Long Island City, New York – The 2023-24 season opener for the BMCC women's basketball team was a tale of two halves as the Panthers started strong and fought off a furious second-half rally from Laguardia Community College to edge them 79-74 in their season opener on Tuesday night in Long Island City, New York. The Panthers won their first season opener since the 2018-19 season, improving to 1-0 (1-0 CUNYAC), while the Red Hawks fell to 0-1 (0-1 CUNYAC).

The Panthers already have smashed marks from last season in just one game, eating up 27 steals and scoring 79 points, which surpasses the total of 68 points scored against Queensborough Community College on January 31, 2023, and 15 steals done twice against the Tigers on January 31, 2023, and in the 2022-23 CUNYAC Semifinals on February 14, 2023.
 
The Panthers offense had three double-digit scorers, and two players registered double-doubles in their opener as sophomore forward Emily Kennedy (Brooklyn, New York) did not miss a beat after a 2022-23 CUNYAC All-Star season, posting her seventh career double-double, scoring a team-best 26 points and snatching a game and career-high 12 steals. Kennedy is the first Panther player to record double-digit steals since the 2014-15 season when Kristen Merrell had 10 steals in the Panthers season opener against Bergen County Community College on November 4, 2014, during a 73-56 victory. 

Kennedy, who just missed a triple-double by one assist after dishing out a career-best nine on the evening, has six career 20-point games and has scored 20 or more points eight times in her career while registering 14 career double-figure games and seven and her last nine dating back to the 2022-23 season.

Freshmen Sheliyah Jackson (Bronx, New York) also put together a stellar debut hauling down a team-high 11 boards and scoring ten points for her first career double double while classmate Stephany Coward (Queens, New York) chipped in with 14 points on the evening. Sophomore Brynanh Sledge (Brooklyn, New York) had eight points and four steals, while freshman Patricia Perez (Brooklyn, New York) had four steals.

The Panthers got off to a fast start, leading 17-7 lead after one-quarter of play and building the advantage to a 35-21 lead at halftime. The Red Hawks would not go away, outscoring the Panthers 27-16 in the third quarter, tying it at 41 and 43 at the three-minute and two-twenty mark before scoring on a fastbreak with 1:54 to go in the third to take their first lead 45-43. BMCC responded with an 8-3 run as Kennedy's floater from inside the free throw line tied it at 45 with 1:40 remaining, and Perez's trey with 1:19 would put the Panthers back in front by three, 48-45 with 1:19 to go and they would build off of that to lead 51-48 going into the final stanza. The Panthers would get a clutch layin with ten seconds to go, trailing 66-64 from Sledge to help force overtime, making it 66 all.
 
LaGuardia drew first blood at the 3:30 mark with a layin before Jackson responded underneath to tie it at 68. Kennedy would intercept the inbound pass and draw a pair of free throws, which she made both of to give the Panthers back the lead 70-68. After the Red Hawks tied it at 72, BMCC would score seven of the last nine points in the extended period, with six coming back-to-back on Kennedy layups, stretching the advantage to 76-72 and helping the Panthers escape with a 79-74 victory.
 
The Panthers will look for two straight victories for the first time since the 2019-20 season when they welcome Nassau Community College to BMCC Gymnasium in Region 15 action on Saturday, November 11, at noon. For more information, visit the BMCC Women's Basketball Schedule Page.
 

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