For two years Hammond has been waiting for the moment it could celebrate a victory over another Howard County team. That moment came Wednesday night with a 41-33 victory over Wilde Lake.
Both teams entered the game looking for their first victory of the season, and Hammond's losing streak against county teams had reached 28 games.
"This is a big relief," said Hammond coach Raymona Reid, adding that she felt as drained as if she'd played the game herself. "Stepping up and finally seeing some of the things that we work on every day finally working for, it was really good for the team and I'm happy for them."
Hammond led from start to finish, but had to withstand a Grayson Corbett-fueled fourth-quarter scoring effort that twice drew Wilde Lake to within six points. Corbett scored 11 of her 15 points in the fourth period.
As Wilde Lake drew closer, Hammond relied on Emily Callahan's free throw shooting to keep in front. Callahan's free throws accounted for the Golden Bears' last five points.
Keyuana Griffin led Hammond with 17 points. Teammate Cambria Conley added 10 before she fouled out. Conley missed a chunk of the first half and a good 8 minutes in the second half with foul trouble.
"Cambria has the energy we have to have," Reid said. "She's one of my captains and she does a great job of keeping the spirit of the team up."
Wilde Lake had some of its better players on the sidelines, too. Kourtney Harrison and Ni'Jah Richardson, both starters, sat the game out due to concussions.
"That definitely had an impact because they bring so much passion to the team," Corbett said.
Richardson and Harrison weren't the only Wildecats fighting injuries.
A thigh injury kept Corbett from being 100 percent and Lindsey Williams' knees were bothering her.
"Lindsey had a great game tonight and Grayson, too, coming off injuries," said Wilde Lake coach Caitlin Williams.
"We came out as aggressive as we could," Corbett said.
Williams (eight points) hauled in numerous rebounds and blocked at least eight shots.
Freshmen twins Nicole and Marissa Sciabarra stepped up for Wilde Lake.
"With Alyssa Bialek, we had three freshman on the floor sometimes," Williams said.
There is only one senior on the Wilde Lake squad.
Losing is frustrating, Corbett admitted. "But we know that we are improving every game and we know that (a victory) is going to come."
"It's the frustration that puts the fire under us to keep us going. We're not stopping until we get a win," Williams said.
That win won't come as a payback to Hammond. The two teams play each other just once this season.
Ha - Griffin 17, Conley 10, Callahan 5, Faass 4, Lee 3, Phillips 2. FT: 13-32.
WL - Corbett 15, Williams 8, Babturk 3, Dowling 2, M. Sciabarra 2, Fisher 2, Bialek 1. FT: 6-15.
Halftime: Hammond, 24-12.
Glenelg 53, Atholton 27
G - Heisig 19, Russo 12, Taylor 8, Burris 7, Yuan 6, Bendix 3, Parker 3, Kittleman 3, Wright 2. FT: 3-4.
A - Palmer 13, Mayhew 6, Weinberg 3, Tatum 2, Keating 2, Caldwell 1. FT: 4-5.
Halftime: Glenelg, 32-11.
River Hill 58, Marriotts Ridge 33
RH - Jackson 13, Julia Collins 11, Rowe 10, Jenna Collins 8, Arensmeier 8, Masker 4, Triplett 2, Umeozulu 2. FT: 17-30.
MR - Fleming 8, Miller 7, Sharbaugh 5, Stukenberg 4, Keefe 3, Taylor 3, Kerr 2, Grote 1. FT: 11-22.
Oakland Mills 41, Reservoir 37
OM - Hill 16, Hight 12, Jones 9, Twardowicz 2, Brockington 2. FT: 13-24.
Re - Massaquoi 18, Thompson 6, Bonner 4, Fowler 4, Rager 3, Pickens 2. FT: 7-8.
Halftime: Oakland Mills, 17-10.
Howard 42, Long Reach 27
Howard's defense held Long Reach's top three scorers to less than 10 points each. Brittany Butler paced Howard with 20 points, Sydney Biniak added 11.
Olivia Callan (eight), Imani Sanders and Alexis Briscoe (seven points each) topped the Long Reach effort. Sanders and Katelyn Peterson had three rebounds each; Alana Ratliffe had four.
Ho - Butler 20, Biniak 11, Kuhn 7, Hoesman 3, Robinson 2. FT: 13-21.
LR - Callan 8, Sanders 7, Briscoe 7, Peterson 3, Ratliffe 2. FT: 6-12.
Halftime: Howard, 21-17.
Mt. Hebron 54, Centennial 49
Against Centennial, Mt. Hebron played the mirror image of the game it played against Long Reach last Friday. Instead of being ahead the whole game, like against Long Reach, Mt. Hebron trailed Centennial by as many as 16 points.
"We were so flat," said Mt. Hebron coach Tony Bell.
But his squad perked up in the fourth quarter, scoring 24 points and claiming the 54-49 victory. The Vikings hit four 3-point shots in that final stanza, which helped.
Mt. Hebron senior Kelly Jones had treys in the game.
Freshman Anna Mitchell led Centennial with 17 points.
MH - Doherty 17, Jones 15, Thomas 8, Tavia 6, Crump 5, Bowen 3. FT: 13-21.
C - Mitchell 17, Downing 8, B. Anderson 8, Benzing 4, M. Anderson 4, Pino 3, Hsieh 3, Rockefeller 2. FT: 1-2.
County standings (as of Jan. 11)
Glenelg, 10-0
Oakland Mills, 9-1
River Hill, 8-2
Long Reach, 7-3
Howard, 6-4
Mt. Hebron, 6-4
Reservoir, 6-4
Centennial, 3-7
Marriotts Ridge, 3-7
Atholton, 1-9
Hammond, 1-9
Wilde Lake, 0-10