Arguably the best boys player and the best girls player in Class 1A basketball share a gym at Trinity Lutheran School in Bend.

The two Saints basketball squads have similar makeups, both young teams with deep postseason run aspirations and both featuring superstar seniors: Elli Kent for the girls and Scooty Gilbert for the boys.

Both players have been fixtures in the Trinity Lutheran programs and leaders on the floor since first suiting up for the Saints.

“Elli and I have been blessed to be put into a position where our teammates support us,” said Gilbert, entering his fourth year as team captain. “When we perform, it helps the team perform and they know that. They let us take on that role.”

Since joining the Saints as a freshman in the 2015-16 season, Gilbert has been a key piece for the team that has won two Mountain Valley League titles and has made three trips to the Class 1A state tournament, including a second-place finish in 2019.

Back then, Gilbert was more a leader by example as one of the team’s youngest players. Now, that is not the case in his final season, as he is averaging 23 points per game for the Saints (2-3) after averaging nearly 26 in the shortened season last spring.

“He was an old man, or an old soul and kind of wise when he came in as a freshman,” said Trinity Lutheran boys coach Kyle Gilbert, who is also Scooty’s father. “We relied on him in big games and he had that calming leadership as a freshman. He has always had older people than him, so he has become more vocal as a senior, more demanding and pushing people and trying to get them to be better.”

When Kent transferred from Bend High to Trinity Lutheran as a sophomore in 2019, the small school had not fielded a girls basketball team since 2016. In two short years, Kent broke the school record for most points in a game — scoring 51 as a sophomore — and she has not slowed down since. She is averaging 26 points per game for the 3-2 Saints, a bit higher than her 24.5 average over her first two seasons. Kent is also averaging eight rebounds and six steals per game this season.

“I have a lot of support from my teammates and coaches, and a lot of preparation,” Kent said. “I just tell myself that when the game is on the line, I have to get some buckets.”

In her junior season Kent helped elevate the Saints by leading them to the 1A state tournament, where the Saints finished in sixth place last spring. Trinity Lutheran girls coach Irish Milandin knows who made that run possible.

“She came to us and we have adapted our program around her style of play,” Milandin said. “When we went to state last year, she was able to take us there and take us to that next level because she was able to rise above what was going on. When it comes to game situations she has always stepped up and above from where we expect her to be.”

Both Trinity Lutheran teams opened Mountain Valley League play Thursday night with key wins over Rogue Valley Adventist Academy of Medford, a team expected to be in contention for the league title.

The girls pulled away in the second half to win 38-26 and Kent had 24 points, while the boys team overcame a six-point halftime deficit to win 48-45 and Gilbert had 26.

The teams have similar goals moving forward: compete for a conference title, play their best basketball as a team at the end of the year and make another run through the 1A state tournament.

“That is our expectation for the last four years, there is nothing less — that is what we want,” Scooty Gilbert said. “We are going to push for that and hopefully keep going until a state championship.”