The River Ridge girls basketball team is just one win away from punching its ticket to a second straight state tournament as the Hawks pummeled Thomas Jefferson 76-39 in the District 3 3A Tournament first round Friday at home.
The Hawks piled the first 17 points of the game before the Raiders could tally their first point. River Ridge was up 28-10 after one, with Mya Armstrong scoring six in the frame.
A big lead grew much larger by halftime as the Hawks outscored Thomas Jefferson 22-8 in the second quarter to take a 50-18 lead at the break.
Just over two minutes into the third quarter, River Ridge pushed the lead to over 40 and ignited the running clock, sailing the rest of the way.
Brandi Stanford led the Hawks with 17 points to go along with five assists. Keke Bol shined with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Paige Arko delivered nine points and six assists. Jayla Cavalier added nine points and four steals, and Armstrong tallied eight points and five steals.
On offense, River Ridge canned eight 3-pointers Friday night, and on defense, the Hawks forced 32 Raiders turnovers.
“Our girls played great defense and shot very well tonight,” Hawks head coach Chad Arko said.
River Ridge (14-8), the No. 6 seed in the bracket, now heads to the district quarterfinals to visit No. 3 seed Gig Harbor on Monday, Feb. 16 for a shot to clinch a state spot. The Tides defeated the Hawks 50-46 in a close battle in their lone previous matchup this season on Jan. 20 in Lacey.
