K-M’s Shannon lifts Royals past Chargers, 45-42

Published 4:32 pm Tuesday, January 13, 2009

She’s been delivering the goods all season long.

Friday night, it finally paid off for Kent-Meridian guard Briana Shannon.

Shannon, a junior, scored a game-high 21 points while teammate Candice Holder did the dirty work underneath the hoop by collecting 15 rebounds as the Royals upended Kentridge 45-42 in a South Puget Sound League North Division girls basketball game.

It was the Royals (1-5 in league, 3-5 overall) first league win of the season.

And Shannon deserves plenty of credit for the accomplishment. It was the ninth straight game to start the season that Shannon has reached double-figures scoring.

“She is special,” said Kent-Meridian coach Tim Riles. “She has outstanding quickness, which makes her a tough cover and has her getting 3 to 4 steals a game. Most teams try to double team her to get the ball out of her hands.

And?

“She can flat-out score,” Riles added.

The Royals trailed 22-16 at halftime before going on a 15-7 surge in the third quarter to take a 31-29 lead.

Melanie Vertrees, who poured in six points, was Kent-Meridian’s next highest scorer.

Kelli Suguro led Kentridge with 11 points followed by the 10 points of Megan Merrill.