Price (Woodbridge, VA/Freedom) anchored the Dragons team, leading her group in scoring with 14 points and keeping the Dragons in the game.

Raritan Valley's precision offense ultimately proved too much to contain. They shot over 50% from the three, making strings of threes late throughout the game to propel them ahead. Despite the Dragons outscoring the Lions in the 4th quarter, the host team had too big of a lead, and pulled away for good, sealing the 73–55 result.

Price finished the afternoon with 14 points and five rebounds, while Hannah Chambers (Columbia, MD/Hammond) added ten points and five rebounds herself. Galbraith had nine points, three rebounds, and two steals, while Jolie Hamilton (Baltimore, MD/Forest Park) added six points and two rebounds. Jasmine Dialy made her first career start, scoring two points and eight rebounds for the Dragons. McKenzi Walters (Falls Church, VA/George C. Marshall) added five rebounds for HCC.

The Dragons will look to comeback against Delaware Tech on Sunday to wrap up the Tip-Off Classic.