Jefferson girls advance

The Jefferson girls basketball team took the fourth seed to the West Central District playoffs that start today after losing to Kentlake 47-44 on Saturday at Puyallup.

Jefferson plays Skyview of Vancouver, the No. 8 ranked team in the state, at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Jefferson. The winner plays on Friday against the winner of the Olympia versus Kentridge game.

If Jefferson wins its first two games of the district tournament, it qualifies for the state tournament.

Against Kentlake, Jefferson got into a hole early and couldn’t climb out. The Raiders trailed 14-8 after the first quarter and were down 28-14 at the half. Jefferson made 13 turnovers in the first half.

“Kentlake shot well,” Grady said. “They’re the hottest team right now. Their man-to-man pressure caused some problems for our senior guards.”

The Raiders mounted a comeback in the third quarter, starting with a 15-5 run keyed by Jessiye Clark’s 3-pointer.

Jefferson tied the game at 42 with 1:30 left when Clark rebounded a missed freethrow and put it back for two points.

Jefferson had the ball with a chance to go for the lead with 14.3 seconds left, but another turnover cost the Raiders the game.

“We were in it, we just couldn’t hold onto the ball,” Grady said.

Clark finished the game with 14 points. Morse scored 11 and Chelsea Hunt scored six points, had eight assists and made three steals.

Mitzi Moore finished with five points and eight rebounds. Amanda Foster scored four points and had six rebounds.

Grady said Jefferson is looking forward to tonight’s game against Skyview. The Raiders have a 9-1 record in their own gym this year.

“We like our chances,” he said.

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