Girls basketball: Federal Way vaults into the state rankings

By Casey Olson • January 27, 2009 12:49 pm

The Federal Way Eagles girls basketball team got off to a very fast start Friday night against the Kentridge Chargers and rolled to a 76-35 victory in their home gym. The win moved the Eagles to 8-3 in the SPSL North and 11-4 overall. Federal Way also made their inaugural appearance in the Class 4A rankings. The Seattle Times ranked the Eagles ninth in their latest rankings.

Federal Way is one of three teams in the North with three losses, along with Jefferson and Auburn Riverside. Kentwood sits atop the division with a perfect 10-0 record. The top-five teams from the North advance into the postseason.

Friday night, Federal Way outscored the Chargers, 28-5, in the first quarter and led 46-16 at halftime. The Eagles were led by the 14 points of freshman Darah Huertas-Vining. Senior Jacqie Evenson tallied 13 points and Chantel Dixon and Jaleecia Roland both scored 10 points each.

Federal Way plays a big game Thursday night at home against Jefferson. The Eagles beat the Raiders, 55-43, earlier in the season.

at Jefferson 49, Tahoma 45

The Raiders escaped Friday night with a four-point win over the 3-8 Bears at TJ. Tahoma led 15-12 after the first quarter, but Jefferson outscored the Bears 37-30 in the final three quarters to get the win.

The Raiders were led by the 16 points of junior Hannah Kiyohara and 13 from senior Stacy Albrecht.

Decatur 32, at Puyallup 30

The Gators remained in the playoff hunt in the SPSL South with a hard-fought win over Puyallup Friday night. Decatur’s defense held the Vikings to single-digits during three of the four quarters and got 10 points from Sarah Quantz.

The win improved the Gators to 6-5 in the SPSL South and puts them in fifth place in the division. The top-five teams advance into the postseason.

Beamer 51, at Spanaway Lake 43

The Titans (3-8 in the SPSL South, 3-11 overall) won their second game in a row Friday night over the Sentinels in Spanaway. Beamer overcame a one-point deficit entering the fourth quarter and were led by the 12 points of Meghan Graf and Mercedes Sullivan. The Titans also got 11 points from Natasha Fualaau and 10 from Shyla Akins.