While fourth-ranked River Hill and eighth-ranked Mount Hebron remained unbeaten with victories over ranked opponents, Howard earned its first win of the season Monday night with a 51-42 decision at Oakland Mills.
"It's nice to get a win before the holiday tournament," said Howard coach Shannon Grieve yesterday. "Hopefully, this will boost our confidence and show the girls the potential they have when they play like they did last night."
Kim Pyne scored 25 points to lead the Lions (1-4 overall, 1-2 league). The 6-foot-3 sophomore took advantage of the absence of Oakland Mills' 6-2 junior, Rayna DuBose, who sprained her left ankle two minutes into the second quarter and did not return.
"They got the ball into [Pyne] and she didn't miss," said Oakland Mills coach Marcus Lewis.
Oakland Mills (3-3, 1-3) led, 19-10, when DuBose went out. Howard rallied to take a 25-23 halftime advantage, and increased the lead to 35-27 at the end of the third quarter. The Scorpions made one basket and two free throws in the third period.
Oakland Mills made only 13 of 30 free throws. Heather Romich led the Scorpions with 13 points, and DuBose had all 10 of her points in the first quarter.
Howard's Tamara Jackson, who picked up three first-half fouls, added seven points.
River Hill looked like a team on a mission against Glenelg.
Greeba Outen-Barlow scored seven points and Keiko Miller-Tate added six as the Hawks took a 17-8 first-quarter lead. River Hill (6-0, 4-0) limited 17th-ranked Glenelg (4-2, 3-1) to two free throws in the second quarter and led, 32-10, at halftime.
"I thought we came out with a lot of intensity," said River Hill coach Teresa Waters, whose team won, 56-31. "We played well defensively and created a lot of turnovers. And everyone contributed."
Outen-Barlow finished with 14 points. Miller-Tate, who sat out the second and third quarters because of foul trouble, added 11.
"They outplayed us," said Glenelg coach Ciaran Lesikar, "but I know we can play a lot better than we showed."
Mount Hebron (5-0, 3-0) downed Centennial (3-3, 2-2), 52-40. "They have a lot of height, a lot of skill, a lot of depth and are tremendously well-coached," said Centennial coach Dave Greenberg.
The Eagles, who committed eight turnovers in the first quarter and trailed, 17-4, outscored Mount Hebron in the second half. "Except for the first quarter, it was the best we've played all season," Greenberg said. "It was a great effort. We showed we can compete with them."
