With the end of the regular season in sight all four Plateau basketball teams – that’s girls and boys from both Enumclaw High and White River – are poised for a postseason tournament run.

The North Puget Sound League 3A campaign concludes with Battle of the Bridge pairings between the cross-rival rivals. The Hornet-Hornet tussle will take place Thursday, Feb. 5, on the girls side, with the game set for the White River gym; the next night, the boys will square off in Enumclaw’s Chuck Smith Gymnasium.

Both games will tip off at 7 p.m.

All four local squads are representing themselves well on the basketball court. Through games of last week here’s how they stand.

ENUMCLAW BOYS

Sporting a 9-1 record in NPSL 3A play the Hornets sat in a first-place tie with Todd Beamer heading into this week. The schedule is a bit grueling to wrap up the regular season as the Hornets will play four times in eight days; on a positive note, three of the league contests are on the EHS campus.

After hosting Thomas Jefferson on Jan. 30 Enumclaw has a much-anticipated, home-court showdown against Todd Beamer on Tuesday, Feb. 3. A make-up game at Federal Way is set for Feb. 5, just 24 hours before the Battle of the Bridge against White River.

ENUMCLAW GIRLS

With a 7-1 league record through last week the EHS girls were in a second-place tie (with White River), just a half-step behind the 8-1 crew from Decatur.

First-year coach Julie Anderson and her squad took on fifth-place Kentlake last night (Tuesday) and will continue the regular season with a January 30 road trip to Thomas Jefferson (fourth place) and a Feb. 3 trip to Todd Beamer (winless and in last place). Things conclude in Buckley with a showdown against White River.

WHITE RIVER GIRLS

Lodged in a second-place tie in the NPSL 3A standings the Hornet girls had a chance for revenge Tuesday night when they squared off against Decatur High. Results of the road game came too late to be included here.

The Gators handed White River’s girls their only league loss, defeating the Hornets 61-47 in mid-December.

The Hornets finish the regular season with four games in an eight-day stretch, the season finale being the Feb. 6 rivalry game against Enumclaw. Before that are a January 29 road trip to last-place Todd Beamer and home games Feb. 2 against Auburn Mountainview (fifth place) and Feb. 3 against Federal Way (seventh).

WHITE RIVER BOYS

With a 6-3 league record through last week’s games, the Hornet boys conclude the NPSL 3A campaign with a stretch of five contests that includes three straight road trips at the end.

Having already played Decatur (last night, Tuesday) White River hosts Todd Beamer on Thursday before traveling Friday to Kent-Meridian and Feb. 3 to Federal Way. The regular season wraps up with the Feb. 6 Battle of the Bridge in Enumclaw.

POSTSEASON PLAY

Once the regular season concludes, attention turns to the 12-team District 3 tournaments. Action begins Feb. 13 for the girls and Feb. 14 for the boys. The first round is a loser-out affair and higher-seeded teams will get to host games until the semifinals and final round, which will be played at Mount Tahoma High School in Tacoma.

For both boys and girls the top four seeds will receive a first-round bye and, once the dust settles, the top sixth finishers will be rewarded with a trip to the Class 3A state tournament.

PHOTOs BY KEVIN HANSON The Hornets’ Jason Feddema goes high for an uncontested layup against the Kentlake Falcons.

PHOTO BY KEVIN HANSON Landon Teeple (#23) works inside, facing a trio of Kentlake defenders, during Enumclaw’s NPSL 3A victory over the visiting Falcons.