Kara Marecle drives to the hoop during a Feb. 22 victory against the Sequim Wolves. Photo by Kevin Hanson
Both White River High basketball programs, the boys and the girls, find themselves headed to the Class 2A state championships.
Each squad is part of Sweet 16, joining a postseason finale that begins this Saturday with a regional round of games. Four of the 16 teams involved will be eliminated but that’s not the fate awaiting either of the Hornet teams.
Coach Zach Johnson’s Hornet boys and Chris Gibson’s girls are seeded in the top eight in regional play, meaning they’re assured of being one of the 12 teams heading to the Yakima Valley SunDome.
The four-day portion of the Class 2A tourney opens today (Wednesday) and runs through Saturday, the 7th.
For each of the White River teams, a Saturday loss would mean opening play in Yakima on Wednesday. A regional victory on Saturday would provide a first-round bye with a Yakima debut on March 5.
The Hornet teams will play back-to-back regional contests Saturday at Auburn Mountainview High School. The girls will take the court at 4 p.m. against Burlington-Edison and the boys follow at 6 p.m. against the Lindbergh Eagles.
Each White River club heads to state following a West Central District tournament. White River’s boys took third place in the tourney with a 55-53 victory over Clover Park the afternoon of Feb. 22.The Hornet girls placed fifth in WCD play after beating Renton 40-34, also on Feb. 22.
ENUMCLAW GIRLS SEASON CLOSES
The final seconds of the 2019-20 season ticked away in Tacoma, showing the Enumclaw High girls on the losing end of a 49-37 score against the Kentridge Chargers.
The Feb. 18 game, played at Stadium High School, was a loser-out affair and came in the third round of the West Central/Southwest 4A tournament.
With the loss, the Hornet girls finished the campaign with an overall record of 11-15. That included a 5-9 mark in North Puget Sound League play.
The season finale stayed relatively close, but the Chargers outscored the Hornets in every quarter. A 12-11 advantage after the first period turned into a 26-21 Kentridge lead by halftime.
In the season’s last game, Enumclaw’s offense was paced by seniors Sydney Brazier and Jesslyn Huizenga who scored 13 and 11 points, respectively. Sawyer Anderson added four points, Saydee Anderson contributed 3, and Olivia Rodarte, Addie Neu and Marissa Espinosa added two points each.
The district defeat marked the final game for EHS seniors Ren Olson, Sawyer Anderson, Brazier and Huizenga.
Enumclaw’s postseason journey began with a play-in game, a preliminary step needed simply to qualify for the district tournament. With a 50-41 victory over Emerald Ridge, EHS entered the 16-team, double-elimination tourney.
The Hornets opened district play with a loss to Todd Beamer and stayed alive with an exciting, 42-41 victory over the Sumner Spartans before being ousted by Kentridge.
