WIAA regional girls basketball: North Thurston survives tough test against Kennewick for 27th win in a row

Rams put away Lions, 59-52, at UPS Fieldhouse to earn direct spot in next week's 3A quarterfinals

Soraya Ogaldez and North Thurston advanced to WIAA Class 3A quarterfinals with 59-52 regional-round win over Kennewick. / Photo by Todd Milles

TACOMA, Wash. - Jackie Meyer knows a special season of North Thurston girls basketball is underway.

And the Rams are passing every test - even as the games get harder.

Shayla Cordis scored a game-high 19 points, and Grace Lee added 17 as the second-seeded Rams finally put away No. 7 seed Kennewick, 59-52, in a Class 3A regional matchup at Memorial Fieldhouse on the campus of the University of Puget Sound.

The Rams also enjoyed a huge advantage at the free-throw line - 32 attempts, to Kennewick's nine shots - all coming in the final three quarters.

North Thurston won its 27th game in a row.

"I thought this was one of the harder matchups in the top eight," Meyer said. "We're two teams with fast guards that had to duke it out a little bit."

Trailing by 10 points with 3:10 remaining, the Lions just never went away, getting a bucket from Rylee Bendewald and a 3-pointer by Karsyn Ripplinger to close it to 52-47 with 2:02 to go.

North Thurston pushed it back to 56-48 on two Lee free throws at the 1:13 mark, but Kennewick scored the next four points, capped by two Hanna Fiander free throws with 48.9 seconds remaining.

The Rams made half of their six free throws the rest of the way to sew up a victory. They finished 22-of-32 from the free-throw line.

And now for a team that won a game in the Tacoma Dome last season, North Thurston has different goals next week.

"I think we are ready to bring some hardware home," Meyer said.

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