Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Stan-
field’s
Natalia
Esquivel
gets a
hand
on the
ball as
Sara Von
Borstel
(10), of
Weston-
McEwen,
tries to
shoot
during
Satur-
day’s
Colum-
bia Basin
Confer-
ence
game in
Athena.
Saturday’s Prep Roundup
Webb’s 30 leads Vikings
Umatilla boys stay
unbeaten in league
East Oregonian
Staff photo by
Kathy Aney
TIGERSCOTS:
Continued from 1B
The girls played really well
tonight doing things better
on offense and defense that
they’re certainly capable of
doing.”
Junior
point
guard
Chelsea Quaempts scored
a game-high 25 points for
Weston-McEwen (10-5, 2-1
CBC), with 19 of those points
coming in the first quarter.
“I was on fire and I could
just feel it,” Quaempts said
afterwards. “My last game I
was kind of out of whack and I
felt I needed to step it up tonight
as a captain and contribute to
the team the best I can.”
Jensen said Quaempts’
performance was what he’s
come to expect from the
junior.
“She’s our playmaker and
she does it offensively, and
a lot of it on the defensive
end she just creates so much
havoc,” Jensen said. “I don’t
know how many lay-ins she
had off of steals tonight but
that’s just what she does.”
Stanfield (3-11, 1-3) was
able to weather the storm a
bit through the middle parts
of the game, outscoring
Weston-McEwen 22-18 over
the second and third quarters.
It left the TigerScots with
a 45-27 lead and the Tigers
holding momentum.
But between periods,
Jensen said he encouraged
his team to just keep playing
hard on defense and it would
help create offense.
“When you play good
defense it usually sparks the
pace of the game and once
the girls refocused a bit they
kind of took it over from
there,” Jensen said. “It’s a
really smart group of girls
and they always know what
to do and when to do it.”
The
TigerScots
did
just what Jensen said and
pressured Stanfield’s ball
handlers in the half-court,
resulting in numerous turn-
overs and fast-break lay-ins.
Weston-McEwen outscored
Stanfield 12-5 in the fourth
quarter to seal the victory.
Stanfield’s offense was
led by Natalia Esquivel with
13 points and Kendra Hart
had 11 points. Also reaching
double-digits for Weston-
McEwen was Katie Vescio
with 12 points.
Weston-McEwen is now
tied for second in the league
with Pilot Rock, with only
first place Culver yet to play
in the first round of league
play. Jensen said that his
team will need to focus on
how to handle ball pressure
this week in practice to
prepare for Friday night.
“If we can be confident in
our ball handling and make
sure we can get past Culver’s
initial pressure, I think we
should be fine,” Jensen
said. “We’ve got good ball
handlers and that’s the main
focus of the game plan is to
handle the pressure and if we
attack like we did tonight then
good things will happen.”
Stanfield will next host
Pilot Rock on Friday.
———
SHS
5 14
8
5 — 32
W-M
27 8 10 12 — 57
STANFIELD — N. Esquivel 13, K. Hart
11, B. Braithwaite 4, A. Lemmon 2, A.
Carilllo 2.
WESTON-MCEWEN — C. Quaempts 25,
K. Vescio 12, S. Finifrock 6, A. Coffman 4,
S. von Borstel 3, A. Schroeder 2.
3-pointers — SHS 2, W-M 2. Free throws
— SHS 8-17, W-M 7-18. Fouls — SHS 15,
W-M 12.
TIGERS: Grogan scores game-high 20
Continued from 1B
“The first half (Weston-
McEwen) as right there with
us but the second half we
took off because our legs
weren’t tired and we could
tell they were,” he said. “It
was the same thing with the
Heppner game last week and
a few before that, the first
half they’re with us and the
second half we take off.”
Senior Enoel Angel admits,
however, that it took some
time for the Tigers (12-1,
3-0 CBC) to come around to
liking the mass substitutions.
“The five-in, five-out
rotations we didn’t really like
it or trust it at first,” he said.
“But like (NBA player) Joel
Embiid says, ‘Gotta trust the
process,’ and we did.”
Twelve players saw game
action on Saturday night for
Stanfield and nine players
scored in the game, led
by Dylan Grogan with 20,
Garcia with 17, and Brody
Woods with 16.
Angel said having the
ability to get contributions
from nearly every player on
the team should be a big factor
for Stanfield as it begins to
creep toward the postseason.
“I think it’s going to be
huge because most teams
play eight or nine guys,” he
said, “but we have guys that
can score at any time and can
turn it up when we need to.”
Weston-McEwen (9-6,
2-1 CBC) did its best to keep
up with Stanfield’s fast pace
in the first half, breaking
the
Tigers’
full-court,
man-to-man press with
decent success. The Tiger-
Scots were pretty efficient
from the floor in the first half
as well, and trailed Stanfield
38-27 at halftime.
But in the third quarter,
the TigerScots got careless
with the basketball in the
Tigers press, tallying a good
chunk of their 33 turnovers
in the quarter alone while
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
UMATILLA — On
Saturday morning, the
Umatilla boys basketball
team held a shootaround to
prepare for the evening’s
game against Nyssa.
During the shootaround,
Umatilla coach Derek Lete
said that senior Kaden
Webb put up a lot of shots,
so much so that Lete had to
tell Webb to ‘Save yourself
for the game’ to which
Webb replied ‘I’ll be fine
coach.’
Well after Saturday
night’s game, it’s safe to say
Webb’s extra shots paid off
as he scored a game-high 30
points to help his Vikings
knock off the defending
league champion Nyssa
66-39 at Umatilla High
School.
“He was just in a zone,”
Lete said of Webb. “He was
6-9 from 3-point range and
had five in the third quarter,
which was our big quarter,
and that stretch really fueled
us.”
Umatilla (11-5, 3-0
EOL) did not start the
game the greatest, though,
as Nyssa jumped to a 7-0
lead early in the quarter,
resulting in Lete thinking
“it looked like it might be
one of those long nights,”
he said.
But then the Vikings
stepped up their physicality
to match that of Nyssa and
the results soon followed,
as Umatilla went on an
11-0 run to end the quarter
and then did not look back.
Lete said he was proud of
his team’s defensive effort,
holding defending EOL
Player of the Year Andres
Gonzalez of Nyssa to just
two points and the Bull-
dogs’ leading scorer Boston
Thompson scoreless.
“We felt it was a
must-win game for us and
the boys came to play,” Lete
said.
———
NHS
7 8 11 13 — 39
UHS
11 15 23 17 — 66
NYSSA — J. Ortiz 14, J. Fuentes 11, P.
Chavez 7, O. Tellez 3, D. McIntosh 2, A.
Gonzalez 2.
UMATILLA — K. Webb 30, J. Maret
10, T. Miller 7, S. Garcia 6, S. Cranston
4, T. Durfey 4, J. Garcia 3, S. Miller 2, S.
Hartung 2.
3-pointers — NHS 10, UHS 12. Free
throws — NHS 1-7, UHS 6-8. Fouls —
NHS 15, UHS 17.
ECHO 64, HELIX
60, OT — At Helix, the
Cougars came out on top
of a back-and-forth Old
Oregon League game that
saw the teams tied at 53
when regulation ended.
Morgan Marcum paced
all scorers with 28 points
for Echo (5-12, 4-4 OOL),
and Klay Jensen added 14
points as the Cougars won
their third in a row.
Jonathan Shaw led
Helix (3-9, 2-4) with 26
points and 13 rebounds,
Justin Williams added 16
points, Gavin Newtson had
11 and Tylor Fehrenbacker
finished with eight assists.
“If we would have
played a few more minutes,
maybe it would have been
a different outcome,” said
Helix coach Ben Maney.
“But it was fun, the kids
played hard.”
Helix plays at Powder
Valley today at 4:30 p.m.
while Echo’s next game is
Friday when it hosts Pine
Eagle at 7:30 p.m.
HEPPNER 54, PILOT
ROCK 42 — At Heppner,
the Mustangs picked up
their second win of the
weekend with a 54-42
victory over Pilot Rock on
Saturday night.
The game was close
throughout the first half,
with Heppner holding a
28-25 lead at the halftime
break. Pilot Rock got hot
from the outside in the third
quarter and pulled out to a
39-38 lead at the end of the
third quarter.
But
the
Mustangs
pulled away in the fourth,
outscoring Pilot Rock 17-3
to pull out the win.
Logan Grieb had 16
points and eight rebounds
for Heppner, while Kevin
Smith had 12 points and
Jake Lindsay had 11. Chris
Weinke led Pilot Rock with
18 points on 7-13 shooting
while
Bryson
Pierce
finished with 10 points.
Heppner next hosts
Stanfield on Saturday at
4 p.m., while Pilot Rock
travels to Stanfield on
Friday at 7 p.m.
———
PR
10 15 14
3 — 42
HHS
14 14
9 17 — 54
PILOT ROCK — C. Weinke 18, B. Pierce
10, D. Hasher 9, R. Lankford 5.
HEPPNER — L. Grieb 16, K. Smith 12, J.
Lindsay 11, C. Hedman 7, K. Murray 5, N.
Dias Martins 3.
3-pointers — PR 7, HHS 6. Free throws
— PR 1-1, HHS 12-25. Fouls — PR 21,
HHS 9. Fouled out — L. Thieme (PR).
GIRLS BASKETBALL
PILOT ROCK 53,
HEPPNER 22 — At
Heppner, the Rockets
moved into a tie for second
in the Columbia Basin
Conference with a blowout
53-22 victory over Heppner
on Saturday night.
Kayla Deist led Pilot
Rock with 16 points on
7-12 shooting, while Jacey
Wilson pitched in 10 points
and a 3-5 performance
from 3-point range. Kacie
Gray led Heppner (5-9,
0-4) with nine points and
five rebounds.
Pilot Rock next travels
to Stanfield on Friday, and
Heppner will host Stanfield
on Saturday.
———
PR
10 21 12 10 — 53
HHS
4 2 11
5 — 22
PILOT ROCK — K. Deist 16, J. Wilson
10, R. Willingham 7, G. Austin 6, S.
Weinke 5, A. Aguilar 4, B. Roe 2, R. Oates
2, K. Evans 1.
HEPPNER — K. Gray 9, J. Currin 5, J.
Mahoney 4, M. Correa 2, M. Combe 2.
3-pointers — PR 4, HHS 1. Free throws
— PR 9-27, HHS 3-6. Fouls — PR 9,
HHS 20.
ECHO 37, HELIX
29 — At Helix, the Echo
Cougars outscored the
Helix Grizzlies 16-4 in the
fourth quarter to pull away
with a 37-29 victory on
Saturday night in an Old
Oregon League match-up.
The loss was frustrating
for Helix coach Kirk
Flerchinger, who said
that Saturday’s game was
“probably our best defen-
sive game all year.”
“We had a good game
plan and we played great,”
Flerchinger said, “but you
can’t win games when you
only score single digits in
the fourth quarter. But Echo
deserved to win tonight.”
Devyn Tarvin led Echo
(13-4, 6-2 OOL) with
15 points and Hannah
McCarty had 11 points.
Sadie Wilson and Emma
Fehrenbacker each scored
eight points to lead Helix
(6-6, 2-4). Wilson also led
Helix with 14 rebounds.
Helix next travels to
Powder Valley today for
a 6 p.m. start, while Echo
hosts Pine Eagle on Friday
at 6 p.m.
———
EHS
10 5
6 16 — 37
GHS
8 7 10
4 — 29
ECHO — D. Tarvin 15, H. McCarty 11,
M. Huff 6, T. Swaggart 3, L. Wiggins 1, B.
Milbrodt 1.
HELIX — S. Wilson 8, E. Fehrenbacker
8, K. Mize 6, A. Wood 3, H. Christman 2,
A. Krol 2.
3-pointers — EHS 4, GHS 2. Free
throws — EHS 5-18, GHS 1-9.
NYSSA
45,
UMATILLA 32 — At
Umatilla,
the Vikings
couldn’t overcome a slow
start that saw them staring at
a 27-8 halftime deficit as the
Nyssa Bulldogs went on to
win 45-32 on Saturday night
in Eastern Oregon League
play.
Aleesha Watson and
Lauryn
Journot
each
scored 14 points apiece for
Umatilla (6-10, 1-2 EOL),
providing the bulk of the
Vikings offensive firepower.
Charlina Lancaster led
Nyssa with 11 points.
Umatilla next hosts
Burns on Monday for 5:30
p.m. start.
———
NHS
15 12 10
3 — 45
UHS
2 6
6 18 — 32
NYSSA — C. Lancaster 11, M. Mitchell
10, B. Arredondo 9, K. Hernandez 6, S.
Hartley 5, J. Martinez 3.
UMATILLA — A. Watson 14, L. Journot
14, P. Picker 2, N. Soto 1, C. Alvarez 1.
3-pointers — NHS 1, UHS 3. Free
throws — NHS 3-10, UHS 9-15. Fouls —
NHS 16, UHS 13.
DAWGS: WIAA has yet to weigh in
Continued from 1B
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Ethan Reger (3), of Weston-McEwen, dribbles past
Standfield’s Brody Woods (32) Saturday in Athena.
Stanfield cashed in and sped
out to a 71-44 lead after three
quarters.
“We just didn’t finish very
well and didn’t take care of
the ball,” Weston-McEwen
coach Brian Pickard said.
“And against a team like
Stanfield it can get away
from you quick and that’s
what happened. I thought
the kids played good, but
Stanfield is one of the best
teams in the state.”
Four players reached
double figures in scoring
for Weston-McEwen, as
Ethan Reger led with 15,
Brett Speed had 13, Shaw
Broncheau had 10 and
Garrett Hungerford had 10.
With just one game left
to play in the TigerScots’
first round of league play,
Weston-McEwen sits alone
in second place of the stand-
ings — solidly in a district
tournament
berth.
But
Pickard says his team needs
to regain some early-season
form to finish strong.
“I think we have to stress
taking care of the ball,” he
said. “We need to get back to
the 10-15 turnover range and
do some work on the offen-
sive boards but I think we’re
sitting pretty good right
now and I think we’ve put
ourselves in a good position
for districts.
“But the second time
through we only have one
home game so it’ll be a
tough road for us.”
————
SHS
19 19 33 14 — 85
W-M
13 14 17 16 — 60
STANFIELD — D. Grogan 20, J. Garcia
17, B. Woods 16, R. Bailey 9, T. Flores 8,
T. Monkus 4, N. Sanchez 4, E. Angel 4, J.
Galarza 3.
WESTON-MCEWEN — E. Reger 15, B.
Speed 13, S. Broncheau 10, G. Hungerford
10, J. West 6, Q. Picard 3, K. Broncheau 2,
B. Rudolph 1.
3-pointers — SHS 3, W-M 5. Free throws
— SHS 10-13, W-M 13-19. Fouls — SHS
18, W-M14
ran by the Jan. 10 edition of
the East Oregonian, took a
harder stance in the district’s
release.
“This could increase the
school’s travel costs by up
to 60 percent, and students
could miss up to 30 percent
of their classes in a given
month for their athletic
events, which is unaccept-
able,” he said.
The more attractive
option for Usher is hitching
Hermiston’s wagon to the
WIAA’s
Mid-Columbia
League along with Kenne-
wick, Kamiakin and South-
ridge — teams the Bulldogs
regularly play in non-league
competition already.
Which leads to Hermis-
ton’s other main issue with
the OSAA — it’s ranking
system.
The OSAA’s Rated
Percentage Index (RPI)
determines
postseason
seeding, and in some cases
even postseason berths.
The RPI does not factor in
out-of-state opponents, and
favors teams that schedule
games within their classifi-
cations.
It’s why Hermiston’s
boys basketball team has
taken four trips to the
Portland area for games and
tournaments this season, and
dealt with multiple cancella-
tions, rather than play local
teams like Umatilla and
Stanfield.
Usher said the WIAA
still needs to agree to the
move, but the Bulldogs also
have some outside backers
in their corner.
“I believe we are still
facing an uphill battle
with the WIAA, and we
completely understand if
they are hesitant,” he said.
“Something new is not
always easy for any group,
but this is about our kids in
Hermiston and this uphill
battle is certainly worth it.
We have the full support
of every school across the
river in the Mid-Columbia
Conference and certainly
hope that pulls some weight
with their association.”
Should Hermiston leave,
the OSAA would lose one of
its most successful programs
of the last 10 seasons, which
have seen the Bulldogs win
13 teams titles in wrestling
(9), girls tennis (2), boys
cross country and football.
WRESTLING: Pendleton 2nd at duals
Continued from 1B
was sixth.
Hermiston will wrestled
a dual at Hood River tonight.
COLTON
HOLLY
TOURNEY — At Wilson-
ville, the Pendleton Buck-
aroo took second in the
dual format Colton Holly
Tourney on Saturday.
The championship match
came down to the Bucks
and Canby, which came out
with a 49-24 after winning
the last eight matches
including a pair of forfeits
by Pendleton.
Going into that dual the
Bucks had gone 4-0 with wins
over Lake Oswego, 42-30,
Cleveland, 43-30, Silverton,
37-33, and Forest Grove, 40-30.
Morgan Holcomb and
Scott Chambers alternated
matches at 160 and 170
pounds, and both went 5-0
for the Bucks. Holcomb
had five pins, and Chambers
had three. Alex Rendon
(138) and Jeff Kovach
(145) also posted five wins
for Pendleton, and Trevor
Ulicni (285) and Greg Lee
(195-220) won four times.
With no 113- or
120-pounders, Pendleton
was giving up 12 points in
each match.
Pendleton won the first
three bouts in the semifinals
against Forest Grove, then
got pins from Holcomb and
Lee to hold a 28-15 lead
with five matches left —
including the Bucks’ empty
weights.
Ulicni and 106-pounder
Caleb Tremper secured the
win in the next two matches,
though, earning back-to-
back first-round pins to
make it 40-15.
Lee and Ulicni also came
up with big wins late in the
matches against Silverton
and Cleveland.
Pendleton wrestles a dual
at The Dalles tonight.