The Kentwood High girls basketball team may have a new coach this season, but the results have remained largely the same.<\/p>\n
Courtney Johnson scored a team-high 20 points and Liz Mills added 17, leading the Conquerors past Rogers of Puyallup on Saturday at Auburn High, 65-55 in a West Central District III game.<\/p>\n
With the win, the Conquerors (21-4) clinched their fifth straight state berth, their first, however, under Dean Montzingo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was definitely one of our goals to get back to state,\u201d Montzingo said. \u201cTo keep the program at the level that (previous coach) Keith (Hennig) had it at, I felt a little pressure. I wanted to keep the program in its winning ways. Keith did such a nice job building it up. I am really glad for the girls that we could continue that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The win over Rogers was Kentwood\u2019s 10th in a row. In addition, it pushes the Conquerors into the semifinal round of the district tournament. Kentwood will play Bellarmine Prep at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at the ShoWare Center. The winner advances to the championship game (6 p.m., Saturday, ShoWare Center) and will play the winner of the Auburn Riverside\/Federal Way showdown.<\/p>\n
Beating Rogers was no easy task for the Conquerors.<\/p>\n
The Rams entered the fourth quarter with a slim 42-41 advantage. The Conquerors, however, saw to it that the game wouldn\u2019t go down to the wire, outscoring the Rams 24-13 over the final eight minutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got a lot of great looks, but just couldn\u2019t make them,\u201d Montzingo said. \u201cBut the girls hung in there. These girls are resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson\u2019s 20-point performance was her most since scoring 23 points on Dec. 4 in a win over Kent-Meridian.<\/p>\n
Sanda Milovic added 11 points for the Conquerors while Kylie Huerta, the team\u2019s leading scorer at 19.3 points per game, finished with just 10.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s game against Bellarmine Prep will be a rematch for Kentwood, which lost to the Lions 59-40 on Dec. 30. It was Kentwood\u2019s worse loss in more than two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were hot and we were not,\u201d Montzingo said about the mid-season game against Bellarmine Prep.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
ELSEWHERE<\/p>\n
Bellarmine Prep 61, Kentlake 38: Kentlake\u2019s Morganne Comstock delivered a team-high 17 points, but it wasn\u2019t enough in a district quarterfinal loss to the Lions. The loss drops the Falcons (14-10) into the loser\u2019s bracket of the district tournament. Kentlake will play Olympia at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Auburn High in a loser-out game.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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