No. 11 River Hill girls basketball outlasts Oakland Mills, 49-48, on Kirsten Parypinski’s late basket
The energy in Oakland Mills gym was palpable.
Passionate fanbases for both visiting River Hill and the host Scorpions came out, which only added to the intense atmosphere of River Hill’s eventual 49-48 win.
With the momentum pendulum swinging back and forth, River Hill found itself trailing by one with 10.8 seconds remaining. Oakland Mills had possession and Hawks sophomore guard Gabby Shane, forced a tieup, giving the Hawks possession back.
On the ensuing inbounds, sophomore guard Rebecca Egana found junior Kirsten Parypinski who kissed the ball off the window for the go-ahead bucket.
“I was definitely praying that it would go in,” Parypinski said. “I just put my mind to it and I said, ‘I’m going to get this shot and the win.'”
However, the drama was far from over.
The Scorpions inbounded the ball with 5.9 seconds left, but River Hill forced a turnover and, despite having the lead, threw up a shot. Oakland Mills’ Jeriah Shipp was fouled going for the rebound and sent to the line with .1 seconds remaining.
However, she was unable to convert and River Hill held on for their ninth victory in a row.
That chaotic closing sequence was fitting for a wild game littered with lead changes. River Hill (9-1, 7-1 Howard County) built a six-point first-quarter and 10-point halftime lead by taking advantage of its size. With senior point guard Taylor Shane out injured, the Hawks found success attacking the paint. Junior Dylan Watson spearheaded that effort with 11 of her game-high 25 points in the first half. She finished the game 10-for-12 at the charity stripe. Parypinski and sophomore Camille Nesmith bolstered the offense with strong inside play.
“I know we’re missing our starting point guard, so I knew I had to step it up and help handle the ball,” Watson said. “Attacking the basket is the best way to get to the free-throw line, which is where I get most of my points. I just focus on keeping the intensity up because we knew this was going to be a game of runs, so just keep attacking the basket.”
Conversely, Oakland Mills’ offense struggled in the first half. The Scorpions (8-4, 6-2) found open looks from the perimeter but weren’t able to convert. Leading scorers Destiny Macharia and Chloe Grenway combined for just 10 first-half points. After the Hawks pushed their lead to 13, the largest of the night, Macharia drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to trim the deficit before the break.
The Scorpions continued to chip away in the third, sparked by relentless defensive pressure from Heaven Alexander. She pestered Egana and forced several turnovers as River Hill was held scoreless for over six minutes and a 10-0 Oakland Mills run tied the game.
“We’re young and these kids need to learn how hard they have to play in games like this, against teams like this,” Oakland Mills coach Michael Coughlan said. “They realized in the first half, ‘Man, this is how hard I have to play this game.’ Credit to our kids, they battled and everything else. They understand that if we want to move forward, we have to play like this every single time. It’s a great lesson for us.”
Watson ended the Hawks’ drought, delivering a tough basket through contact that gave River Hill a two-point edge after three. Oakland Mills took its first lead early in the fourth on a deep jumper from Grenway. River Hill quickly responded with six straight points to take a 41-37 lead. Just when the Hawks seemed poised to take control, Macharia connected on a 3-pointer from way behind the arc, making it a one-possession game once again with 3:47 remaining.
But with the game tied late, River Hill once again leaned on its size. Nesmith knocked down a post shot, giving the Hawks a two-point edge with 1:02 remaining. She then blocked a 3-point attempt on the ensuing possession, but Macharia came back and buried a tough 3-pointer to put Oakland Mills back on top, 48-47, with 31 seconds left, setting up the wild finish.
“First and foremost, they never gave up,” River Hill coach Teresa Waters said. “We were put in a lot of tough positions. It was back and forth and back-and-forth. We came out of halftime flat and they got a run. We just continued to push collectively as a team sharing the ball. We’re all learning and growing and making adjustments. Taylor Shane was out and Isa Bundy-Garcia, another starter struggled a little bit today and other people stepped up. That’s what the game is all about.”