Kingston girls start districts with easy win; Bainbridge next

Published 1:30 am Monday, February 16, 2026

The No. 6-seed Kingston Buccaneers (11-10, 6-8 in Olympic League) beat the No. 11-seed Franklin Pierce Cardinals (8-13) 53-38 at home Feb. 14 in the first round of the District 3 2A girls basketball tournament.

The Bucs will now face the No. 3-seed Bainbridge Spartans (14-6, 12-2 OL) Feb. 18 on the road at 6 p.m. The winner will advance to the district semifinals for a shot at advancing to state.

“I mean, [this] win guarantees at least two more [games],” Kingston coach Charles Deam said. “So yeah, there’s no pressure coming up against Bainbridge.”

The Bucs found themselves down early in the first quarter after the Cardinals converted on their first two shots.

Nonetheless, Taizah Franklin, Shaunie Cordero and Maili Edwards helped Kingston jump out to a 7-0 scoring run, forcing turnovers in the middle of the court. Franklin-Pierce didn’t score again until there were fewer than two minutes remaining in the first.

The Bucs quickly got their lead out to 15-7 with 5:43 remaining in the second quarter after Cordero scored consecutive buckets. Edwards converted on a fastbreak layup after Franklin forced another turnover, quickly getting their lead out to double digits.

Tati Fontes-Lawrence sank a three before the end of the half, getting the Bucs lead out to 20. Cordero led Kingston in scoring with 11 at halftime, and the Bucs tallied 24 points in the second quarter.

“I was very proud of how the girls executed the game plan,” Deam said. ”It started out kind of rough in the beginning, but then we took [a] timeout and kind of just refocused on what we’ve worked on in practice.”

Edwards and company quickly built on what was working in the first half, getting their lead out to 43-16 by continuing to force turnovers.

Cordero hit a three-pointer with three minutes left in the third quarter, getting Kingston’s lead out to 31 at 49-18. Kingston led 55-21 at the end of three, continuing their dominant performance from the first half.

The Bucs gave some playing time to their bench, subbing out all of their starters at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which allowed Franklin Pierce to cut into the deficit. But it was ultimately too little too late.

“I’m happy we won the first game [in districts]. Now we’re gonna face Bainbridge,” Franklin said. “We’ve already played, but a third chance is a third chance.”

Other Kitsap scores

Also in 2A districts, No. 9 seed North Kitsap was eliminated after losing its opening round game to No. 8 seed Orting 35-32. No. 12 seed Olympic’s season also came to an end, losing to No. 5 seed Sequi, 59-29.

In 1A, No. 4 seed Klahowya won its opening round district game against No. 5 seed Seattle Christian 45-40. The Eagles will now go on the road to face No. 1 seed Annie Wright in the district semifinals Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. for a chance to advance to state.

In 1B, No. 2 seed Crosspoint Christian will host No. 10 seed Grace Academy Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. in its opening district game.

In 2A boys action, No. 9 seed Kingston fell to No. 8 seed Washington 77-65 in the opening round of districts to be eliminated. No. 12 seed Olympic was also eliminated after losing to No. 5 seed Franklin Pierce 80-49.

No. 1 seed Bremerton will host Washington Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in its opening district game. The Knights are looking to repeat as state champions. No. 3 seed Bainbridge will host No. 6 seed Sequim Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. in its opening district game.

In 1B boys, No. 12 seed Crosspoint Christian was eliminated after falling to No. 13 seed Cedar Park Christian 51-45.