Aside from seeking a bit of revenge and regaining Plateau bragging rights, the Enumclaw High girls could be looking for a second-place league finish when they host White River High Friday night.
Game time is 5:15, opening a doubleheader that also includes the Enumclaw and White River boys.
Through games of last weekend, the Hornets were 10-4 in South Puget Sound League 3A play and sitting in third place, just a notch behind the 11-4 Bonney Lake Panthers. If Enumclaw won its game earlier this week, a Tuesday contest against lowly Franklin Pierce, the Hornets and Panthers would be deadlocked heading into the final night of regular-season play.
Bonney Lake has the easier chore, facing seventh-place Sumner, while EHS takes on White River, the No. 3 squad in the state according to the latest Associated Press poll.
Whatever the outcome, the Enumclaw girls will next play in the Feb. 20-21 subdistrict tournament at Auburn Mountainview High School.
If EHS winds up as the league’s No. 2 entry, the Hornets will play at 5:30 p.m. on the second day of the tournament. If Enumclaw is No. 3, the girls will play at 7:30 on the opening night.
The subdistrict tourney will send nine teams to the district tournament that opens Feb. 25. District action will conclude with seven of the 16 entries advancing to the March 11-14 Class 3A state tournament in the Tacoma Dome.
Enumclaw had split success last week, defeating Lakes High 62-56 Thursday night, bouncing back from a 51-44 loss Feb. 3 to visiting Auburn Mountainview.
Lakes, which finds itself on the playoff bubble, gave the Hornets all they could handle. The Lancers rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to lead by four points midway through the fourth period.
Jaynae Saylor buried a huge 3-pointer to get the Hornets within one point and it was Enumclaw’s prowess from the free-throw line that salted away the victory. After not shooting a free throw all night, the Hornets were sent to the line 16 times in the final frame and connect a dozen times.
Saylor finished with a team-high 15 points. Also coming up big were Heather Hitch, who scored 14 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out four assists, and Jesslyn Clark, who finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Kevin Hanson can be reached at khanson@courierherald.com.
