By ERICK WALKER

The Reporter

Tears of frustration were shed.

Hugs of joy were passed out.

And it was clear shortly after fourth-ranked Kentwood knocked off No. 2 Auburn Riverside on Thursday night, that an early-season girls basketball game never meant so much.

Kentwood star Lindsey Moore scored a game-high 19 points, sidekick Jesse Genger added 18 and the Conquerors knocked off the Ravens 65-48 in a South Puget Sound League North Division showdown between two of the state’s top teams.

“I can’t even speak to how bad we wanted this,” admitted Moore, who will play next year at the University of Nebraska. “It was so hard trying to get through the Federal Way game (Tuesday) because we saw this one was so close. We tried to focus on that game, but we all had Riverside in the back of our minds.”

How big was this game?

Auburn Riverside, the two-time defending Class 3A champions, came in riding a 24-game winning streak. Matter of fact, the Ravens hadn’t lost a league game since Feb. 3, 2006 — a run of 32 in a row — when they fell to Kentwood 60-54 and were part of the SPSL North. Since, Auburn Riverside has rolled over virtually every opponent in its path.

Thursday night, however, the Ravens (2-1 in league, 3-1 overall) hit the wall against the Conquerors (2-0, 5-0).

“We shot very poorly,” said first-year Auburn Riverside coach Ed Rosin. “We didn’t stop anybody tonight. We didn’t play defense.”

Indeed.

Because if it wasn’t Moore or Genger it was diminutive Kentwood guard Kylie Huerta, the 5-footer who wreaked more than her share of havoc with 14 points and relentless defensive pressure.

It was that coast-to-coast, relentless defensive pressure that stymied Auburn Riverside’s vaunted 3-point shooting attack. The Ravens connected on just 3 of 18 from beyond the arc, all of which came in the first six minutes.

“(Mercedes) Wetmore and (Nichole) Jackson were the two girls we were worried most about,” said Kentwood coach Keith Hennig, whose team has now won 39-straight league contests, the last loss coming to Auburn Riverside on Jan. 3, 2006. “We did a tremendous job shutting down their two main guns.”

Wetmore finished with a team-high 14 points, 10 of which came in the second half. Meanwhile, Jackson scored just four points, one in the final three quarters.

It was a frustrating night, Wetmore lamented.

“This is a wake-up call,” said Wetmore, Riverside’s 5-8 guard. “We knew they were tough. We’re going to come out (next time on Jan. 20) and show them how much character we really have.

“We’re not used to feeling this. We’re used to running things.”

Auburn Riverside ran plenty early on, bolting out to a 15-6 first-quarter lead behind 3-pointers from Jackson, Taylor Wofford and Kara Jenkins.

The Conquerors, however, didn’t fold. Instead, they responded with a 19-2 run to take a 28-17 lead late in the second quarter. Genger led the spurt with seven points followed by Moore (6) and Huerta (5).

“We talked during the first quarter that we weathered their storm,” Hennig said. “They hit a couple (threes), but we knew as long as we kept playing our team defense that they’re not going to hit them all game long.”

And the Ravens didn’t.

In fact, they missed their final 13 from long range.

Kentwood didn’t give up the lead the rest of the night, though the Ravens got to within two, 39-37, late in the third quarter after a layup from Kat Cooper.

Moore pushed the lead to 41-37, spinning past Wetmore and kissing the ball off glass for a layup. Kentwood’s Liz Mills followed with a hoop down low on an assist from Huerta. Then Huerta found Moore down low for two more, pushing the lead back to eight, 45-37.

Auburn Riverside didn’t get any closer than six points the rest of the way.

One of the keys to Kentwood’s success came at the free-throw line. The Conquerors connected on 20 of 23 shots from the charity stripe. Moore was perfect, hitting on all eight of her attempts.

In comparison, Auburn Riverside hit 10 of 16.

“They have very good fundamentals,” Rosin said. “And we put them on the free-throw line — that’s a bail out — and they made them.

“It’s very disappointing. (But) these girls are going to rally. Riverside is going to be back.”

To be back at the top, of course, the Ravens are going to have to get past the Conquerors, who knew full well how important this one was.

“We tried to say it was just another game,” Genger said. “But in the back of our minds, we knew a win would put us in a good position for the league championship.”