Auburn Riverside cruises by Federal Way 66-51 to snag No. 1 seed into district tourney; Lions fall to Kennedy 70-58, will play for No. 2 seed into district tourney | Girls Basketball

By Shawn Skager • February 12, 2011 2:55 am
Makenna Clark scores two of her 22 points against Federal Way.
Makenna Clark scores two of her 22 points against Federal Way.

The No. 4 ranked Auburn Riverside girls basketball team delivered No. 1 Federal Way their second loss of the season on Friday, downing the Eagles 66-51 in the title game of the South Puget Sound League 4A sub-district tourney at the ShoWare Center in Kent.

The win earns the Ravens (18-3) the No. 1 seed into the West Central District tourney and a home game at Auburn Riverside against the winner of Saturday’s Bethel versus Auburn game.

The Ravens dominated the first half of the game, capitalizing on the absence of Federal Way’s (18-2) leading scorer Washington-bound Talia Walton, who suffered a MCL tear in practice on Wednesday.

Down 33-21 at the half, the Eagles were unwilling to go down without a fight, however, posting a 9-0 run to open the second half.

Senior Makenna Clark stepped up for the Ravens however, scoring on several big plays and finishing the game with 22 points, six rebounds and three steals.

“We knew we had to stay composed and have them play our game,” Clark said “It was about us and not them. If we played out game we knew we could come out with a win.”

“Makenna has made good plays all year,” coach Terry Johnson said. “She did a good job tonight of just being a basketball player.”

Kat Cooper led all scorers in the contest with 25 points, with Brooklynn Hinkens chiming in with 12 points. Federal Way was led by Dyesha Belhumeur who had 16 points.

Johnson said he was pleased with his teams performance, and continued improvement this season.

“I think that this team has improved from day one tremendously,” Johnson said. “We still have some areas where we have to clean up if we’re going to compete with the top teams in the state. As far as our effort goes and our understand of how we need to play to be successful, I’m pretty pleased with where we’re at.”

ALSO: Despite 31 points from junior post Caitlin Carr, Auburn Mountainview (16-5) fell 70-58 to Kennedy Catholic in the opening round of the Seamount/South Puget Sound League 3A sub-district tourney last night at Lakes. The loss sets up a rematch with SPSL 3A foes Lakes, at 6:15 p.m. tomorrow at Lakes High School. The winner earns the No. 2 seed into the district tourney, with the loser relegated to No.3.