Columbia, MD - The Howard CC Dragons won all four quarters against a Chesapeake Skipjacks team that came into the game undefeated on the year, winning the regional rivalry game 70-54.

Howard came out of the gates with great pace, utilizing the speed of their point guard Nhaikyia Smith (Waldorf, MD/St. Vincent Pallotti) to jump out to a 6-1 lead. A big three pointer by Rashelle Buynum (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills) and fast break buckets by Julia Harrington (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore City College) and Kalani Corkeron (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake) surged the Dragons out to a 17-11 lead.

The Dragons continued to use the formula of three pointers and fast break points as Anhyia Smith (Clarksville, MD/River Hill) and Sarah Deese (Woodbine, MD/Century) hit a couple of deep range shots while Sydnei Harmon (Largo, MD/Charles H. Flowers) joined her teammates on the break to add to the 39-25 halftime lead. Chesapeake made their run early in the third quarter, cutting the Howard lead to six before Smith and Harrington answered with tough layups to extend the lead. Both of the Smiths continued to hit big shots down the stretch as the Dragons built up a lead as high as 22 points in the impressive performance by the Howard squad that never trailed in the game.

Harrington led the way for Howard with 14 points, accounting for a good chunk of the 24 fast break points that the Dragons racked up in the game. N. Smith added 13 points and 10 rebounds along with six steals and four assists while A. Smith also scored 13 points. Mikiyah Mallett (Pasadena, MD/Old Mill) chipped in another strong performance on both sides of the court with nine points and eight rebounds along with three steals and a block.

The Dragons improve to 1-1 in the regional standings as they get a week off for the Thanksgiving break before hosting Harford on Tuesday, November 29 at 5 PM.