SPSL NORTH: AT A GLANCE<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 FAVORITE:<\/b> Federal Way.<\/p>\n
\u2022 CONTENDERS:<\/b> Kentwood, Auburn Riverside.<\/p>\n
\u2022 SLEEPER:<\/b> Kentlake.<\/p>\n
\u2022 LEAGUE OUTLOOK:<\/b> As was the case last year, it\u2019s going to be a dog fight every night in the SPSL North. Kentwood won last year\u2019s state title while Federal Way finished third and Auburn Riverside fourth. Federal Way remains the early favorite, but isn\u2019t picked by much ahead of the Conquerors and the Ravens. The biggest reason the Eagles were chosen as the favorites in the preseason coaches\u2019 poll stems from a deep returning cast led by Chantel Dixon (5 ppg.), Talia Walton (9 points, 11 rebounds per game) and Brittany Barrington (11 points, 8 rebounds per game). Barrington is currently out with a knee injury and isn\u2019t expected to return until January. That said, Auburn Riverside is plenty deep in talented returners with guard Mercedes Wetmore (14 ppg.), Kara Jenkins (5 points, 7 rebounds per game) and Kat Cooper (15 ppg.) back in fold. However, the Ravens will have a new look with first-year coach Terrance Johnson, who is taking over for Ed Rosin. Kentwood also will be going at it with a new coach (Dean Montzingo) and will need to replace the scoring punch lost when Lindsey Moore and Jessie Genger graduated. However, talent remains in abundance for the Conquerors, who return lightning-quick guard Kylie Huerta (11.3 ppg.), forward Courtney Johnson (7.3 ppg.), Sanda Milovic (6.7 ppg.) and Liz Mills (6.1 ppg.). After the Big Three, it\u2019s anybody\u2019s game. Kentlake has considerable talent \u2013 and size \u2013 with the return of Morganne Comstock (6-1, 16 ppg.), Riley Butler (6-3, 6 points, 8 rebounds per game) and Cody Sisco (5-9, 6 ppg.). If Kentlake guards Katie Bubsey, Jessica Barnes and Erin Hunt can traverse a league high on pressure defense, the Falcons will become a big-time threat. \u2026 The tremendous depth in the league continues at Kent-Meridian, which possesses possibly the area\u2019s most dangerous scoring threat in Briana Shannon, who averaged nearly 16 points per game last year. With Shannon, Candice Holder and Desiree Guitian back in the mix along with new coach Brett Drewery, the Royals should move up in the standings this winter. \u2026 The league doesn\u2019t get any easier with Kentridge, which returns six seniors and a strong mix of veterans and youngsters. The return of captains Megan Merrill, Alissa Martin and Stephanie Keowla can only help the Chargers rebound from last winter\u2019s two-win campaign.<\/p>\n
\u2022 ON THE WEB:<\/b> If you’re looking for statistics in regard to the entire league \u2014 North and South, girls and boys \u2014 log onto www.spslb-ball.org. In addition, www.waprepsports.net \u2014 previously www.mickwhite.org\/kvs \u2014 is a tremendous site that keeps up with Kent-based teams along with those around the state.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
CIRCLE ON THE CALENDAR<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2022 Kentwood at Federal Way, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 7 p.m.:<\/b> The defending state champion Conquerors travel to Federal Way, which enters the season as the league favorite.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Kentlake at Kent-Meridian, Friday, Dec. 18, 7 p.m.:<\/b> Nice matchup between two of the league’s best players in Kentlake’s Morganne Comstock and Kent-Meridian’s Briana Shannon.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jefferson at Kentridge, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 7 p.m.:<\/b> Chargers anticipate making a move this season. If they find themselves in the playoff hunt, this game \u2014 the second to last on the regular-season schedule \u2014 could be pivotal.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Kent-Meridian vs. Kentlake; Kentridge vs. Kentwood, Jan. 29, ShoWare Center:<\/b> The Kent Shootout at the ShoWare Center is a great opportunity to see all the local talent all under the same roof.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Kentlake at Kentwood, Thursday, Feb. 4, 7 p.m.:<\/b> The last game on the regular-season schedule could have plenty of seeding implications at stake.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
SPSL NORTH PLAYERS TO WATCH<\/b><\/p>\n
NAME\/SCHOOL\/POSITION\/YEAR<\/b><\/p>\n
Kylie Huerta\/Kentwood\/Guard\/Junior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> Kentwood\u2019s diminutive leader can do it all.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Briana Shannon\/Kent-Meridian\/Guard\/Senior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable<\/b>: One of the league\u2019s \u2013 and state\u2019s \u2013 best-kept secrets.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Morganne Comstock\/Kentlake\/Forward\/Senior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> All-leaguer averaged 16 points per game last year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Mercedes Wetmore\/Auburn Riverside\/Guard\/Senior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> She\u2019s the catalyst that makes everything go for AR.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Kat Cooper\/Auburn Riverside\/Guard\/Junior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> She\u2019s dangerous from the inside and the outside.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Brittany Barrington\/Federal Way\/Guard\/Junior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> Once she returns from knee injury, look out.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Courtney Johnson\/Kentwood\/Forward\/Junior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> Leader on the soccer field does the same on the court.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Riley Butler\/Kentlake\/Center\/Senior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> At 6-foot-3, there isn\u2019t a more intimidating presence in the paint.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Alissa Martin\/Kentridge\/Guard\/Senior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> She does a little bit of everything for the Chargers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Talia Walton\/Federal Way\/F-C\/Junior<\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> One of the most well-rounded players in the league.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Heather Restrepo\/Auburn\/Post\/Senior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> Senior led the Trojans in scoring last year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tyshana Burgess\/Federal Way\/F-C\/Junior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> Junior averaged 14 points, 10 rebounds per game last year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Hannah Kiyohara\/Jefferson\/Guard\/Senior<\/b><\/p>\n
Notable:<\/b> Second-team all-league selection led Raiders in scoring last year.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
NOW STARTING AT NEBRASKA …<\/b><\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t take Kentwood product Lindsey Moore<\/b> long to feel right at home at the University if Nebraska. Moore, who led Kentwood to the state title last winter, is currently starting for the unbeaten (as of Thursday afternoon) Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-0). Moore is averaging 25 minutes and nearly five assists per game.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
BASKETBALL GAMEs OF THE WEEK:<\/b> The Kentwood High boys basketball team, currently ranked sixth in the state, will play host to No. 1 Federal Way at 7 p.m. Tuesday. At the same time, KW\u2019s girls team, last year\u2019s state champs, will travel to Federal Way, which took third at state a year ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SPSL NORTH: AT A GLANCE \u2022 FAVORITE: Federal Way. \u2022 CONTENDERS: Kentwood, Auburn Riverside. \u2022 SLEEPER: Kentlake. \u2022 LEAGUE OUTLOOK: As was the case last year, it\u2019s going to be a dog fight every night in the SPSL North. Kentwood won last year\u2019s state title while Federal Way finished third and Auburn Riverside fourth. Federal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":15464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-15463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15463"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15463"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15463\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15463"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=15463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}