So much for the gimpy leg.
Kentwood’s Lindsey Moore appeared to be at full strength Wednesday night at the Tacoma Dome against Kamiak in the opening round of the girls Class 4A state basketball tournament.
Despite missing last Saturday’s district championship game with a tender hamstring, Moore played quickly and a step ahead of Kamiak, scoring 12 points and dishing out four assists, leading the Conquerors past the Knights 73-39.
“It is feeling 110 percent better,” said Moore, who logged 19 1/2 solid minutes in the win and didn’t appear out of step at any turn. “It felt great. I didn’t have anything bothering me whatsoever.”
Kentwood coach Keith Hennig insisted that he wasn’t being coy with Moore’s status in the days leading up to the game.
“Absolutely not,” he said. “And I think a lot of what we did the last four or five days with Lindsey was precautionary. But it was sore. And what we didn’t want to do was (take a risk) in a Saturday game or a Monday practice.”
Kamiak coach Jody Schauer had a pretty good idea Moore would be playing well before the 5 p.m. tipoff.
“No. I didn’t buy into that for a minute (that Moore wouldn’t play),” he said. “A player like that wants to play in the big games and here at the state tournament, it doesn’t get any bigger.”
With the win, top-ranked Kentwood (25-1) advanced to a quarterfinal matchup Thursday night against No. 2 Pasco (26-0). Pasco throttled Mount Tahoma 59-26 in its first-round game.
As for the Conquerors, getting Moore back in time for the state tournament helped them rebound from their first loss of the season. However, it was hardly all about Moore’s return. In fact, every Kentwood player on the roster scored at least one field goal.
Jessie Genger and Sanda Milovic each delivered a team-high 13 points. Kylie Huerta also reached double figures with 11 points.
But what keyed Kentwood past Kamiak is the same thing that has led the Conquerors all season — unselfishness. Because while every player scored at least once, the Conquerors also racked up 20 total assists, led by Huerta’s eight. In comparison, Kamiak managed just one assist all game.
Though the Conquerors were a bit off in the opening minutes, falling behind 5-4 at the 5:32 mark of the first quarter.
It was the last deficit Kentwood would face all night.
Kentwood proceeded to rip off a 15-1 run, taking the lead, 6-5, on Moore’s first bucket of the night on an assist from Genger.
Any thoughts Kamiak had of pulling off what would have been the tournament’s biggest upset were quickly dashed in the third quarter, when the Conquerors went on a 14-3 run to take a 56-27 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
The big lead allowed Hennig to sit Moore for the final quarter.
“She had it wrapped, taped and all the pressure off her inside hamstring (on her right leg during the fourth quarter),” Hennig said. “She’s on a regimen of Advil and ice and lots of stretching. Most importantly, we gave her a long time to warm up today.
“The most important thing is getting the hamstring warmed up so it won’t tear completely out there.”
Kentwood also received big play off its bench, which outscored the Kamiak bench 27-9.
Milovic scored all 13 of her points off the bench while Liz Mills chipped in eight.
Schauer remained impressed with Kentwood, but also let down by his own team’s performance.
“They’re a very impressive team. They do everything well,” he said. “They’ve got really good fundamentals. They can run, they can shoot, play great defense. They have complete players from top to bottom.”
But …
“I don’t think we got off the bus today,” he added. “I don’t think the way we played was characteristic of our team. I don’t know if it was the nerves of being in the state tournament for the first time or the nerves of playing a great team like that.”
Kentwood 73, Kamiak 39
Kamiak 9 15 3 12 — 39
Kentwood 19 23 14 17 — 73
Kamiak: Samantha Sovich 9, Lauren Simmons 2, Carrie Barnes 1, Kelsey Patrick 11, Lexi Burns 2, Kariah Kussman 0, Kari Mahjoubian 0, Shaylin Johnson 0, Natelle Stevens 0, Erika Larson 2, Georgia McClaskey 4.
Kentwood: Jessie Genger 13, Lindsey Moore 12, Shelby Wahlberg 4, Kylie Huerta 11, Maddison Rankin 4, Sanda Milovic 13, Kelli Rider 2, Courtney Johnson 6, Liz Mills 8.
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