Lady Hornets score opener payback

Williams leads White River with 15 points

The White River High girls opened the basketball season Dec. 3 by exacting a bit of revenge on the visiting Tumwater Thunderbirds.

The tough T-birds defeated the Hornets the past two seasons and have made four straight trips to the Class 2A state tournament, but it was White River rolling to a decisive 62-44 victory this time around.

Hornet coach Chris Gibson was pleased with the outcome of the nonleague tussle.

“I thought our energy level was good,” he said, noting that the Thunderbirds kept things close by sinking a dozen free throws in the first half. Every time the Hornets built a double-figure lead, the visitors would cut the margin to seven or eight points.

White River managed a 31-25 lead at intermission, then put things away with a 16-4 advantage in the third period.

Kendall Williams scored a game-high 15 points for the Hornets, despite playing a little more than half the game. The 6-foot-2 senior center found herself in foul trouble and spent some time on the bench. Brooke Paulson also reached double-figure scoring, adding 11 points. A bonus for Gibson was that he was able to get playing time for every Hornet on the roster.

White River opened South Puget Sound League 3A play by hosting the Peninsula Seahawks Tuesday night; results came too late to be included here. League play continues with a pair of road games, Friday at Clover Park and Saturday at Auburn Mountainview. Friday’s game tips off at 7 p.m. while Saturday’s contest is the nightcap of a boys-girls doubleheader and begins at 7:30.

Reach Kevin Hanson at khanson@courierherald.com or 360-802-8205.

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