The North Thurston Rams are in a league of their own.
No one in their league, whether it’s the South Sound Conference or the Puget Sound League, has been able to figure out how to take them down for almost three years.
River Ridge gave the Rams a run for their money Thursday night, but North Thurston’s chiseled veteran squad had no plans to watch its 39-game league winning streak come to a halt.
Instead, North Thurston slugged its way to a 54-45 victory in a physical battle at River Ridge to secure its 40th consecutive win in league play, dating back to Jan. 25, 2023.
Senior Shayla Cordis put the game out of reach with nine of her 19 points in the fourth quarter, including a dagger steal and layup at the buzzer that had the Rams faithful on their feet.
The Rams knew they were in for a boxing match against a Hawks team that heavily utilizes a press defense, especially a full-court press. In the first quarter, River Ridge guards hounded the Rams ball handlers and repeatedly forced turnovers on inbound passes at North Thurston’s end of the court, turning them into rapid transition buckets.
River Ridge scored six points in 28 seconds off of three steals to take an early 13-10 lead. Senior guard Brandi Stanford’s 10 points in the opening quarter, highlighted by a buzzer-beating layup in transition off a steal, helped the Hawks finish the frame up 20-19.
The battle-tested but suddenly mistake-prone Rams didn’t flinch despite the heavy defensive pressure from River Ridge. They outscored the Hawks 14-4 in the second quarter, including the last eight points, to take a 33-24 advantage at halftime. North Thurston didn’t have many open looks from the perimeter, but it found two in the final minute of the half as Shayla Cordis and Jae Jae Cherry each cashed in on 3-pointers. Before those buckets, neither team led by more than four points.
“The first half was great. I thought it was playing into our arms, and then we let them hit a couple of 3s right before half,” River Ridge head coach Chad Arko said. “I thought we controlled a little bit of the first quarter. I thought our press disturbed them a bit.”
Little did Arko know it at the time, but those two triples just before halftime by the Rams drained River Ridge’s momentum as the Hawks came out of the locker room. Neither offense found any rhythm in the third quarter, with 17 combined turnovers compared to just 13 combined points. North Thurston led by eight entering the fourth, but the Hawks were still hanging around and within striking distance.
It seemed the separating bucket came from the right hand of Sierra Cordis, who drilled a deep triple with 3:15 remaining to make it an 11-point game. The Hawks cut the lead to three with an 8-0 run, but Shayla Cordis stamped North Thurston’s victory with seven points in the final minute.
River Ridge never quite found the offensive spark it was looking for, but Arko was proud of how his team looked against the cream of the crop in the Puget Sound League.
“When I took over three years ago, they had lost 35 straight and then won six. Last year, we won 20 and went to state. We decided that first year that we’re going to press all the time,” Arko said. “We’re gonna get beat with it at times, and other times it’s going to be our energy. Our goal is to never run an offense, but we obviously have to.”
Shayla Cordis led the Rams with 19 points, while Sierra Cordis recorded 16. Aira Hardy added eight, Lillianna Bonnin logged seven, and Jae Jae Cherry notched four.
River Ridge was led by Stanford’s 19 points, and Keke Bol shined with 16 points. Only one other player — Mya Armstrong — scored more than three.
North Thurston (9-2, 7-0 PSL) will return home for the first time in nearly a month on Wednesday, Jan. 14 when Silas visits. Thursday’s game marked the first of a three-game home stand for River Ridge (6-5, 5-2 PSL), which will host Lakes on Monday, Jan. 12 and Central Kitsap on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
Editor’s note: The Thurston Chronicle sports department is in its infancy stage covering Capital, North Thurston, Olympia, River Ridge, Timberline, The Evergreen State College, South Puget Sound Community College and Saint Martin’s University starting in January 2026. The team will cover one sporting event or double-header per week in the winter regular season ahead of a full launch in the spring. If you would like to see your school or team represented on the Thurston Chronicle website, email dylan@thurstonchronicle.com.
