Prep roundup: White River cruises to victory, clinches spot in district championship game

This one was over early.

No. 5 White River knocked off Liberty (Issaquah) High School, 71-53, to clinch a spot in the 2A District 2/3 championship game. While the game officially ended when the clock hit zero, , it was pretty much wrapped up after the first quarter.

The Hornets jumped out to a commanding 26-5 lead in the first eight minutes and didn’t look.

“I think our start was huge,” White River head coach Chris Gibson said. “The kids were prepared and ready to play, and I think our first four minutes of the ball game really set the tone.”

Kendall Bird, who scored 16, said that her team had talked about coming out and making a statement.

“Before the game we said we didn’t need to match their intensity, we needed to beat it, because we knew they were going to come out fired up,” Bird said. “We played them a few months ago and they were intense then too, so we decided we were going to beat their intensity in the first couple of minutes and try to put it away.”

The Hornets did just that, as they forced Liberty into missing 11 of its first 13 field-goal attempts and created three turnovers.

The Hornets advance to the championship game, where they will play Franklin Pierce at 6 p.m. on Saturday at Foss. The Hornets defeated Franklin Pierce in both matchups during the regular season.

“It is hard to beat a quality team like that three times in a row, but you kind of have to treat it as a separate basketball game,” Gibson said. “You kind have to look at it that way. We will make some adjustments, as will (Franklin Pierce head) coach Disney. We don’t look at the third time, because every game is so different.”

Liberty (9-14) will play Port Angeles at Curtis at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday in a game that will decide seeding for the regional round of the state tournament.

4A West Central

No. 3 Todd Beamer 63, Gig Harbor 40: Makenna Woodfolk scored game-high 28 points as the Titans cruised into the 4A West Central District title game for the fourth consecutive season with the win at Puyallup.

The Titans (21-2) didn’t start out quite as blistering as their previous three games, when they outscored their opponents 71-5. This time they were only up 18-8.

Nia Alexander added 10 points for Beamer, which will play No. 6 Kentlake for the second time this season for the district title at 6 p.m. Saturday at Puyallup. Beamer won the first matchup, 49-44, on Jan. 19.

Tessa Waage scored 10 points for the Tides, who will play Bellarmine Prep for third or fourth place to the regional round of the 4A state tournament at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Mt. Tahoma.

No. 6 Kentlake 49, Bellarmine Prep 37: Reigning 4A SPSL Northeast most valuable player Sydney Peterson scored 23 points as the Falcons advanced despite losing a double-digit lead in the second half.

Kentlake (20-4) led 28-12 at halftime, but was outscored 17-4 in the second half as Bellarmine pulled to within 32-29 entering the fourth quarter.

McKenzie Alton scored 18 points for Bellarmine (16-7).

Rogers 50, South Kitsap 31: The Rams were down 12-7 at the end of the first quarter, but found a way to turn up the volume. They came out for the second quarter and blazed past the Wolves (12-11) in a loser-out game held at Mount Tahoma High School.

The Rams (16-10) were led by Jessi Westering, who had 13 points. Tristen Coltom pitched in another 11. With the win, the Rams are now eligible to play in the state regionals and will next face Curtis —their SPSL South league opponent — at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday at Mount Tahoma.

Curtis 55, Olympia 30: The Vikings only allowed the Bears (14-10) to reach double digits in one quarter as they strolled to a 25-point victory. Curtis (18-7) is now eligible to participate in state regional play and did so on the back of Kaelin Williams-Kennedy, who scored a game-high 18 points.

Jenna Randich scored a team-high 15 points during the Bears’ final game of the season.

3A West Central/ Southwest

Auburn Mountainview 43, Sumner 42: The Lions held on for a tight victory over the Spartans (12-12) in a game held at Washington High School. Despite being down 17-8 after the first quarter, the Spartans outscored the Lions (18-5) 24-14 in the second and third quarters.

Auburn Mountainview went on to outscore Sumner 12-10 in the final quarter to advance in the 3A West Central/Southwest tournament. They will next face Columbia River (14-10) at 1:45 p.m. Saturday at Rogers.

2A SeaKing/West Central

Franklin Pierce 50, No. 9 Port Angeles 35: The Cardinals used a stifling full-court press to knock off the No. 9 Roughriders and clinch a spot in the 2A District 2/3 championship game. They held Port Angeles to just three points in the third quarter and pulled their starters in the final minutes.

Alexius Foster and Ghane Buze led the Cardinals (18-5) with 18 points apiece.

Franklin Pierce now turn their attention to the championship game and a rematch with No. 5 White River.

Cheyenne Wheeler scored a team high eight points for the Roughriders (20-4).

River Ridge 45, Renton 38: Lauryn Gray recorded a double-double, scoring 10 points and snagging 14 rebounds, and Makenna Schultz led the Hawks with 14 points. River Ridge (15-8) outscored the Indians (16-9) 18-9 in the final quarter to seal a seven-point victory.

After this win, River Ridge is qualified for state regional play. The Hawks move on to face North Kitsap (15-8) in a battle for fifth place at 1:45 Saturday at Curtis.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Eatonville 51, La Center 49: The Cruisers were down 39-33 heading into the fourth quarter. They found the will to outscore the Wildcats (12-10) 18-10 in the final period to seal a nail-biting win.

Carson Hutchings led the Cruisers (14-8) with 18 points, and Brooks Moeller and Derick York both scored eight. Eatonville will move on to play Hoquiam (17-5) at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Kelso High School.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 11:41 PM with the headline "Prep roundup: White River cruises to victory, clinches spot in district championship game."