Coaches on each bench – White River’s Chris Gibson and Enumclaw High’s Beth Madill – saw some good things when their clubs battled Friday night.

Their enthusiasm wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard, where Gibson’s Hornets rang up a relatively easy 57-29 victory. If any sense of drama wasn’t erased by the end of the first quarter, when White River jumped to a 21-6 lead, it certainly had been dashed when the teams headed to the locker rooms at halftime with Enumclaw trailing 36-12.

Despite the lopsided score, each coach walked away with some positive feelings.

“We had a chance to work on a lot of things, to see where we’re at,” Gibson said. His troops didn’t shoot the ball well, but one poor outing during the season’s first week isn’t causing too much concern.

Madill was pleased with how her girls responded in the face of adversity.

“I was pleased with how we fought hard for four quarters,” she said, singling out a third period where the EHS girls outscored White River 8-6.

Madill knew the neighboring Hornets presented a tough, nonleague challenge.

“They know how to win and they expect to win,” she said of the girls in the White River program, who have made a habit of trips to the state tournament.

White River had three players reach double-figure scoring during the home-court victory, led by newcomer Rani Weigand, who poured in 13 points. The 6-foot senior has proved to be a good fit with the Hornet program, Gibson said.

Brooke Paulson added 11 points to the victory and Emily Peloli came off the bench to score 10.

The biggest question for White River is the availability of point guard Cassidy France. With 3:25 remaining against Enumclaw, the junior crashed to the floor, clutching her knee; as of Monday morning, she was still being evaluated.

She was out of action Tuesday when White River hosted Bonney Lake. It was the Hornets’ only action of the week.