Raven Benton wanted this win badly.

With first place in the SPSL 4A South Division on the line, Benton felt the need to push herself and her team to a higher level to control the game. In demonstrative fashion, that's what the Federal Way junior wing accomplished, scoring 21 points, hauling in 12 rebounds and joining a full team offensive and defensive control to sweep away state ninth-ranked Emerald Ridge, 65-43, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, in a battle for supremacy at the top of the division.

The Eagles took first place in the division at 13-1 and improved to 15-3 overall. In solo second place rest the Jaguars (12-2, 15-2).

With Federal Way holding a 10-point lead over refusing to fold Emerald Ridge, the energetic Eagles finally closed out their opponents with seven consecutive points.

Doing what she had been doing the entire game, Benton scored a basket on a length of the court drive. Jamie Jones's offensive rebound basket and accompanying free throw ahead of Darah Huertas-Vining's driving basket quickly pushed Federal Way into an insurmountable 57-40 dominance with 2:49 left en route to a game high 22 point lead at the end.

"Last time, we lost to them (89-82) in overtime," said Benton. "We weren't going to let that happen again. Our whole team was focused and ready to play."

Establishing the tone for this game early, Federal Way blew off the blocks with storming defense to gradually grow short leads into a 26-14 margin with 4:42 left in the first half before continually resilient Emerald Ridge rattled off a rally to trail only 31-23 at the half. Senior guard Taylor Buie led the quick Jaguars with dangerous drives and potent outside shooting.

Once the great shooting of Buie and the other Emerald Ridge players dropped off in the second half, the Eagles owned the glass and rushed up court. When the Jaguar defense forced the Eagles to play half court style basketball, Federal Way responded with patient, but quick ball movement to slice up the defense for back door cuts or down the lane, short range goals.

With the Emerald Ridge quickness harnessed, for the most part, Federal Way created a 15 point lead in the third quarter, but the Jaguars kept coming back, getting as close as 41-32, before the confident Eagles eventually pulled the plug on any possible Emerald Ridge comeback hopes.

After a 57-42 loss to Kentwood at the Valley Medical Showcase on Jan. 16, Eagle head coach Danny Graham strongly stressed the importance of teamwork.

Since then, the Lady Eagles have taken that to heart, showing strong support in all areas on this February night in Federal Way.

"Tonight, we really played as a team and executed," said Graham. "After that game at ShoWare, we figured it out. This time, we were effective off the high post and with our defense. Our goal was 'don't let them out rebound us'. In the first half, we were hardly getting any rebounds, but in the second half, you saw what we could do when we get the boards."

Huertas-Vining's solid third quarter propelled her to 13 points while Tania Velasco Bono came off the bench for 10 points and nine rebounds. The rest of the FW scoring was spread out as was the individual rebounding. In addition to her three-point play, Jones corralled seven rebounds.

Buie was nearly the whole show for Emerald Ridge with a game high 23 points on slashing drives and fall-away jumpers.