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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 2017)
SPORTS FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2017 1B FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @EOSPORTS 2A State Tournament 2A State Tournament Tigers outrun Warriors Stanfield advances to state semifinals By ERIC SINGER East Oregonian PENDLETON — With the Stanfield Tigers’ lightning quick tempo on the basketball court, their games can sometimes resemble track meets. But that up-tempo pace, mixed with the depth and constant rotations from the bench used by Stanfield’s coach Jason Sperr, has played Boys Hoops into many victories for the Tigers this season, #2 Stanfield oftentimes wearing down opponents in the second halves while the Tigers #7 Oakridge keep chug- ging towards the finish line. The pace was a big factor again for the Tigers on Thursday night, as they wore down the Oakridge Warriors in a Class 2A quarterfinal meeting and ended the night with a 59-48 victory. “They (Oakridge) wanted to play our game which was kind of surprising,” Stanfield junior Brody Woods said afterwards. “On film, they liked to slow the game down but they tried to keep up with us and I think we tired them out.” The No. 2 seed Tigers (21-1) started the game on fire, hitting on three of their first five shots and held a 10-2 advantage over the No. 7 seed Warriors (20-7). But the Warriors gave the Tigers a few good runs throughout the half and trailed just 31-27 at the halftime break. Stanfield got a little bogged down in the latter part of the first half, as its full-court pressure defense was a little slower and not able to keep Oakridge players in front, leading to some easy Warrior baskets. Senior guard Ryan Bailey said that there was no panic at the break, though they knew what needed to be fixed. “We’re always kind of a second half team,” Bailey said. “But we just kind of talked about what we needed to do, Staff photo by Kathy Aney Weston-McEwen’s Sarah Finifrock (2) eyes the basket as Malia Hassan (22), of Imler, defends during Thursday’s 2A state championship quarterfinal game at the Pendleton Convention Center. Panthers drive into semifinals 59 48 Imbler pulls away from TigerScots in second half By MATT ENTRUP East Oregonian Staff photo by E.J. Harris Stanfield’s Dylan Grogan shoots the ball over Oakridge’s Mathias Nchekwube in the Tiger’s 59-48 win against the Warriors on Thursday in Pendleton. get on the big guys because they were getting a lot of boards and second chance points.” The third quarter was a turning point for the Tigers, as their defensive intensity picked up and their offensive efficiency followed behind. Stanfield went on a 10-0 run to start the quarter to open a 41-27 lead at the 3:24 mark, hitting four of its first eight shots. Oakridge did not score its first point in the quarter until the 3:09 mark, when Mathias Nchekwube swished a short jumper to cut the score to 41-29. Stanfield’s defense held Oakridge to just 2-11 shooting in the quarter and forced six turnovers alone. Oakridge’s only other field goal in the quarter came on a desperation 3 just inside the half- court line by Joel Snyder to beat the third quarter buzzer, leaving Stanfield in a 49-33 lead after three. “I think our defense really picked up in the second half,” See TIGERS/2B 1A State Tournament Nixyaawii passes quarterfinal test Golden Eagles beat Badgers for fourth time East Oregonian BAKER CITY — The No. 1 Nixyaawii Golden Eagles knew better than to overlook the No. 9 Powder Valley Badgers in Thursday’s 1A girls basketball quarterfinals. Despite handing the Badgers big losses in each of their three previous meetings, the Golden Eagles expected to be tested in their opening game at Baker High School. Nixyaawii got the game it was looking for, and after overcoming an initial five-point deficit was able to lead the rest of the way for a 49-39 win. “It was a good game, I think just them knowing us more and more every game we play played a factor,” said Nixyaawii coach Jeremy Maddern. “I actually thought both teams played at a pretty high level today.” Mary Stewart led Nixyaawii (25-0) with 20 points, Milan Girls Hoops #1 Nixyaawii #9 Powder Val. 49 39 Schimmel had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and the Golden Eagles turned the ball over just 10 times. Schimmel also had five steals and pair of blocks, and Stewart added four steals, four rebounds, two blocks and two assists. For a team that was averaging 16 points a win coming in, it also answered the important question of how the Golden Eagles would handle pressure in the final bracket. “We talked about that coming into the game and we knew that was going to be something we would have to face,” Maddern said. “It was really hard fought game. The girls handled it pretty well and did what they had to do to seal the game.” PENDLETON — With both teams finding the rims at Pendleton Convention Center unaccommodating, the ability to out-work their opponents in other aspects became the crux of Thursday’s 2A girls basketball state quarterfinal between No. 13 Weston-McEwen and No. 5 Imbler. In the end it was the Imbler Panthers’ tenacity in securing second-chance points and hustling down the court in transition that pushed them over the top for a 48-36 win. Jacobi Rudd finished with a double- double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Lexee Girls Hoops Robertson led Imbler (16-6) with 13 points. “I’m just really proud of the girls’ effort and #5 Imbler the ability to go play like they know they can,” said Imbler coach Darci Sweet. “We just talked about doing the things that we know we do well, #13 West.-McEwen and one of those things is getting the rebound and going, and being able to score those fastbreak points. That’s a big part of our game.” Despite finally warming up to the hoops a little after halftime, it wasn’t until late in the game that the Panthers were able to gain a decisive hold on the momentum. Weston-McEwen (17-9) was quite tenacious itself as guard Chelsea Quaempts record-breaking defensive performance set the tone, and the TigerScots were able to make up for their struggles in the field by getting to the free throw and line and converting. Quaempts broke the 2A tournament single-game record for steals with 10, one better than the previous record held by Jenny Gilles (1996) of Regis and Tiffany Rich (2007) of Chiloquin. She most likely would have finished with more, but an ankle injury with 2:25 to play robbed the TigerScots of their most dangerous weapon and created enough confusion to hamper any further attempts at closing the gap with Imbler. Quaempts, who led the TigerScots with 17 points while going 12-of-15 at the free throw line, was sprinting near midcourt when she went down without contact and See NIXYAAWII/3B 48 36 See IMBLER/3B College Track & Field Schmidt earns All-American finish at NAIA Championships Hermiston product caps indoor career on top East Oregonian Photo by Nick Dawson courtesy of Carroll Sports Information Carroll College’s Crystal Schmidt, of Hermiston, competes during the high jump portion of the pentathlon on Thursday at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. Schmidt finished third with a personal best 3,413 points to earn All-American honors. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Hermiston product Crystal Schmidt capped her indoor track and field career with an All-American sized feather on Thursday during the first day of action at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Cham- pionships on the campus of East Tennessee State University. Schmidt scored a personal-best 3,413 points in the pentathlon to take third place overall and lead the way for Carroll College. Schmidt jumped a personal best 5-foot-7 in the high jump and won the shot put by more than a meter with a throw of 49-6.5 to highlight her day. She is the first Carroll athlete to earn All-American honors in the multi-events. “It is hard to be disappointed when she ended her indoor career with a PR and a third-place finish,” head coach Harry Clark said. “Her high jump was great, she looked like she was going to clear 5-8 and just missed. “I thought that she had a great chance to win it after that, but the first and second-place finishers outperformed their season bests by a large margin to hold her off.” Chelsea Baker from Friends University took first with a score of 3,698 and Becky Collier from Westmont was second with a score of 3,516. Both beat their season- best performances by several hundred points.