Keyser, WV – The Howard Dragons came up with another critical regional victory as they defeated the Potomac State Catamounts in a 75-60 road win. The Dragons improve to 5-3 in Region 20 play and move up to a tie for fifth place in the standings.
 
The Dragons jumped out to an 11-0 lead as they held the Catamounts scoreless for the first seven minutes of the game as Mikiyah Mallett (Pasadena, MD/Old Mill) made three straight layups followed by a Kalani Corkeron (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake) three pointer. With Howard ahead 13-2, the Catamounts scored nine consecutive points to make it a 13-11 Dragon lead.
 
A similar story in the second quarter as the Dragons jumped out with a big run to increase their lead to 10 as Mallett continued to dominate the paint. But once again, the Catamounts charged back to cut their deficit to a 30-29 halftime lead for Howard.
 
Howard's three point shooting woke up in the third quarter as Corkeron hit long range shots on back-to-back possessions followed by a Sarah Deese (Woodbine, MD/Century) three pointer as the Dragons got ahead 41-35 midway through the third. Corkeron hit a third three pointer in the third quarter to get Howard up by nine, but Potomac State against answered back including a buzzer beating three pointer to take a 49-48 lead going into the final period.
 
With the Dragons going down by three, Mallett was able to make yet another tough layup. Corkeron came up with a huge block to allow Smith a coast-to-coast basket to regain the lead for Howard. Potomac State hit a three pointer to tie the game, but Smith came right back with one of her own followed by another Corkeron trey to extend the Dragons' lead. From there the Howard defense held firm and made enough free throws to put the game out of reach for the Catamounts as the Dragons scored 27 points in the fourth quarter.
 
Mallett led the Dragons with 23 points and 14 rebounds as well as five assists and two steals. Corkeron scored 17 points with six rebounds while Smith finished with 15 points and four assists. Harmon scored nine points with seven rebounds and two blocks and Julia Harrington (Baltimore, MD/Baltimore City College) added eight points and four rebounds.
 
Howard will next take on the College of Southern Maryland in their penultimate regular season game which will prove important in the regional tournament seeding as the two teams are tied in fifth at 5-3. The game will be played at CCBC Dundalk in a neutral site game and is set for a 5 PM tip off on Friday, February 24.