River Hill knocked Howard from the ranks of the unbeaten, 67-41. In theory the game should have been a battle between talented post players – Nyree Williams and Brandi Wingate for Howard and Ryann Dannelly and Alicia Seelaus for River Hill. Instead it was decided by the three River Hill starting guards who combined for 45 points.

“We were preparing for this (game) in practice. Yesterday, it was time to amp up. There was an electric feel in practice,” said River Hill guard Vanessa Collier, who scored 18 points.

Teammate Shantrel Oliver led all scorers with 20 points.

“She’s a great point guard, she sees the floor well and is quick as all get out,” Collier said. “It allows us to plan an up tempo game, which we really like.”

River Hill, at 6-0 the only undefeated team in the county, attacked Howard’s strength.

“We knew that they liked to block shots so we wanted to give them opportunities to do that,” said River Hill coach Teresa Waters.

The game was tightly called. Before the first quarter was over, both teams were shooting bonus free throws. Williams and Wingate both got in foul trouble and had to shuttle in and out of the game.

“River Hill came out and made us play something other than our game,” said Howard coach Kim Kennedy, vowing to use the loss to advantage. “You never want to lose. However, this team is used to losing in past years. It’s going to be important how they bounce back from this.”

Wingate and Kendall Neff led Howard’s scoring with nine points. Mackenzie Calhoun and Williams each added seven.

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