The Enumclaw High girls kept their state tournament hopes alive with a 45-34 victory Friday night over Mount Rainier.

With the win, the Hornets are just one victory shy of making an appearance in the March 11-14 Class 3A championship in the Tacoma Dome – and they get two chances later this week at securing that all-important win.

The team next plays Friday against Auburn Mountainview in a winner-to-state contest. Game time is set for 8 p.m. at Clover Park High School in Lakewood. If the Hornets defeat Mountainview, they would play Saturday at Auburn High to determine the No. 4 and No. 6 seeds from the West Central/Southwest bidistrict tourney.

If the Hornets fall to Auburn Mountainview, they get a second shot at state Saturday afternoon. The 2 p.m. game, also at Auburn High, will send the winner to state as the bidistrict’s No. 7 seed, while the loser is eliminated.

The victory over Mount Rainier wasn’t particularly pretty in the first half, when Enumclaw quickly fell into an 11-2 hole. The Hornets drew closer and finally took the lead midway through the third quarter, thanks to a 10-1 run that was highlighted by a pair of Jaynae Sayler 3-pointers.

Jessalyn Clark finished with 11 points and Sayler had 10 to lead the Hornet offense.