Liz Mills supplied a key spark for the Kentwood High girls basketball team on Wednesday afternoon.
Mills, a junior, scored a team-high 21 points, leading the Conquerors past Newport 57-53 in a first-round Class 4A state girls basketball game.
Mills came into the day averaging just under 12 points per game.
With the win, the Conquerors (23-5) advance to a 7 p.m. quarterfinal matchup on Thursday against Mead (21-5), which knocked off Puyallup 66-37 in another first-round game.
Tied 40-40 heading into the final quarter, the Conquerors outscored the Knights 17-13 in the final eight minutes to seal the victory.
Betsy Kingma led the Knights with a game-high 22 points and Caitlin Bennett chipped in 19, but Newport received little else from the rest of its lineup.
Kylie Huerta, the South Puget Sound League North Division’s co-MVP, added 20 points, nine rebounds and three assists for the Conquerors.
Kentwood, the defending Class 4A state champions, is making its fourth straight trip to state. Sanda Milovic (9 points) and Courtney Johnson (7) were the only other two Kentwood players to score in the game.
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