Editor’s note: The White River boy’s victory over Enumclaw was reported to the 2A South Puget Sound League as 49-44. However, coaches confirmed the correct score was 51-46.
The season’s first hoop-style Battle of the Bridge went decidedly in White River’s favor, as both the Buckley boys’ and girls’ teams notched victories over their rivals from Enumclaw.
The White River boys kicked off the two nights of Plateau basketball with a 51-46 triumph, traveling to EHS on Jan. 9. The following night, in the White River gym, the WR Hornet girls had little trouble posting a 63-42 win.
The Enumclaw teams will have a shot at revenge in three weeks when the programs square off for the second time in South Puget Sound League 2A play. Again, the rivals will play on back-to-back nights: the boys will play Feb. 8 at White River and the girls will take the court the following night in Enumclaw’s Chuck Smith Gymnasium.
Last week’s pairings were significant in that both swarms of Hornets were sitting atop, or near the top, of the SPSL 2A standings. When the girls’ teams squared off, both were undefeated in league play; a night earlier, the White River boys entered the contest undefeated while EHS had suffered a single league loss.
In the girls’ game, the tone was set early as White River grabbed a 14-6 advantage after one quarter of play and pushed the margin to 32-17 by halftime. The advantage only grew during the third period of play, allowing coach Chris Gibson to empty his bench during the late stages of the game.
White River was sparked by 18 points each from Josie Jacobs and Maggee Schmitz. For Enumclaw, Kalee Swanson led the way with 11.
Twenty-four hours earlier, the Plateau boys’ teams had produced much more drama with both squads enjoying double-digit leads during the contest. The tipping point came during the third quarter when White River erupted for 26 points, erasing a 25-17 halftime deficit.
White River’s offense was paced by Logan Senon’s 16 points and 14 from Colin Schmidtke. Enumclaw’s Liam Leonard poured in a game-high 19 points in the loss.
White River’s Ava Bright slips past an Enumclaw defender on her way to the hoop during her team’s January 10, home-court victory. Photo by Kevin Hanson
