Columbia, MD - The Howard Community College Dragons' women's basketball team, led by a phenomenal performance from Savannah Price (Woodbridge, VA/Freedom), took care of business Wednesday night with a 54-46 win over Cecil College.

The Seahawks came to Columbia ready for action, and from the opening tipoff, the contest quickly turned into a back-and-forth battle that kept everyone in the gym on edge. Cecil started off the game firing on all cylinders with an eight point lead in the first quarter. A layup from Naomi Williams (Odenton, MD/Meade) put a stop to the Dragons scoring drought and kick-started Howard's struggling offense. Williams finished the evening with a near double-double, cleaning the glass with eight points, eight rebounds, and two steals. Despite her aggression getting Howard into the game, every basket was anwered by more points from the Seahawks.

The second quarter brought a swing of momentum. Howard took control and grabbed their first lead thanks to two threes from Savannah Price (Woodbridge, VA/Freedom) and excellent scoring from London Galbraith (Washington, D.C./Friendship Collegiate Academy). Price was the leading scorer off the bench, finishing the game as the only Dragon in double figures with 18 points, five made threes, and two steals. Cecil's solid rebounding kept the Seahawks in the contest, and the lead changed hands multiple times down the stretch in the second. Howard won the second quarter 19-8 and the halftime buzzer sounded 28-22 in favor of the Dragons.

The intensity only rose from both sides in the second half. Howard opened the third quarter strong, trying to expand on their narrow lead. Howard changed things up with a smaller lineup on the court, enabling more perimeter shooting. Price, Emmanuella Oga (Randallstown, MD/Randallstown), and Laila Stevens (Philadelphia, PA/Lower Merion) all hit deep shots right before the fourth quarter to give Howard an eleven-point lead.

Early in the fourth quarter, Cecil picked up the pace and cut Howard's lead to as little as three points. Some very timely buckets from Hannah Chambers (Columbia, MD/Hammond) kept the momentum of the Dragons rolling and in control. Chambers finished with six points and six rebounds, with some highlight reel-worthy shots in the final minutes. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Cecil's efforts came short, and at the horn, the Dragons had survived the back-and-forth battle and earned a hard-fought win.

The Dragons next head on the road on Friday, January 23 against Harford Community College at 5:00 PM.