BASKETBALL: Kentwood girls roll past Kentridge

The fourth-ranked Kentwood High girls basketball team got off to a slow start Dec. 18 against Kentridge.

The Conquerors did, however, finish in fast fashion.

Kylie Huerta scored 19 points and Courtney Johnson added 15, leading Kentwood past Kentridge 59-34 in a South Puget Sound League North Division game.

It was Kentwood’s second win in a row since having its 55-game league winning streak snapped by Auburn Riverside Dec. 10.

The win over the Chargers (0-6, 0-7) didn’t come easy for the Conquerors (4-1, 6-1). Kentwood took a 10-6 first-quarter lead and pushed the advantage to 20-14 at halftime. The 20 points at the break were eight fewer than what the Conquerors have averaged this season.

The Conquerors, however, managed to pull away with a 20-7 third-quarter run.

Sydnee Dupuis and Shyann Glasser led the Chargers with eight points apiece. Taylor Riley led Kentridge with eight rebounds and three assists.

Kentwood continues league play on Jan. 5 at Auburn (3-3, 3-4). Kentridge travels to Kent-Meridian (0-6) on Jan. 5.

• Kentlake 58, Kent-Meridian 39: The 10th-ranked Falcons continued their best start in coach Scott Simmons’ five years with the program, rolling to their seventh-straight win to open the season.

Riley Butler scored a season-high 15 points to propel the unbeaten Falcons (5-0, 7-0) past the Royals (0-5, 0-6). Kent-Meridian held Kentlake’s Morganne Comstock, the league’s leading scoring at 24.3 points per game, to just nine points. Comstock’s previous low was 22 points in a season-opening win over Puyallup.

Meanwhile, Kentlake held Kent-Meridian star Briana Shannon, the league’s fourth-leading scorer at 18.6 points per game, to 11.

Kentlake took an 11-7 lead in the first quarter, then blew the game open in the second and third periods, outscoring the Royals 36-22 during that span.

The unbeaten Falcons will enter the toughest portion of their schedule beginning on Jan. 5, when they play host to ninth-ranked Federal Way (3-2, 5-2). Kentlake will follow up its game against Federal Way with a Jan. 8 showdown against No. 4 Kentwood (6-1) and then will play host to No. 1 Auburn Riverside (5-0, 7-0) on Jan. 12.

Kent-Meridian will continue league play on Jan. 5, when it hosts Tahoma (2-3, 2-4).

Contact Covington Reporter News Erick Walker at ewalker@kentreporter.com or 425.432.1209, ext. 5052.

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