The tests have come early for the top girls basketball teams in the South Puget Sound League North Division this season.
Thursday was no exception with top-ranked Auburn Riverside squeaking by No. 4 Kentwood 59-56 in a thriller at the Ravens’ Nest.
With a 61-47 win against No. 2 Federal Way already under their belt, the Ravens (3-0 league, 4-0 overall) came in knowing the key to stopping Kentwood (2-1, 4-1) was slowing down their motor — 5-foot guard Kylie Huerta, first-year head coach Terry Johnson said.
“Well, obviously we wanted to try to do the best we can and slow (Huerta) down,” he said. “She is a pretty impressive player, and so we were really hoping to kind of slow her down. I thought we did a decent job at that.”
The loss ended Kentwood’s run of 55-straight SPSL North wins. Interestingly, the last team to beat the Conquerors in league was Auburn Riverside, which accomplished the feat on Jan. 3, 2006.
First-year Kentwood coach Dean Montzingo took the loss in stride.
“We knew it was going to be tough game,” he said. “But we played well and fought our way back into the game. We competed well. It’s still early in the season and we’ll meet them again.”
Huerta came into the night averaging just more than 22 points per game. On Thursday, however, the Raven defensive triumvirate of Brooke Hinkens, Megan Amis and Jelisa Pretz combined to hold the Kentwood standout to just 11 points.
“I think, a lot of kids did a good job,” Johnson noted. “Taylor Wofford had a big shot for us in the fourth quarter to put us up and Hinkens, Megan Amis and Jelisa Pretz did a good job on Kylie during the night. They really put us in a position to win.”
Riverside bolted to quick 18-14 lead after one quarter, stretching their advantage to 31-24 at the half.
With just under four minutes left in the third quarter, the Ravens appeared to be in control of the game. Then the 3-balls began to rain down, with Kentwood’s Sanda Milovic getting things started.
“Give them credit, a lot of their other girls stepped up to make some big shots in the game,” Johnson said.
Milovic finished the game with six 3-pointers and a team-high 20 points.
Riding Milovic’s hot hand, the Conks began to close the gap in the third quarter and took their first lead of the game at 45-44 on a Huerta bucket
Johnson called an immediate timeout.
“We wanted to get organized offensively, make sure we were all on the same page and get them a little rest,” he said. “We also wanted to gain our composure. We knew that this wasn’t going to be a game where we weren’t going to have to come in and compete for the entire game.”
Auburn Riverside star Mercedes Wetmore echoed those same sentiments.
“He told us to stay composed,” said Wetmore, who finished with a game-high 22 points. “We knew they were going to come and get their shots and take their leads, but we didn’t know if it was going to come early or late. We just had to be composed.”
Clutch 3-pointers by Wofford and Hinkens in the fourth quarter gave the Ravens enough breathing room to put away the victory, 59-56.
Hinkens finished with 13 points. Junior Kat Cooper added nine.
Kentwood was led by Milovic’s 20 and junior Courtney Johnson chipped in 14 points.
“Right now I don’t know what to expect in this league,” Johnson said. “I am still learning as we go. But I do know is that every night is going to be a battle and obviously that Kentwood team, well that’s just a great team. Those kids, they just know how to win and they know how to compete.”
The rematch between the two highly touted teams is slated for 7:30 p.m., Jan. 19 at Kentwood.
IN OTHER GAMES
• Kentlake 60, Jefferson 56: Morganne Comstock continued to go off for the Falcons, pouring in a game-high 23 points to help Kentlake (2-0 in league, 4-0 overall) remain unbeaten on the season. It was Comstock’s fourth-straight game with 20-plus points.
• Auburn 49, Kent-Meridian 40: Heather Restrepo scored 17 points and teammate McKenna Swanson chipped in 10, leading the Trojans (2-1, 2-2) past the Royals (0-3, 0-4). Desiree Guitian led the Royals with 11 points followed by Candice Holder, who chipped in 10.
K-M’s Briana Shannon, who went off for 34 and 35 points respectively in her previous two games, was held to six.
• Tahoma 60, Kentridge 32: The Bears (1-1, 2-2) put the game away early with a 26-6 first quarter. Tahoma’s Katie Buskey led all scorers with 19 points while teammate Erin McCaslin chipped in 17.
Sydney Dupuis led the Chargers with eight points.
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