Kentwood girls basketball team mature beyond its years

On the surface, Kentwood’s girls basketball team may look vulnerable.

There are seven sophomores on the roster. A new coach, Lisa Ashley, has taken over this season. And a trio of talented players — Courtney Johnson, Liz Mills and Kylie Huerta — graduated in the spring.

Yet, the Conquerors seem to be doing just fine, having tallied a 6-1 overall record and a 5-1 record in the South Puget Sound League North division as of Dec. 27.

“This year is a big change and we’re a really young team,” said senior point guard Maddison Rankin. “I think people underestimated us and we’re coming out on top.”

Rankin credits Kentwood’s early season success to a balanced squad that is “team oriented.”

“We’re friends,” she said. “We get along really well. And our team is more well-rounded.”

In years past, scoring was driven by Huerta, who drove to the bucket as well took shots from the arc or created scoring opportunities for other players.

This year, any player can score, Rankin said. Team captains Alexis Berrysmith and Jenny Johnson agreed.

Johnson, a 5-11 sophomore forward, learned how to win from her older sisters Courtney and Beth. When she and fellow sophomore Sarah Toeaina were in middle school, they were on the bench handing out towels and water bottles, taking in everything as the 2008-2009 team played to a 4A state title.

“We got to see all of their success,” Johnson said.

And last year, Johnson, who also plays soccer, had the opportunity to watch from the sidelines as Kentwood’s girls squad took home a 4A state title on the pitch.

Meanwhile, Toeaina, a hitter on the Conks volleyball squad knows a little something about tough competition as she played on a team that took eighth at state as a freshman and made it to the championship match little more than a month ago.

So, while the team may seem young on paper, there’s a lot more to Kentwood on and off the floor.

“I think we have a good mix and the maturity comes out because we’ve been playing together a long time,” Johnson said. “Coach Ashley was our assistant coach last year so she wasn’t brand new. And I think we have really good team chemistry. We know each other so well (being young) plays a positive for us rather than a negative.”

Berrysmith said the youth of the team has not only worked well in the short term, but, should serve the sophomore well long term too.

“They have more time to develop because they’ll play together longer,” Berrysmith said. “It’s working out pretty good (now) because we have a lot of talent on the team. We’re working pretty good as a team.”

Johnson explained the team is taking the season one game at a time. It’s an approach that seems to be working.

And playing the brand of basketball Kentwood, which has gone to the state tournament six straight years, is known for also seems to be working.

“We liked to get out and run a lot,” Johnson said. “We like to push the ball, get out on a fast break. That’s what we like to do because that’s Kentwood basketball.”

Rankin said the Conks have other strengths as a team.

“Our communication,” Rankin said. “Our ball management, the fact that we can really interchange on spots. We’re working on everything, trying to get better as a team.”

Berrysmith added that the girls on the team have the right attitude. During practice Tuesday morning she pointed out that Rankin was making sure to keep it up and that you could hear her talking it up even then.

“We have a lot of strengths,” Berrysmith said. “We’re good at lifting each other up and staying positive. Maddison and I are really trying to keep everybody pumped up. And our team has a little bit of everything.”

And that little bit of everything, on and off the floor, is what’s catching opponents off guard.

“Even though people have that idea (they’re young), we can come out and prove them wrong,” Berrysmith said. “I know we can. Hopefully we can go to state and do something.”

First, though, is Kentwood’s biggest test coming next week against Mount Rainier.

The Rams are favored to win the league and go to state.

Berrysmith said the Conquerors have a shot at proving the Rams aren’t the only good team in the North.

“I think we can hang with them,” she said. “We’re going to have to play a game based on defense. We’re going to have to lock down everybody. We’re going to have to match that on defense.”

Even though Kentwood has had three coaches in the past five years, graduated top players who have gone on to play at the college level, the team has reloaded.

Some things never change.

And Rankin said the sky is the limit.

“We can go as far as we want to go,” she said. “As much as we want to put into it is what we’ll get out.”