Columbia, MD - In front of their largest crowd of the season, the Howard Community College Dragons pulled a massive upset Wednesday afternoon in their 64-55 overtime win over Garrett College.

Capitalizing on Garrett foul trouble, the Dragons fought back from a twelve-point deficit to force overtime. A 13-4 run in the extra period gave the Dragons their sixth victory of the season and fifth win in the last six games. The victory also pushes the Dragons into the playoff picture for the first time this season.

Wednesday's game was the back-end of a doubleheader held for local elementary school children, giving the Dragons their best crowd of the season. Both teams opened slowly in the first with neither cracking double-digits. Howard's defense was lights-out, but the Dragons shot just 20% in the opening quarter. Jaylah Putman (Jacksonville, FL/Long Reach) and Tamir Whittle (Columbia, MD/Wilde Lake) provided the only points courtesy of a Putman three-pointer, a Whittle layup, and several free throws.

The offenses woke up in the second quarter, with Howard's bench players coming alive. However, while shooting percentage went up, the Dragons turnovers also increased. Garrett capitalized to jump out to a five-point lead, but the Lakers could not stop fouling Howard. Constant trips to the line kept the Dragons in the game despite the turnovers, and a big Kayden Jeselskis (Baltimore, MD/Rosedale Christian Academy) three-pointer before the half made it 26-20 in favor of the Lakers.

Garrett stayed hot entering the second half, expanding their lead to double-digits. Howard responded with several big Jaylah Putman (Jacksonville, FL/Long Reach) shots, yet found themselves trailing by 12 with five minutes to go in the quarter. A tough McKenzi Walters (Falls Church, VA/George C. Marshall) tip-in sparked the comeback, as the Dragons shut-out Garrett the rest of the quarter. Another Garrett foul would send Nicole Forbes (Reston, VA/South Lakes) to the line for two shots, and a three pointer by Forbes off a missed Garrett jumper dropped the lead down to five with a quarter to go.

Walters kept the comeback going seconds into the fourth with another tip-in off a Garrett turnover. With their momentum sapped, the Lakers fell victim to non-stop fouls, with two players fouling out. The Dragons capitalized, acing their free throws to bring the deficit down to two. Mariah Ruth (Lancaster, PA/McCaskey) then hit a massive three to give the Dragons their first lead since the first quarter. Whittle extended the lead with a jumper, and more Garrett fouls allowed Howard to keep the lead. Garrett wasn't going to let the Dragons get away smoothly, and a 8-0 run over the next two minutes gave the lead back to the Lakers. With a minute to go, the Dragons needed a clutch moment to keep them in the game. They would get just that as Asaani Offer (Annapolis, MD/Catonsville) battled through the paint for a crucial basket to make it a one-point game.

Now the Dragons just needed to get a stop on defense, but an Offer foul would send the Lakers to the line. Manuela Perez Castro missed both free throws, giving the Dragons a chance at sniping the lead. But McKenzi Walters (Falls Church, VA/George C. Marshall) missed a go-ahead shot giving Garrett a chance. The Lakers missed their next two shots before a Whittle foul sent Renee Timbers to the line. Timbers hit her first free throw but missed her second, keeping it a two-point game. A clutch rebound by Walters gave Howard possession and one more chance. The last thing Garrett needed was another foul, but a smart drive by Whittle drew one anyway. Whittle aced her free throws to tie the game, and Garrett missed their own pair of shots with seconds left. Comeback complete, the Dragons had forced overtime.

It was clear entering the extra period that the Lakers had run out of steam. Howard kept driving to the basket, drawing crucial fouls on Garrett. Back-to-back layups by Asaani Offer (Annapolis, MD/Catonsville) built the lead to seven points as Garrett missed three straight three-pointers. With the lead secured, the Dragons finished off their opponent with one last basket by Whittle, an exclamation point on a massive conference win.

 Mariah Ruth (Lancaster, PA/McCaskey) finished as the leading scorer with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and four steals. Whittle had 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a block, and a steal in a career day. Nicole Forbes (Reston, VA/South Lakes) completed the trio of excellent bench performances with ten points, three rebounds, and four steals. Jaylah Putman (Jacksonville, FL/Long Reach) was the leading scorer of the starters with nine points and six rebounds. Asaani Offer (Annapolis, MD/Catonsville) and McKenzi Walters (Falls Church, VA/George C. Marshall) held down the middle, with Offer finishing with seven points, eleven rebounds, and two blocks. Walters had four points, ten rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. Kayden Jeselskis (Baltimore, MD/Rosedale Christian Academy) hit two big threes for six points and three steals.

The Dragons next travel to Monroe University for the Monroe Mixer. Their first match will be against Monroe Community College on Saturday, January 18 at 1:00 PM.