Girls basketball: Auburn Riverside beats Eagles for third time in district semifinal

By Casey Olson • February 25, 2010 3:22 pm
Federal Way sophomore guard Darah Huertas-Vining drives to the basket during Wednesday's 51-41 loss to Auburn Riverside at the West Central District Tournament at Kent's ShoWare Center.
Federal Way sophomore guard Darah Huertas-Vining drives to the basket during Wednesday's 51-41 loss to Auburn Riverside at the West Central District Tournament at Kent's ShoWare Center.

In sports, you always hear the old adage that it’s very tough to beat a good team three times in one season.

Auburn Riverside wasn’t listening.

The top-ranked Ravens remained perfect with a 51-41 win over the Federal Way Eagles Wednesday night at the ShoWare Center in the semifinals of the West Central District girls basketball tournament.

The loss dropped the third-ranked Eagles into the consolation bracket, where they will take on the second-ranked Kentwood Conquerors Friday at 3:30 p.m. at ShoWare. The winner will snag the West Central District’s third seed to state and the loser will be the sixth. Kentwood has also beaten the Eagles twice this season.

Auburn Riverside (24-0) will play the fifth-ranked Bellarmine Prep Lions for the district title. The Lions (18-6) knocked off Kentwood Wednesday.

Both Federal Way and Auburn Riverside struggled putting the ball in the net at the ShoWare Center. The lighting and backdrops of the facility take getting used to when shooting the basketball, much like playing inside the cavernous Tacoma Dome.

Auburn Riverside seemed pretty comfortable on the offensive end early in the game. The Ravens jumped out to a 16-12 lead following the first quarter.

The Eagles, however, struggled to score during the second quarter. Federal Way only mustered four points during the eight-minute period and went into the locker room trailing the Ravens, 26-16.

Auburn Riverside was able to keep the Eagles at an arm’s length for most of second half. Federal Way cut the Ravens’ lead to six points early in the fourth quarter, but Auburn Riverside responded with a nine-point run to put the game away.

Federal Way was led by the 15 points of sophomore guard Darah Huertas-Vining and 13 from junior guard Brittany Barrington. The Eagles’ 6-foot-1 Talia Walton, who torched South Kitsap for 27 points during Federal Way’s district quarterfinal victory, finished with a season-low three points. Walton was a first-team, All-SPSL North selection.

The double-elimination Class 4A State Girls Basketball Tournament kicks off Wednesday inside the Tacoma Dome. Federal Way will make its second consecutive appearance at the tournament. The Eagles made their first state appearance since 1998 last year and finished in third place.

The Eagles returned four starters from that team and entered this season as the consensus No. 1-ranked team in the state before finishing third in the South Puget Sound League North Division behind Auburn Riverside and Kentwood. The two schools have handed Federal Way all five of their losses this season.