They were on the brink last year.<\/p>\n
So close they could see the pinnacle.<\/p>\n
Good. At times, even great.<\/p>\n
But when the season ended, the Kentwood High girls basketball team still wasn\u2019t where it wanted to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were pretty close,\u201d forward Liz Mills said in regards to how far away the Conquerors were from repeating as the Class 4A state champions. \u201cWith the new coach, we had a lot of adjustments to make, things to buy into. We were close.\u201d<\/p>\n
How close?<\/p>\n
Auburn Riverside knocked off Mead in the state championship game, 56-52. The Conquerors lost to the Ravens twice last year, once by three points and the second time by six. In addition, the Conquerors fell to Mead, 74-71.<\/p>\n
The difference between Kentwood, which was eliminated after three games at state, and finalists Riverside and Mead?<\/p>\n
An offensive run here, a defensive stop there. In the end, a mere few buckets.<\/p>\n
This winter, the Conquerors plan on making up those few baskets that separated them from being one of the top two or three teams in the state. And they firmly believe they have the pieces in place to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year, I think we are even closer,\u201d said Mills, who averaged 11.7 points per game last season. \u201cI see the same potential we had a couple years ago (when we won the state title). We have all the right pieces.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mills, a second-team all-leaguer last year, certainly is one of those pieces.<\/p>\n
So is honorable mention forward Courtney Johnson, who averaged 11 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season. She hits the hardwood after her solid performance in the goal helped Kentwood win the Class 4A state girls soccer title last month.<\/p>\n
But for the Conquerors, this year\u2019s run starts at the top, led by 5-foot-1 point guard Kylie Huerta, the North\u2019s co-MVP in 2009-10.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we definitely have the talent,\u201d said Huerta, who averaged a league-high 18.9 points per game last season.<\/p>\n
No doubt, the Conquerors have reason for optimism. Kentwood graduated just one starter \u2014 sharpshooter Sanda Milovic, an All-SPSL second-teamer who averaged 13 points per game a year ago \u2014 and return everyone who logged significant minutes. In addition, the Conquerors will be in their second season under coach Dean Montzingo, who took over for Keith Hennig last year.<\/p>\n
The necessary adjustments required when shifting from one coach to another now have been made.<\/p>\n
Put another way, the Conks are ready to make a run.<\/p>\n
That said, Montzingo isn\u2019t getting ahead of himself just yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to get positioned well for the playoffs,\u201d he said. \u201cOur goal is to finish in the top spot in league, get into district. Once you hit the final 16 (teams in state), anything can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of what bit the Conquerors last season was depth. Kentwood used a primary rotation of six players that included, among others, Huerta, Johnson, Mills, Milovic, Maddison Rankin and Megan Wynne. Huerta seldom left the court and, often times, played from tip-off to the final buzzer at a break-neck pace.<\/p>\n
This year, unlike past seasons, Kentwood will be developing its bench so by season\u2019s end, the starters can get a needed breather from time to time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe definitely have more depth,\u201d Montzingo said. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the things that could help us, especially later in the season. There are some talented freshmen girls here.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of those freshmen is multi-sport standout Sarah Toeaina, who played on Kentwood\u2019s volleyball team that advanced to state. A 5-foot-9-guard, Toeaina scored six points in Kentwood\u2019s 79-40 season-opening blowout of Kentlake. Toeaina is expected to see considerable minutes this winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be able to use her anywhere,\u201d Huerta said of Toeaina\u2019s versatility.<\/p>\n
Depth throughout, however, will be the key.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a strong set of 12,\u201d Mills said.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s that strong set of 12 that ultimately could propel Kentwood from being close last year to over the top come early March.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
CONQUERORS: AT A GLANCE<\/p>\n
\u2022 COACH: Dean Montzingo, 2nd year.<\/p>\n
\u2022 LAST YEAR: 23-7, second in league, state participant.<\/p>\n
\u2022 TOP RETURNERS: Kylie Huerta, sr., guard; Liz Mills, sr., forward; Courtney Johnson, sr., forward; Maddison Rankin, jr., guard; Megan Wynne, sr., guard.<\/p>\n
\u2022 TOP NEWCOMERS: Sarah Toeaina, fr., guard.<\/p>\n
\u2022 STATE HISTORY: Kentwood has advanced to state in each of the last five years, won the title in 2009 and took third in 2007.<\/p>\n
\u2022 OUTLOOK: The sky is the limit for this bunch. Defending state champion Auburn Riverside was the pick among coaches in the preseason poll, but it wasn\u2019t by much. Though KW will feel the loss of now-graduated Sanda Milovic — especially her hot hand from the outside — there\u2019s enough talent and depth here to make a deep run at the state tournament. If Huerta can duplicate last year\u2019s performance while Mills and Johnson continue their ascension, there\u2019s no reason the Conquerors can\u2019t play for another title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
They were on the brink last year.
\nSo close they could see the pinnacle.
\nGood. At times, even great.
\nBut when the season ended, the Kentwood High girls basketball team still wasn\u2019t where it wanted to be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":8677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-8676","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\/8676"}],"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=8676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8676"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kentreporter.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=8676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}