All seven of the local prep basketball teams that qualified for postseason play survived the first weekend, winning at least one game to keep alive the dream of advancing to regional play and then the Elite Eight.
The best showings came from the White River girls and the Enumclaw boys, who went two-for-two. Here’s a recap of the opening days of the Class 3A and 2A bi-district tournaments.
WHITE RIVER GIRLS
The area’s top seeded team, the Hornets showed their true colors with two victories to open the West Central/SeaKing 2A tournament. White River started Feb. 11 with a 79-24, home-court thrashing of Bremerton and, two nights later, added a 54-37 win against North Kitsap.
In the tourney opener, Georgia Lavinder buried a bushel of 3-pointers in the first half on the way to a career-high 31 points. Saturday, she and Maci Goethals led the way with 13 points each.
Now in the tournament semifinals, the Hornets travel for a 5:30 p.m. game Thursday at Foss High in Tacoma, paired against the squad from Liberty of Issaquah. Thursday’s winner will play Saturday for the tourney title while the loser will play Saturday for third or fourth.
ENUMCLAW GIRLS
Buckets were tough to come by for the Hornet girls, who managed just 62 points in their first two West Central/Southwest 3A tournament contests. Enumclaw opened postseason play Feb. 11 with a 60-27 loss to the highly-regarded bunch from Prairie High near Vancouver; two nights later, facing elimination, EHS scored just 35 but that was enough for a 10-point victory over Capital.
The Hornets played another loser-out game Tuesday night, squaring off against Hazen High. The winner was to continue tourney play Thursday with a game at Franklin Pierce High School.
SUMNER GIRLS
The Spartans were unsuccessful in their Feb. 11 West Central/Southwest 3A tournament opener, falling to Wilson of Tacoma by a 56-39 margin. Round 2 brought a happier outcome, as Sumner beat Kelso 72-63 on Feb. 13. Next up in the loser-out side of the bracket was a Tuesday tussle against district rival Bonney Lake; the loser was done for the season while the winner plays at 7:45 p.m. Thursday at Washington High.
Emily Borden paced the Spartan offense in the opener, scoring 13 points. Saturday, Joy Mahnken led the way with a game-high 22.
BONNEY LAKE GIRLS
The West Central/Southwest 3A tournament began on a high note for the Panther girls, who routed Capital 55-28 on Feb. 11. Moving into the winner’s bracket, Bonney Lake found tougher going, losing Feb. 13 to Prairie by a 71-31 score. That put the Panthers on the loser-out side of the tourney equation, playing Feb. 16 against neighboring Sumner. While the loser is finished for the season, the winner plays again at 7:45 Thursday night at Washington High.
Samantha Boudreau scored a game-high 18 points in the opener.
ENUMCLAW BOYS
The Hornet boys opened postseason on a hot streak, winning their first two West Central/Southwest 3A tournament contests. Feb. 10 brought a tough 52-51 victory at Columbia River and, two nights later, that was followed by a 65-59 win over familiar league foe Auburn Riverside. Tonight, Wednesday, EHS takes on Peninsula High in the tourney semifinals; a victory would send the Hornets to Saturday’s finale at Puyallup High, while a loss tonight would result in a 3:30 contest Saturday afternoon at Rogers High for either third or fourth place.
In the tourney opener, Scotty Garvin led EHS with 20 points; in Game 2, Justus Rainwater posted a game-high 24.
SUMNER BOYS
The West Central/Southwest 3A tourney didn’t start so well for the Spartans, who opened Feb. 10 with a 68-46 loss to Wilson High. Things turned around two nights later, though, and a loser-out contest had Sumner High defeating Kelso 62-46. The Spartans faced elimination again Monday night, taking on Auburn Riverside; a victory would mean a 7:45 game tonight, Wednesday, at Clover Park against either Prairie or Lincoln.
Luke Ross led Sumner with 12 points in the loss to Wilson; during Friday’s victory, Sumner had four players in double figures, headed by Kristian Lewis with 16.
WHITE RIVER BOYS
The Hornets launched their West Central/SeaKing 2A tournament Feb. 10 with a 74-62 victory over Highline High, then fell into the loser’s bracket Feb. 12 with a 64-58 loss to North Kitsap. White River was on the court again Monday, facing Olympic; the loser was done for the year while the winner has a 7:45 game tonight, Wednesday, at Bellarmine Prep against either Bremerton or Lindbergh.
Four Hornets reached double-figure scoring in the tourney opener, headed by Alex Wallen’s 18 points. He added a game-high 22 against North Kitsap.
