The White River High girls captured a 59-46 road victory over the Franklin Pierce Cardinals Thursday night to improve to 4-1 in South Puget Sound League 3A play.

The league is showing itself to be plenty tough in the early going, as Sumner has raced to a 4-0 league mark, Bonney Lake shares a 4-1 record with the Hornets and Lakes High is 3-1.

The Lakes Lancers caught everyone’s attention last week with a Thursday victory over Bonney Lake coming on the heels of a Dec. 15 win at White River.

White River’s road win at Franklin Pierce required a second-half rally, as the Cardinals held a 30-25 advantage at halftime. The Hornets turned the deficit into a two-point lead by the end of the third quarter, then used a 21-10 outburst during the final eight minutes to put the game on ice.

Sabra Sproul led three Hornets in double figures, posting 15 for the night. Brooke Paulson added 14 and Megan McKune came through with 10.

Playing on their home court two nights earlier, the Hornets fell short against the surprising Lancers, getting outscored 6-4 in overtime and losing 66-64.

The contest was close all the way, with Lakes managing a lead of 29-26 at the half and 44-42 after three quarters. The Hornets suffered through a crucial stretch where they fell behind 38-30, but bounced back with a 12-2 run to grab the lead. Showing team depth, the White River run featured hoops by six players.

The final moments of regulation play brought plenty of drama, as Paulson drilled a 3-pointer with 37 seconds remaining to bring her team to within a point at 59-58. With 19 seconds on the clock Carley McCutchen buried a pair of free throws to give the Hornets a slim one-point lead. With 13 seconds to play, Lakes’ connected on one of two from the line to send the game into a four-minute overtime.

In OT, White River managed only a pair of free throws until the final buzzer, when Jessica Bush scored an uncontested hoop.

Sproul had 17 points in the loss, McKune added 15 and Paulson contributed 12.

Those three have scored the bulk of the Hornets’ points through the first six games. Paulson and Sproul, both juniors, are averaging 17 and 12 points per outing, respectively; McKune, a senior, is averaging almost 11 per game.

The White River girls will have two games during the holiday break, playing Monday and Tuesday in a tournament at Bellevue Community College. The Hornets return to SPSL 3A play Jan. 8 when they host the Bonney Lake Panthers.