Does North Thurston have best backcourt in WA? Rams pass another test against Bellarmine
Bellarmine Prep’s girls basketball team wanted to play a clean game at home on Friday night. Perhaps, even, dictate the terms and stage an upset against the visiting North Thurston Rams.
But like the vast majority of the teams who have faced off against North Thurston (13-1) this season, Bellarmine (12-3) played right into the hands of its opponent. The turnovers — 24 in total — mounted, North Thurston pressed and got out in transition and the offensive firepower of guards Soraya Ogaldez and Shayla Cordis quickly overwhelmed the hosts. Despite sporadic Bellarmine runs, North Thurston always had answers and won comfortably, 57-43.
“(The full-court press) sped them up really well, made them force a lot of turnovers,” Cordis said. “We were in the right spots to get those deflections and get those picks and turn them into baskets.”
The biggest takeaway: another test passed for Jackie Meyer’s squad, which looks like a legitimate Class 3A state championship contender with its instant-offense backcourt.
Shayla Cordis scored a game-high 23 points and Ogaldez added 18, another display of offensive prowess that has become commonplace for this year’s team. Bellarmine’s Kyla Frazier scored a team-high 20 points in the loss. Does North Thurston have the best backcourt in the state with Ogaldez and Cordis?
“We’re definitely the best, I’ll say that,” Cordis said, smiling. “We just really communicate, we trust each other.”
Cordis, alongside her sister Sierra, transferred from Timberline in the offseason. It made North Thurston — which was already a strong team with Ogaldez, guard Grace Lee and others — a team that could play on Saturday in the Tacoma Dome.
“To be able to add that intensity, that’s lucky for us, lucky for me,” Meyer said. “It’s fun to see them play together.”
Bellarmine cut the deficit to six points on Friday midway through the second quarter, but North Thurston quickly separated and led 35-19 at half.
“We swing the ball, look for those open shots,” Cordis said. “When those open shots came, we knocked them down.”
North Thurston is now 13-1, the lone blemish a loss to local 4A rival Olympia in the first game of the season. Meyer said the Rams were meshing new pieces at that point and feels the team is further along now, a process of getting scorers to play together.
“Just kind of realizing that everyone can score on this team,” Meyer said.
For Cordis, it’s been fun to be a part of.
“It’s a very great experience,” she said. “Last year it was tough on me, but now I have all these players that can do what I do. It just opens up everything.
“If we keep talking, keep hustling, having that dawg in us, having the mentality to never give up, it’s going to take us a long way.”
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 10:18 PM.
