The scenario hardly matters to the top-ranked Kentwood High girls basketball team these days.
Regular-season game or postseason showdown, someone wearing the green and black is going to step up. That was exactly the case Tuesday night at Puyallup High against Mount Tahoma.
But instead of one or two girls taking charge against Mount Tahoma, Kentwood used its entire arsenal, routing the Thunderbirds 73-43 in a West Central District III semifinal game.
“If someone is sick or down or having an off night, we always know that there’s going to be someone there to step up,” said Kentwood forward Liz Mills, who came off the bench to score 14 points and grab 10 rebounds. “So we don’t have to worry about someone having an off night.”
Despite leading just 11-10 after the first quarter, Tuesday was anything but an “off night” for the Conquerors (24-0). Mount Tahoma, behind a flurry of 3-pointers, held a 21-16 midway through the second quarter before Kentwood turned it up a few notches and simply blew the Thunderbirds off the court.
After falling behind by five points at the 4:10 mark of the second quarter, the Conquerors finished the half on a frantic 22-5 run to put an end to any thoughts Mount Tahoma (21-5) had of an upset.
Mills scored 10 of her 14 points during the run while senior star Lindsey Moore added eight.
Moore finished with a game-high 22 points to go along with six assists and five rebounds. Jessie Genger and Kylie Huerta also reached double-figures scoring, pouring in 10 points apiece. But Kentwood also got eight points off the bench from Sanda Milovic.
Kentwood’s bench play was a big reason for the blowout, outscoring Mount Tahoma’s bench 24-2.
“I don’t know how many teams you see who can continually bring in people that can maintain the same (offense),” said Moore. “It doesn’t really drop off. We definitely have so many weapons on this team that anyone can score on any night.”
Eight Conquerors scored Tuesday night.
The Thunderbirds came at Kentwood with a flurry of 3-pointers and the plan seemed to work during the first 12 minutes, when Mount Tahoma connected on 6 of 13 from long range. The Thunderbirds hit on just 3 of 18 the rest of the way.
“It gave them a lot of momentum,” said Kentwood coach Keith Hennig. “The thing I like about our team is that we stay focused on the things that we need to do no matter what the score is. I have a lot of confidence in our girls even when we’re down early. I think that confidence outweighed (Mount Tahoma’s) hot shooting in the first half.”
With the win, Kentwood advances to the district championship game for the third year in a row. The Conquerors have won the last two district titles. They will play Auburn Riverside (19-6) at 8 p.m. on Saturday night at Puyallup High for the championship and top seed to the state tournament, which begins next week at the Tacoma Dome.
“There’s a lot more at stake now,” Moore said of the showdown against Auburn Riverside. “There’s definitely a lot going toward that game. Not only being rivals with them, (but) I know they’re sour a little bit because we’ve beaten them the last two times we played them.”
Kentwood beat Auburn Riverside 65-48 on Dec. 11 and 61-45 on Jan. 20. The Conquerors haven’t lost to a South Puget Sound League North Division opponent since Jan. 3, 2006 — a string of 53 straight wins — when they lost to Auburn Riverside.
The Conquerors are hoping to push that streak to 54 on Saturday.
“Riverside is always a tough game,” Mills noted. “And I like the tough game. We don’t always see a lot of competition and with Riverside, we know we’re going to get it.”
Kentwood 73, Mount Tahoma 43
Mount Tahoma 10 16 12 5 43
Kentwood 11 27 25 10 73
Mount Tahoma: Keana Magalei 0, Leana Magalei 15, Ashyna Davis 5, Carrie Ojeda 15, Jassitey Mamea 6, Charly Williams 0, Kimesha Johnson 2, Hallyanna Tialauea 0.
Kentwood: Lindsey Moore 22, Jessie Genger 10, Kylie Huerta 10, Sanda Milovic 8, Courtney Johnson 5, Liz Mills 14, Shelby Wahlberg 2, Kelli Rider 2, Maddison Rankin 0.
