The White River High girls will take the court early Wednesday, looking to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Class 3A state basketball tournament – and, in the process, stave off elimination from the season-ending competition.

Wednesday’s contest kicks off the first of four days of hoop action in the Tacoma Dome. White River, seeded No. 3 into the 20-team tourney, will square off against Seattle’s Garfield High (No. 19) at 9 a.m. Garfield enters the game with a season record of 15-9 that includes a 9-5 mark in Metro League (Mountain Division) play.

The White River-Garfield loser will pack away uniforms until next season. Wednesday’s winner, however, is guaranteed at least two more games in the Dome. The first would be at 9 a.m. Thursday against the No. 4 Stanwood Spartans. The winner of that one advances to the tournament semifinals.

White River isn’t heading to Tacoma on a particularly high note. While carrying an impressive season record of 22-4 the Hornets are also riding their only two-game losing streak of the 2024-25 campaign. Coach Chris Gibson’s squad fell 73-65 to North Thurston High in a February 22 battle for the District 3/4 tourney title, then dropped a March 1, 59-38 contest to Lakeside School (Seattle) in the 16-team regional round of the 3A state tournament.

Things went poorly for the Hornets from the opening tip as the Lions built a 22-9 advantage by the close of the first quarter. The Hornets cut the deficit just a bit with a 10-8 edge during the second period but scoring just seven points in the third quarter sealed the Hornets’ doom.

The 38-point output was easily the Hornets’ lowest offensive effort of the season.

Lakeside 56, White River 38

March 1 at Auburn H.S.

State tournament (regional round)

Lakeside: 22-8-15-14 – 59

White River: 9-10-7-12 – 38

White River scoring: Maggee Schmitz 10, Vivian Kingston 9, Dakota Sprouse 6, Gracie Banks 5, Malia Froemke 3, Kaitlyn Hewlett 2, Emma Voellger 2, Myia Olson 1.