They had the lead and the ball, but the Kentwood High girls basketball team couldn’t seal the deal Thursday night at the Tacoma Dome.

Jazmine Redmon scored a tournament-high 32 points, including nine in the pivotal fourth quarter, leading Mead past defending state champion Kentwood 74-71 in a Class 4A state basketball game.

The Conquerors (23-6) led 64-54 with possession of the ball and just five minutes remaining in the game, but couldn’t put away the Panthers in a game that included six ties and eight lead changes.

“They’re good. They’re bench is so deep,” said Kentwood point guard Kylie Huerta, who scored a team-high 26 points.

Despite solid fourth-quarter lead, the Conquerors didn’t get complacent.

“We never felt comfortable,” Huerta noted.

It took Mead four minutes to erase the 10-point deficit as it went on a 15-5 run to tie the game 69-69 with 1:07 to play. Redmon drained 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch to ice the victory.

Mead, which owned a considerable size advantage over the Conquerors, outrebounded Kentwood 47-25.

“The kids battled on both sides. A couple more rebounds here, a couple more shots go in there and we win,” said Kentwood coach Dean Montzingo. “They hammered us on the boards. It was a heavyweight fight on both sides, I think.”

The Conquerors were able to stay in the game during the first half thanks to a huge performance from Liz Mills. Mills scored 10 of Kentwood’s first 12 points of the game and finished with 25 points overall.

Huerta, who was relatively quiet in the first half, nearly willed the Conquerors to a victory with 16 third-quarter points, helping Kentwood turn a 44-38 deficit into a 54-49 lead heading into the final period.

The loss drops Kentwood into the consolation bracket, where it will face Bellarmine Prep at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Bellarmine Prep lost to Garfield 64-52. The Lions have beaten the Conquerors twice this season, most recently during last week’s district tournament, 56-49.