With just over half of the regular season left, the Auburn Riverside girls basketball team got its midseason tune-up this week with three games at the Ravens’ own invitational.

The tournament, which ran from Monday to Wednesday at Auburn Riverside High School, featured a handful of the best girls hoops teams in the Northwest, including Oregon powerhouses Jesuit, Jefferson and Southridge.

The Ravens, 4-1 in the South Puget Sound North 4A division and ranked fourth in Washington state 4A polls, went 1-2 on their home floor, losing to Jesuit and Jefferson and beating Southridge.

“It was definitely a wake-up call for us,” said junior point guard Mercedes Wetmore. “We’re not used to losing. But it was good to go up against some of the best teams in the region and find out what we have to work on. And we have a lot we have to work on.”

Against Jesuit on Monday, the Ravens allowed the Crusaders to make up a 23-16 first-quarter deficit and come back for the first-round 66-63 win. Senior Amanda Thomson led the Ravens with 21 points, with sophomore Kat Cooper adding 13 and Wetmore contributing 12.

Round 2 on Tuesday was kinder to the two-time 3A state champions with the Ravens shutting down Southridge, 57-39.

Auburn Riverside flexed its defensive muscles in the first half, holding the Skyhawks to just 14 points.

The Ravens were led offensively by Cooper’s 15 points, with Thomson chiming in with 14 and Wetmore contributing 13.

On New Year’s Eve, the Ravens closed out their tourney with a 70-59 loss to Jefferson.

After falling behind 19-8 in the first quarter, the Ravens scorched the Lions for 26 points in the second quarter, going into the half knotted at 34-34, before falling behind in the second half. Thomson led the team with 16 points while Wetmore poured in 13 points and Cooper added 10 points.

“I feel like we did pretty good,” Thomson said after the tourney. “We had a good experience going up against those teams. But I would say that we’re still trying to find our identity as a team right now.”

Wetmore agreed.

“We have so much talent on this team, we just need to put it all together and start trusting each other on the court more,” Wetmore said. “We’ve got a ways to go.

“We’re not really happy with the way we played,” she added. “We’re used to being the best team in the state and right now we’re not the number one team. But it’s just good to see how the other teams have improved and find out where we need to.”

The Ravens understand the areas they need to upgrade.

“I would say we need to work on our defense, our team defense and our rotations,” Wetmore said. “Our offense is always going to be off and on, so we need to rely on our defense. But I’m pretty happy with our team right now. Our coaches do a good job of helping us and telling us what we need to work on.”

The Ravens, 6-3 overall, will pick up their regular season schedule at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday against Thomas Jefferson at Auburn Riverside.