All three Plateau teams open state tourney with victories

Plateau teams were a perfect three-for-three during Wednesday’s opening round of the Class 3A state basketball tournament in the Tacoma Dome.

The Enumclaw High girls kicked things off with a 46-41 overtime victory over Franklin High. The Enumclaw boys followed with a 45-42 win over the O’Dea Fighting Irish and the White River girls kept the Plateau unscathed Wednesday night with a 68-59 victory over Seattle Prep.

Enumclaw girls: The victory put the Hornets into Thursday's quarterfinals against Meadowdale. Game time is 3:30 p.m.

Heather Hitch and Mara Koplitz led the EHS offense against Franklin with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Hitch scored all eight of Enumclaw's third-quarter points and, in overtime, she had eight and Koplitz added the final five.

In a whistle-happy game that was largely decided at the free-throw line, the Hornets connected of 13 of 17 from the stripe down the stretch.

Enumclaw boys: This contest was close all the way, with the Hornets pulling out the win with a patient offense and some solid inside play by center Tarren VanTrojen. He scored a team-high 13 points and junior guard Riley Carel added 12.

The Hornets boys play at 5 p.m. Thursday against Meadowdale.

White River girls: After racing to a 20-9 lead after one quarter of play, the Hornet girls wound up going into overtime before getting past Seattle Prep.

The contest featured some late dramatics, including a three-point play by White River’s Carly McCutchen with 23 seconds remaining in regulation that tied the game at 54. After Prep took the lead with two free throws, the Hornets’ Kendall Williams scored an inside bucket with one second to play, forcing overtime. In the OT period, Seattle Prep scored first, but White River scored 12 of the next 13 points to secure the victory. The Hornets hit 12 of 12 free throws in overtime.

The win

White River was led by Sabra Sproul’s 18 points. Williams added 14 and Kristine Brons finished with 13.

White River’s girls play at 8:30 Thursday night against either Yelm or Holy Names.

Contact Enumclaw Courier Herald Senior Writer, Editor Kevin Hanson at editor@courierherald.com or 360-802-8205.

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