River Ridge senior guard Brandi Stanford tied a single-game program record with 35 points in the Hawks’ 3A state regional contest against Meadowdale at Edmonds-Woodway High School Tuesday night, but the Hawks lost 81-72 to conclude their season.
She matched the school record set in 2015 by Makenna Schultz and broke the school record for most points in a state game, first set in 2005 by Chelsea White, who scored 25 points. Stanford also recorded nine steals.
River Ridge led 22-18 after the first quarter, but Meadowdale’s offense started to catch fire in the second quarter, outscoring the Hawks 21-13 to vault the Mavericks in front 39-35 at halftime. The offensive onslaught continued for both teams in the second half, with Meadowdale edging River Ridge 42-37 over the final 16 minutes.
“We shot well with seven 3s and made 17 of 23 from the free-throw line, but we didn’t play good defense,” River Ridge head coach Chad Arko said. “Our defense had carried us all year, and unfortunately it let us down on Tuesday night after we put up 72 points.”
Outside of Stanford’s standout night, Paige Arko added 12 points and three assists, and Keke Bol contributed eight points and six rebounds. Mya Armstrong logged six points and six steals.
Meadowdale’s Mia Brockmeyer, a Colgate University signee, scored 32 points in the Mavericks’ win.
The 2025-26 season marked the second straight time that River Ridge qualified for the state tournament. Previously, the Hawks went 6-14 in 2023-24 and 0-20 in 2022-23.
“It was a great season, and to be in the state tournament the last two years after where the state of the program was four years ago is a credit to these young ladies and the work they put in,” Chad Arko said. “We just need to find a way to get us to the next level next year.”
River Ridge finishes the season with a 15-10 record and graduates two seniors: Stanford and Destiny Robinson. Stanford finishes her career with 1,966 career points across her time at Timberline and River Ridge.
“We have some big shoes to fill next year, but we still have our nucleus of players coming back,” Arko said.
