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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2017)
Page 2B SPORTS East Oregonian Tuesday, February 21, 2017 ROCKETS: Defense held Weston-McEwen to just 22 percent shooting Continued from 1B Staff photos by E.J. Harris TOP: Pilot Rock’s Rachel Willingham drives across mid court trailed by Weston-McEwen’s Katie Vescio in the Rocket’s 65-39 win against the TigerScots on Saturday in Pendleton. BOTTOM: Weston-McEwen’s Amie Coffman drives on Pilot Rock’s Bekah Roe in the Rocket’s 65-39 win against the TigerScots on Saturday in Pendleton. again tomorrow, it could be a different outcome because we match-up so evenly.” Being the fourth meeting, both teams knew what to expect and what to plan for. The outcome of the game simply came down to who could make the most shots and that statistic was heavily in the Rockets (18-4) favor as Pilot Rock shot 20-53 (37 percent) compared to Weston-McEwen’s 11-49 (22.4 percent). The Rockets also finished 6-9 from the 3-point line, while Weston-McEwen finished 1-14. Weston-McEwen (16-8) coach Jeff Griggs hinted at a possible fatigue factor for the TigerScots, playing their third game in five days and especially after a physical game against Culver the night before in the district semifinals, as a possible reason for the cold shooting. “Another poor postseason shooting outcome against a Pilot Rock team that seemed to be hitting on all cylinders,” Weston- McEwen coach Jeff Griggs said. “We got outplayed in a number of aspects of the game but won’t make many excuses other than Pilot Rock playing well. Maybe we came out a little emotionally flat but we’re not taking anything away from Pilot Rock and we have to play at that level in post- season now if we hope to make it back to Pendleton.” Pilot Rock’s offense, normally a well-balanced scoring output, was a two-person show between Bekah Roe and Kayla Deist on Saturday. Roe led all scorers with 19 points on 6-11 shooting and added 12 rebounds to go with two assists and three steals, while Deist had 17 points and 10 rebounds and made 10-12 from the free throw line. Roe was a steadying hand for the Rockets, stepping up to hit shot after shot when her team needed a score. Perhaps her biggest shot came in the third quarter, as Pilot Rock hit a dry spell through the first three-plus minutes of the quarter and the TigerScots creeping up. Thanks to some quick ball movement from the Rockets, Roe found herself all alone on the right wing, pulled up and hit nothing but net for a big 3-pointer for the teams’ first field goal of the quarter and give the Rockets some momentum back. “Bekah is by far the heart-and- soul and the leader of the team and she gets them going,” Wilson said of Roe. “The coaches could probably go sit in the stands and she could handle it all on her own, she’s a smart basketball player.” Wilson was ecstatic to learn that his team also won the rebounding battle 41-30, pointing out that Weston-McEwen out-re- bounded the Rockets by 20 in their previous meeting. “That’s the story of the game really,” he said, “not giving them second and third chances, that really makes me proud.” Chelsea Quaempts led Weston-McEwen with 14 points and added eight rebounds and Sarah Finifrock followed with 12 points on 5-6 shooting. Earning the district title was a bit of redemption for the Rockets, who were arguable the best team in the CBC last season but flopped in the semifinals against Irrigon and cost themselves a trip to the state playoffs. Wilson said that reason alone kept his team determined from start to finish of the regular season. “It put a sour taste in their mouths for sure,” he said. “They came in this year basically the same team and came with a whole different attitude and desire and this has been a really fun season and to have a home game now is great.” UP NEXT Pilot Rock will host Grant Union in a first round playoff game next Saturday at 5 p.m., while Weston- McEwen will travel to Faith Bible for its first round playoff game, with time TBD. ———— ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS Player of the Year — Irma Retano, Culver Coaches of the Year — Rene Houle and Scott Fritz, Culver First team — Bekah Roe, Pilot Rock; Chelsea Quaempts, Weston-McEwen; Kayla Deist, Pilot Rock; Mia Gamboa, Culver; Sarah Finifrock, Weston- McEwen. Second team — Jacee Currin, Heppner; Jacey Wilson, Pilot Rock; Rachel Willingham, Pilot Rock; Katie Vescio, Weston- McEwen; Jessica Johnson, Culver. Honorable mention — Kendra Hart, Stanfield; Natalia Esquivel, Stanfield; Brittin Braithwaite, Stanfield; Sara Weinke, Pilot Rock; Bailey Hillmick, Weston-McEwen; Ali Schroeder, Weston-McEwen; Morgan Correa, Heppner. ———— Staff photos by E.J. Harris TOP: Weston-McEwen’s Chelsea Quempts shoots the ball guarded by Pilot Rock’s Sara Weinke in the Rocket’s 65-39 win against the TigerScots on Saturday in Pendleton. BOTTOM: Pilot Rock’s Bekah Roe shoots the ball over Weston-McEwen’s Ali Schroeder in the Rocket’s 65-39 win against the TigerScots on Saturday in Pendleton. W-M 11 7 13 8 — 39 PR 17 13 13 22 — 65 WESTON-MCEWEN — C. Quaempts 14, S. Fin- ifrock 12, A. Schroeder 5, K. Vescio 4, A. Finifrock 2, R. Penney 1, B. Hillmick 1, M. Muilenburg, A. Coffman, J. Lambert. PILOT ROCK — B. Roe 19, K. Deist 17, J. Wilson 8, R. Willingham 8, B. Howland 5, S. Weinke 4, R. Oates 3, M. Sutherland 1, K. Crumbliss, K. Evans, G. Austin. 3-pointers — W-M 1, PR 6. Free throws — W-M 16-22, PR 19-24. Fouls — W-M 17, PR 19. ———— Contact Eric at esinger@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966- 0839. Follow him on Twitter @ ByEricSinger. TIGERS: Went on 20-5 run over the final four minutes Continued from 1B and that’s state champs. Well we have two down, now just one more left.” Angel, who finished with 10 points and four rebounds, hit one of the biggest shots of the game for Stanfield late in the fourth quarter. As Weston- McEwen (14-10) was on a 14-5 run to start the quarter to cut the Tiger lead to 68-62, Angel nailed a wide-open 3-pointer from the left corner to bump the lead back to nine points and sparked Stanfield’s sprint to the finish line. “We made that great run in the fourth quarter there and then I think we ran out of gas,” Weston-McEwen coach Brian Pickard said. “But I can’t be more proud of the way we played ... the guys gave every- thing they have and I thought we played pretty well.” Prior to Angel’s shot, Stan- field coach Jason Sperr called a timeout where Angel said the coach simply wanted the team to re-set themselves. “He just told us to play our game ... we had slowed down and that’s when we struggled in the half-court sets,” Angel recalled. “They (TigerScots) were playing physical and we weren’t reacting to it well and he (coach) just said to be smart and keep playing our game.” Weston-McEwen surprised Stanfield to start the game, as the TigerScots were able to break the full-court press and turn those into some easy shot attempts, keeping the quarter at a lightning-fast tempo. The TigerScots held a 7-2 lead early before Stanfield quickly tied it, and then re-took the lead for the remainder of the quarter at 20-17. “Most teams don’t want to match our speed and I think that was a bit different to our guys, surprised them,” Sperr said. “But I thought Weston- McEwen was as good a team Staff photo by E.J. Harris Stanfield’s Enoel Angel (23) and Jose Galarza scramble for the ball with Weston-McEwen’s Shaw Broncheau in the Tiger’s 88-68 win against the TigerScots on Saturday in Pendleton. as we’ve seen all year basically from start to finish at playing our style of game and it was fun to watch.” Stanfield’s offense took some time to settle in as well, as the Tigers hit just 5-19 shots (26 percent) in the first quarter, but then went 26-55 (47 percent) over the final three quarters. Dylan Grogan led all scorers with 31 points on 12-22 shooting and added seven rebounds and four assists, continuing the consistent leadership and play that he has played with this season. “We know if we need a score, we can give Dylan the ball and he’ll do it,” Angel said. “He’s arguably the best player, I say, in the state.” Shaw Broncheau played a fantastic game for Weston- McEwen with 25 points on 11-17 shooting to go with nine rebounds and eight assists. He was a one-man wrecking crew at various spots in the game, boosting the TigerScots offense with his slick dribbling and first-class speed to break the Stanfield press with relative ease. “He does a great job of knowing when we need a basket and great at making decisions of taking it to the basket or finding an open man, “Pickard said. “That’s the way he’s been all year and we love having that.” UP NEXT Both teams will advance to the state tournament next Friday, where No. 2 Stanfield will host No. 15 Oakland and No. 13 Weston-McEwen will travel to No. 4 Santiam. ———— ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS Player of the Year — Logan Grieb, Heppner Coaches of the Year — Mike Weinke, Pilot Rock; Jeremy Rosenbalm, Heppner First team — Shaw Broncheau, Weston-McEwen; Chris Weinke, Pilot Rock; Dylan Grogan, Stanfield; Ethan Reger, Weston-McEwen; Bryson Pierce, Pilot Rock. Second team — Ryan Bailey, Stanfield; Jake Lindsay, Heppner; Mike Davis, Culver; Jose Garcia, Stanfield; Brett Speed, Weston-McEwen. Honorable mention — Thyler Monkus, Stanfield; Caden Hedman, Heppner; Tony Flores, Stanfield; Weston Basl, Culver; Kevin Murray, Heppner. ———— W-M 20 13 15 20 — 68 SHS 17 26 20 25 — 88 WESTON-MCEWEN — S. Broncheau 25, E. Reger 13, G. Hungerford 9, B. Speed 8, B. Dearing 6, J. Speed 4, J. West 3, B. Rudolph, STANFIELD — D. Grogan 31, T. Flores 16, E. Angel 10, J. Garcia 9, J. Galarza 8, T. Monkus 6, B. Woods 4, R. Bailey 4. 3-pointers — W-M 4, SHS 8. Free throws — W-M 12-22, SHS 18-33. Fouls — W-M 21, SHS 21. Fouled out — J. Speed (W-M); B. Woods, J. Garcia (SHS). ———— Contact Eric at esinger@ eastoregonian.com or 541-966- 0839. Follow him on Twitter @ ByEricSinger. Staff photos by E.J. Harris Weston-McEwen’s Ethan Reger shoots the ball over Stanfield’s Dylan Grogan in the Tigers’ 88- 68 win against the TigerScots on Saturday. BOTTOM: Weston-McEwen’s Shaw Broncheau falls over the back of Stansfield’s Dylan Gro- gan as James West looks on in the Tigers’ 88- 68 win against the TigerScots on Saturday in Pendleton.
