Win will secure league’s No. 2 spot into playoffs

The Bonney Lake High girls basketball team wraps up the regular season with a Friday night trip to Sumner and is looking forward to postseason play.

The Bonney Lake High girls basketball team wraps up the regular season with a Friday night trip to Sumner and is looking forward to postseason play.

The Panthers are in prime position to finish second in the South Puget Sound League 3A. A Friday win would likely secure the No. 2 spot, unless Enumclaw wins its final two games; if Bonney Lake and Enumclaw finish in a second-place tie, a playoff would be required.

The next step is subdistrict play, slated for Feb. 20 and 21 at Auburn Mountainview High School. If Bonney Lake advances as the No. 2 seed, the Panthers would play at 5:30 p.m. the second day of the tourney; if they go as the No. 3 team, they would play at 7:30 the opening night.

Subdistricts determine seeding into the district tournament, which begins Feb. 25 and will eventually send seven teams to the Class 3A state tournament at the Tacoma Dome.

Three Bonney Lake girls hit in double figures as Bonney Lake whipped the Franklin Pierce Cardinals 73-33 Feb. 3 at home.

Bonney Lake’s full-court pressure created several turnovers as they jumped out to a 10-point lead, 14-4, in the opening period.

The Panthers, led by Rani Wiegand’s 13 points, continued to increase their margin. Brittney Kennedy drilled a 3-pointer as the first half ended as Bonney Lake went into intermission ahead, 35-14.

The Cardinals attempted a comeback in the third but were unable to cut away at the Bonney Lake margin.

Bonney Lake held the Cardinals to eight points in the final period, while breaking out for 23.

Marcel Pounds led the Panthers with 13 points, Wiegand hit for 12 and Carli Elwin had 10.

Kennedy and Rachel Wiegand added eight points each for Bonney Lake.

Thursday, Bonney Lake took on the league’s best and fell 60-46 at White River (14-0).

After falling behind early, the Panther girls climbed back into contention behind a barrage of 3-pointers. While always within striking distance, Bonney Lake could never catch up to the state-ranked Hornets.