KENNEWICK -- The Kamiakin girls basketball team used stifling defense and balanced offense to remain undefeated and knock off crosstown rival Kennewick 69-36 on Saturday.

The Braves forced 29 turnovers and had three players score in double digits while cruising to the CBBN 3A home victory.

"That was the key, that's what we've been focusing on all year and will continue to focus on," Kamiakin coach Tammy Hutchison said of the defense.

The victory puts the Braves (10-0, 4-0) alone in first place in the CBBN 3A, knocking Kennewick (5-4, 3-1) into a second-place tie with West Valley.

Kamiakin is ranked in the top three in the state by both the Tacoma News-Tribune and The Seattle Times.

"It's definitely a good feeling coming out of Christmas Break," Kamiakin post Courtney Nelson said of wins against Kennewick and Eastmont on Friday. "Eastmont was kind of our rival last year, so that was a good win. For us to come out and get those two wins is big."

On Saturday, the Braves forced 10 turnovers in the first quarter and seven more in the second, as Khadidja Toure wreaked havoc in the backcourt and Courtney Nelson played strong defense against Kennewick star Angelique Whistocken.

"We're just working on handling pressure," Kennewick coach Tarah Staton said. "It is definitely an area of improvement for us. But all the credit to Kamiakin. They played good defense."

The key to the defensive effort was Nelson shutting down Whistocken. The Kennewick senior did finish with 14 points, but only five rebounds.

"I played with her over the summer, and so I know the way she plays," Nelson said. "I wanted to guard her so she couldn't get the ball to score.

"Playing against her you have to get physical because she is such a good player. We've been working on our defense all year and we're getting better."

Nelson finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Khadidja Toure finished with 13 points before fouling out. Sira Toure had 12 points and eight rebounds.