Mercedes Wetmore started slow Tuesday night.
But Auburn Riverside’s standout guard certainly finished with a flurry, scoring nine of her team-high 19 points in the final eight minutes, lifting the top-ranked Ravens to a thrilling 55-49 come-from-behind victory over No. 9 Kentwood in a South Puget Sound League North Division game.
Business as usual.
That was the rallying cry for the Kentwood High wrestling team Jan. 14, which felt the heat from surging Kent-Meridian, but was able to cool off the Royals 40-25 in a South Puget Sound League North Division dual meet.
After four seasons at the helm of the Kentlake High football program, coach Mike Shepard stepped down on Dec. 22.
Shepard, who had been an assistant with the program before taking over as coach, compiled a 14-26 overall record with Kentlake.
He wants perfection.
A little less than a half way through the prep wrestling season, Kentwood High standout Ruben Navejas has got it. Navejas, the state’s top 103-pound wrestler and the defending Class 4A state champion, continued his dominance during the holiday break in the Pacific Coast Championship held at Hudson’s Bay High in Vancouver on Jan. 1-2.
What a year 2009 was for the local sports scene. We had state champions, league champions, golden performances and a…
He hit the impossible shot.
And with it, Tahoma High basketball star Christian Behrens helped the Bears keep their playoff hopes alive Tuesday night against Kent-Meridian.
They’ve got the numbers. Plenty of talent, too.
But there’s still considerable work ahead for the Kentlake High gymnastics team en route to defending its South Puget Sound League North Division crown.
LIZ MILLS, Kentwood
Grade: Junior. Sport: Basketball. Accomplishment: Mills scored a season-high 17 points on Dec. 15 in a 78-51 blowout of Thomas Jefferson. Favorite class: Leadership.
The Kentridge High boys basketball team needed a lift Friday night against Kentwood.
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.
BOYS BASKETBALL
The South Puget Sound League North Division isn’t quite at the mid-point of the season, though with the holiday season in full swing, teams will be taking a break from their league schedules. League play continues Jan. 5.
Kentwood basketball star Josh Smith, the team’s 6-foot-10, UCLA-bound center, will not be playing in the T-Mobile Invitational, which is slated for Tuesday and Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala.
SPSL NORTH: AT A GLANCE
SPSL NORTH PLAYERS TO WATCH
In a guard-oriented league, the Kentlake High girls basketball team literally stands out.
With a front line of 6-foot-1 Morganne Comstock and 6-foot-3 Riley Butler to go along with 5-foot-9 guard Cody Sisco, the Falcons possess a decided height advantage over virtually every team in the South Puget Sound League North Division.
The challenge ahead for first-year Kentwood High girls basketball coach Dean Montzingo is daunting. Even pressure packed.
After all, in Keith Hennig, Montzingo is replacing the most successful girls basketball coach in Kentwood High history. Hennig led the Conquerors to the program’s first-ever state title last winter, a season that included the team’s fourth-straight South Puget Sound League North Division crown.
The SPSL North is stacked top to bottom on an annual basis.
The deepest of weight classes?
While it’s a tough call, the early season nod goes to the 103-pound weight class. The bracket includes returning state champion Ruben Navejas of Kentwood along with state placer Jesus Valdez of Kent-Meridian and up-and-comer Steven Tompkins of Tahoma.
It had all the hype and plenty of big-name players, but Tuesday night’s boys basketball game between top-ranked Federal Way and No. 3 Kentwood only provided half of the substance.
Defending Class 4A state girls basketball champion Kentwood headlines a strong field at the 2009 Les Schwab Tipoff Classic that began Thursday at Kentwood High. The tournament will feature four girls teams and four boys teams.
In a league loaded with talented big men, Kentlake will have to take a different approach this season.
The Falcons don’t have a single player who stands bigger than 6-foot-4 and the majority of the team’s roster stands between 5-9 and 6-2.
