Wilde Lake came into yesterday's match-up against No. 16 Howard brimming with confidence. After all, the 14th-ranked Wildecats had compiled a 5-1 record at home against county foes and would be led by senior guard Kristen Riismandel (15.3-point average), who sat out Wilde Lake's earlier loss this season at Howard with strep throat.
But the River Hill High confines, where Wilde Lake is making its home for the next two seasons, proved to be more friendly to the visiting Lions (10-8, 5-5), who handed the Wildecats a 55-39 loss. Wilde Lake's 39 points matched the Wildecats' lowest scoring output of the season, with the previous 39 mark coming in a win at Poolesville High.
"We wanted to take Kristen [Riismandel] out of the game offensively so we stayed in a triangle-and-two defense," said Howard coach Craig O'Connell, who is still waiting for his defending Class 3A championship team to put together a streak of wins as the regular-season end draws near.
Despite Howard's defensive effort, Riismandel (12 points) gave Wilde Lake its only lead of the game when her 12-foot jumper opened the scoring at 7:35. To say the Wildecats' shooting went cold from the floor would be an understatement as Wilde Lake finished the first quarter two of 27 from the field.
"We think we have an advantage playing here and with Kristen back for this game, maybe we were too confident," said Wilde Lake coach Kelly Storr, whose team finished the game 14 of 72 (19 percent) from the field.
Wilde Lake got 12 points from junior forward Adrean Mabry and nine from senior Anika Middleton, but no other Wildecat scored more than two points.
"We weren't nervous," said Storr, searching for an explanation. "Perhaps we were just too anxious. When we did get it going offensively, we broke down on defense."
Wilde Lake (11-5, 6-4) could not even take advantage of Howard senior forward Mona Jackson's early foul trouble that kept the Lions' leading scorer on the bench for a few minutes in the first quarter and all of the second.
Although Wilde Lake would make five of 19 shots in the second quarter, Howard maintained a 19-16 halftime lead thanks to the outside shooting of senior forward Katie Kile (seven points) and rebounding presense of sophomore forward Chanelle Carter (eight points, 10 rebounds).
A 9-2 run by Howard to open the third quarter put the Lions up 28-16. Jackson, who finished with 21 points, tallied seven points during the critical offensive spurt. She finished with 12 in the quarter.
Riismandel made a three-pointer and two foul shots to bring Wilde Lake back to within 31-26 with four minutes left in the third, but the Wildecats would pull no closer.
Jackson continued her offensive show in the fourth quarter with eight more points, including two lay-ups off steals and a midair conversion off an inbounds, lob pass from Carter. Jackson also contributed two inside assists to junior forward Megan Boehm (seven points, six rebounds) early in the fourth quarter.
"We're looking to get over the hump, and to get a win here against a good Wilde Lake team was big for us," said O'Connell.