It was a story of two halves, two games. Kentlake won the first and Kentridge the second, the one that mattered most.
The two teams met at the Tacoma Dome on Thursday afternoon in a quarterfinal matchup of the 4A girls state basketball tournament.
Kentridge won 55-44 after trailing for much of the game. The girls locked down the paint and made critical free throws to grab the victory from the No. 1 seeded Falcons.
Kentridge will play Bellarmine Prep in the semifinal game at 7:15 p.m. Friday at the Dome. Kentridge is the No. 7 seed and Bellarmine the No. 6 seed. Bellarmine beat Central Valley 56-55 in its quarterfinal game.
Kentlake will play Central Valley at 12:15 p.m. Friday at the Dome, and the winner will play for fourth or sixth place.
The first half ended with the Falcons leading 29-15. Kentlake was hitting perimeter shots and taking it to the Charges inside. Kylee Johnson dropped in eight points and Aolani Talamaivao-Calderon seven for Kentlake. The Falcons had gone on an 18-8 run to close the second quarter.
One indicator of trouble in paradise for Kentlake was Chargers center Jordan Jenkins, a freshman, had dropped in a game-high 10 points and guard Morgan Gary five. They would prove to be principle factors in the undoing of the Falcons’ quest for a state title.
When the third quarter started, Kentlake’s hot hand went stone cold. Kentridge outscored the Falcons 14-2 and at the opening of the fourth frame Kentlake held a slim two-point lead.
In the second half, JaQuaya Miller locked down the boards, grabbing eight defensive and two offensive for a game-high 15. Kentridge decisively took the battle of the boards for the game 37-30.
The other telling statistic was in the second half Kentridge shot 11-of-25 from the field, 45.8 percent and Kentlake was 4-of-23, 17.4 percent. In the first half Kentlake shot 46.2 percent and Kentridge 33.3 percent.
Both teams played high-level defense and battled inside and outside to the final ticks of the clock.
Kentridge’s ability to box out and win the rebound battle once Kentlake’s shots stopped dropping, hitting timely free throws and scoring inside told the tale.
Jenkins ended up with 20 points and Gary 17.
For Kentlake, Gabby Bruno was Kentlake’s leading scorer with 12 and Johnson finished the game with 10. Aniston Denckla added six and lead the team with eight rebounds.
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