The River Ridge high school boys and girls basketball teams traveled across town to rival North Thurston, sweeping the Rams on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, in PSL (Puget Sound League) 3A matchups to conclude league play for the year.
River Ridge Boys Take Division Title
The first match-up saw the River Ridge boys team (12-8, 11-4 PSL) defeat North Thurston (4-16, 2-14 PSL) 77-53, which secured the first-ever PSL “Nisqually Division” championship for the Hawks.
River Ridge head coach Michael Crosby was thrilled with his team’s first title at the 3A Level. “It was a really hard-fought game and we have been working at this for the last three years and this group of guys believed in it, executed our plan and it was our time,” Crosby stated. “Moving toward league and districts we will stick to our plan and make adjustments to the type of teams we will play. We have shooters and guys that can jump out of the gym and we have strong role players so I’m excited for this team and we will keep believing in each other and executing our plans.”
North Thurston Coach Mike Conner was proud of his team’s growth, especially over the past month. “Ridge played hard and it got tough there at the end and we just ran out of gas,” Connor remarked. “I’m really proud of the growth we had. The record didn’t show the true character and growth of what this team did. We have been on a good run the last two weeks and we went from losing by large amounts to being right in games. The confidence and growth was really fun to watch.”
Lady Hawks Surprise North Thurston for River Ridge Victory
In the girls matchup, River Ridge took the game, winning 57-51. North Thurston had strong play and had a pregame ceremony for “Senior Night,” but fell short to a tenacious Hawk team. North Thurston (16-5, 14-2 PSL) remained the “Nisqually Division” champion and will take on Narrows PSL division champion Gig Harbor (17-3, 14-2 PSL) for the PSL league title. River Ridge (13-8. 12-4 PSL) gained the 2nd seed moving into the post season.
First year North Thurston girls head coach Cesar Delira was proud of how his team competed and looks forward to moving into the postseason. “My team played with toughness, and continued to fight against a River Ridge team that made key plays,” Delira noted. “We had chances we didn’t finish, but the effort, energy, and resilience from our players never wavered. This group continues to grow, and we’ll learn from this one moving forward.”
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