Page 2B
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Women’s College Basketball
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Men’s College Basketball
Oregon rebounds to blow Phil Knight’s tourney draws top-
10 teams to Oregon this week
out Eastern Washington
Associated Press
NCAA
EUGENE — Ruthy Hebard scored
22 points, while not missing a shot,
and Lexi Bando added 14 to lead No.
10 Oregon to an 81-40 victory over
Eastern Washington on Tuesday night.
Hebard, a sophomore who was
all-Pac-12 forward last year, went
7-for-7 from the field and 8-for-8 at the
foul line for the Ducks (4-1).
Bando, a senior who’s the nation’s
top 3-point shooter, was 4-for-8 from
long range.
Oregon had assists on nine of its first
10 field goals and shot 69.2 percent in
the first half to open a 47-17 lead.
Sabrina Ionescu had 10 rebounds
to help the Ducks hold a 42-22 edge
on the boards. They also outscored
Eastern Washington by a 46-20 margin
in the paint.
Delaney Hodgins led the Eagles
(1-3) with eight points.
BIG PICTURE
After winning the opener to a five-
game homestand, Oregon is looking
BRIEFLY
Join the party,
send off the
Bulldogs
HERMISTON — Before
the Hermiston football team
heads to Hillsboro to play
for a state championship
on Saturday, Bulldog
students, fans and Hermiston
community members can
send the team off in style.
Hermiston High
organized a send-off rally
on Saturday morning at
Kennison Field. Beginning
at 8:30 a.m., attendees
will have the option for
free donuts, coffee and hot
chocolate available and then
at 9 a.m. the team will load
the buses and start its trip
west.
The Bulldog apparel store
will also be open from 4-6
p.m. on Friday at Kennison
Field for fans that want their
last-minute Bulldog items to
wear to the game.
Later in the evening,
Hermiston fans that will
not be able to make the trip
to Hillsboro can watch the
game at Maxwell Siding
Event Center, 145 N. First
Place. Tickets for the watch
party are $20 for the first 100
individuals, which includes
access to a taco bar, soups,
finger food, dessert and
non-alcoholic drinks.
The doors open at 5
p.m. and the game between
Hermiston and Churchill
starts at 6 p.m.
Hermiston
Linebacker Club
meeting moved
Due to the Thanksgiving
Holiday on Thursday, the
Hermiston Linebacker
Club’s weekly luncheon has
been pushed back to Friday.
From 12-1 p.m. at Desert
Lanes Bowling Alley,
1545 N. 1st St., Hermiston
head football coach David
Faaeteete and defensive
coordinator Scott Hammond
will be on hand to talk
about the Bulldogs state
championship game against
Churchill on Saturday
evening.
To reserve a spot, call
541-567-5215 by 3 p.m. on
Wednesday.
By DAVE SKRETTA
Associated Press
E. Washington
#10 Oregon
40
81
to establish itself as a Pac-12 title
contender before a big test at No. 7
Mississippi State on Dec. 13.
Eastern Washington, fourth in the
Big Sky Conference last season, is now
8-52 all-time against Pac-12 opponents
and 0-5 against Oregon.
UP NEXT
Eastern Washington: Hosts Utah
Valley on Saturday looking for its first
home victory of the season after losing
the opener to BYU.
Oregon: Plays Oklahoma in a
Saturday doubleheader as part of the
PK80 Invitational honoring UO bene-
factor Phil Knight after top-ranked
Connecticut and Michigan State meet
in the first game at Matthew Knight
Arena.
Nike founder Phil Knight is
throwing a birthday party and
every college basketball fan is
invited.
Well, they can at least watch
it on TV.
Knight is celebrating his 80th
birthday by staging a two-bracket
tournament — the PK80 —
beginning Thursday in Oregon.
It includes some of the sport’s
heaviest hitters, too, including
four schools ranked in the top
10 this week: No. 1 Duke, No.
2 Michigan State, No. 7 Florida
and ninth-ranked North Carolina.
No. 17 Gonzaga is also in
the field along with Oregon,
Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas,
schools that are all receiving
votes. There are 16 teams total,
eight lined up in each bracket.
“It’s a big, big, big-time deal
for our program and our fans,”
said Gonzaga coach Mark Few,
AP Photo/Gerry Broome
Duke’s Javin DeLaurier (12) blocks Furman’s Jalen Williams
(2) during the first half of Monday’s game in Durham, N.C.
Duke is one of four top-10 teams competing in the PK80
tournament beginning Thursday in Portland.
whose team opens with Ohio
State and could eventually play
the Blue Devils in their bracket.
One big question is whether
Miles Bridges will play or the
Spartans. The star forward is day
to day after spraining his ankle
against Stony Brook on Sunday.
TITLE GAME: Hermiston offense aims to attack with ground game
Continued from 1B
Can’t Make it to the game?
passing game but were able to move
the ball well on the ground. And
against Mountain View, the Cougars
averaged just shy of five yards per
carry as they piled up 267 yards on
51 carries.
That plays well into Hermiston’s
offensive plan of attack. The Bulldogs
have struck the right recipe with the
unit, establishing their run game both
traditional runs between the tackles
as well as utilizing the space on the
outside to pile on yardage. In each of
its three playoff games, Hermiston
has earned at least 300 rushing yards
as a team, including 307 yards on 42
carries against Wilsonville.
That excellence in the run game
• Like East Oregonian Sports
on Facebook for live video
from Saturday’s game.
• Follow EO reporters Alexis
Mansanarez (@almansanarez)
and Eric Singer (@ByEricSinger)
on Twitter for live updates and
game analysis from Hillsboro.
• Listen: AM 1360 KOHU
• Watch: NFHSNetwork.com
has opened up the pass game and
made life easier for quarterback
Andrew James, who has completed
60 percent of his passes for 603
yards, eight touchdowns and no
interceptions in the playoffs.
For the Hermiston defense, the
Bulldogs have helped their cause by
winning the turnover battle. With two
turnovers forced in the semifinals,
the Bulldogs defenders have forced
a whopping 11 turnovers, which has
helped the offense consistently stay
in a rhythm. Adding to that total
will be a key for the Bulldogs on
Saturday, as Churchill’s offense has
only turned the ball over four times
in its last three games.
“For us, it’s just doing what we
do, focusing on us,” Faaeteete said.
“Run the ball to set up the deep
passes and just executing on defense.
Tackling is going to be key. They are
so explosive, they are so athletic, we
need to tackle in open space to be
successful.”
James echoed that sentiment and
said the team message is to tune out
the hype surrounding this weekend’s
game.
“Forget all of the stuff going on
outside of practice,” James said, “it’s
a normal week for us and just focus
on the game.”
Saturday marks the fourth state
championship game appearance
for Churchill, but it is only the
school’s first since being Class AAA
runner-up in 1985 when it dropped
the title to Medford.
————
Contact Eric at esinger@eastore-
gonian.com or 541-966-0839.
Contact Alexis at amansanarez@
eastoregonian.com or 564-4542.
ALL-LEAGUE: Hermiston boys soccer lands five on first team
In this 2017
file photo,
Hermiston’s
Emilio Leal
chases
down the
ball trailed
by Hood
River’s Da-
mian Char-
co in the
Bulldogs’
1-1 draw
with the
Eagles in
Hermiston.
Leal was
one of five
Bulldogs
selected to
first team
all-Colum-
bia River
Conference.
Continued from 1B
Second Team
Patty Burres, so., Umatilla; Davina Monreal, fr.,
Umatilla; Daisy Mendoza, sr., Umatilla; Lizzy Burres,
so., Umatilla; Bianca Avalos, so., Riverside; Savanna
Kesler, sr., Nyssa; Natalie Romero, jr., Irrigon; Brendy
Avalos, jr., Riverside; Andrea Angeles, sr., Irrigon;
Cristal Trinidad, so., Nyssa; Neftalie Pacheco, so.,
Riverside; Maria Moreno, sr., Umatilla.
CRC BOYS SOCCER
The Hermiston Bulldogs may
have not won the Columbia River
Conference championship, but the
Bulldogs did finish on top in the
all-league selections as nine Bull-
dogs earned all-CRC honors.
Five Bulldogs including Miguel
Hoyos, Noe Silva, Emilio Leal, Mark
Mejia and Juan Carlos Muñiz-Nava-
rete earned first team honors, while
Joel Mendez, Miguel Ortega, Esgar
Avila and Coleman Solano earned
second team honors. The nine
selections beat out league-champion
Hood River Valley’s eight selections
for most in the conference.
Hood River Valley’s Robby
Running was voted as Player of
the Year and The Dalles’ Matthew
Dallman was Coach of the Year.
The Pendleton Buckaroos had
three players selected. Senior Drew
Lunny was a first team pick and
senior Sawyer Powell and sopho-
more Lance Wolf were second team
selections.
————
Columbia River Conference
Player of the Year — Robby Running, Hood River
Valley, sr.
Coach of the Year — Matthew Dallman, The Dalles.
First Team
Westley Carter, sr., Hood River Valley (HRV); Saul
Chavarria, sr., HRV; Robby Running, jr., HRV; Erik
Siekkinen, sr., HRV; Miguel Hoyos, sr., Hermiston;
Noe Silva, sr., Hermiston; Emilio Leal, jr., Hermiston;
Alberto Gallegos, soph., The Dalles; Jake Roetciso-
ender, jr., The Dalles; Drew Lunny, sr., Pendleton;
Mark Mejia, sr., Hermiston
Second Team
Reese Carroll, sr., HRV; Jack McCaffery, sr., HRV;
Staff photo by E.J.
Harris
Emy Perez, soph., HRV; Miguel Ortega, sr., Herm-
iston; Joel Mendez, sr., Hermiston; Esgar Avila, sr.,
Hermiston; Reed Twidwell, jr., The Dalles; Julian Quin-
tana, soph., The Dalles; Sawyer Powell, sr., Pendleton;
Lance Wolf, soph., Pendleton; Coleman Solano, soph.,
Hermiston; Pedro Lopez, sr., The Dalles
Goalkeeper
Juan Carlos Muñiz-Navarate, jr., Hermiston; Alejan-
dro Rodriguez, sr., HRV
CRC VOLLEYBALL
For the third consecutive year, the
Hood River Valley Eagles brought
home the Columbia River Confer-
ence championship by edging out
Pendleton.
Hood River Valley also beat the
field to grab the most spots on the
all-league teams with five players, in
the list released on Monday. Junior
hitter Katie Kennedy is one of three
first team picks for the Eagles, and
Kennedy also earned Player of the
Year honors, beating out 2016s top
player in senior teammate Shae
Duffy.
Four Pendleton Buckaroos
earned all-league honors, with senior
Maureen Davies and junior Kirah
McGlothan on first team and senior
Rylee Gentner and junior Aspen
Garton on second team.
Hermiston sophomore Halee
Stubbs earned first team selection
and junior Sophia Streeter was
named to second team.
————
Columbia River Conference
Player of the Year — Katie Kennedy, Hood River Valley
Coach of the Year — Scott Walker, Hood River Valley
First Team
Katie Kennedy, Hood River Valley, jr.; Emily Curtis,
Hood River Valley, jr.; Jodi Thomasian, The Dalles, sr.;
Maureen Davies, Pendleton, sr.; Shae Duffy, Hood
River Valley, sr.; Kirah McGlothan, Pendleton, jr.;
Halee Stubbs, Hermiston, so.; Bailey LeBreton, The
Dalles, jr..
Second Team
Hannah McNerney, Hood River Valley, sr.; Kennedy
James, Hood River Valley, sr.; Sophia Streeter, Hermis-
ton, jr.; Aspen Garton, Pendleton, jr.; Lindsi Logue, The
Dalles, jr.; Rylee Gentner, Pendleton, sr.
CBC VOLLEYBALL
After a mediocre season in 2016,
the Heppner Mustangs volleyball
team had a resurrection under first-
year head coach Mindy Wilson to
make the 2A state tournament.
So it was no surprise to see the
Mustangs tied with the district
champion Bulldogs with five total
all-district team selections, released
shortly after the season.
Heppner led the district with
three first team picks, including
seniors Morgan Correa and Sophie
Grant and freshman Sydney Wilson.
Rounding out Heppner’s selections
are junior Jacee Currin on second
team and junior Jenna McCullough
as an honorable mention.
Weston-McEwen
had
four
total selections with senior Alyssa
Finifrock and junior Bryce Thul
leading the way on first team. Pilot
Rock also had four selections with
senior Abby Rigby as the lone first
team selection.
Stanfield’s lone selection was
sophomore Kendra Hart as an
honorable mention.
————
Columbia Basin Conference
First Team
Margie Beeler, sr., Culver; Irma Retano, jr., Culver;
Alyssa Finifrock, sr., Weston-McEwen; Morgan Correa,
sr., Heppner; Sophie Grant, sr., Heppner; Bryce Thul,
jr., Weston-McEwen; Abby Rigby, sr., Pilot Rock;
Sydney Wilson, fr., Heppner.
Second Team
Catylynn Duff, sr., Culver; Maddie Miller, jr., Culver;
Hailey Weaver, jr., Weston-McEwen; Jacee Currin, jr.,
Heppner; Grace Austin, jr., Pilot Rock; Rhyanne Oates,
sr., Pilot Rock; Chelsea Quaempts, sr., Weston-McEwen.
Honorable Mention
Jenna McCullough, jr., Heppner; Allie Griffin, jr., Stan-
field; Claire Bender, fr., Culver; Siobhan Holman, sr.,
Pilot Rock; Kendra Hart, so., Stanfield.
MLS: Columbus, Toronto play to 0-0 draw in first leg of Eastern Conference final
Continued from 1B
result for sure after tonight’s
performance, especially in
the second half, but if we are
going to win the MLS Cup,
we have to be better,” Seattle
forward Cristian Roldan said.
Lodeiro missed a chance
to extend the lead to 2-0
in the 28th minute as his
penalty kick was saved by
Joe Willis, who dove to his
left and batted it outside the
near post.
Seattle was awarded the
penalty kick in the 27th
minute after Jones was pulled
down from behind in the box
by Jalil Anibaba, who was
given a straight red card.
Houston goalkeeper Joe
Willis refused to put blame
on the officiating for the loss.
“I think it’s hard to
put blame on the ref for
anything,” Willis said. “It was
tough, I think the goal killed
our momentum initially, and
from there, it was an uphill
battle.”
Houston, making its first
appearance in a conference
finals since losing in the
Eastern Conference finals in
2013 to Sporting KC, had
several chances early, high-
lighted by Tomas Martinez’s
shot from the upper box that
was easily saved by Tyler
Miller in the 12th minute.
However, the Dynamo had
few opportunities thereafter.
Trailing 2-0 headed into
the second leg, Houston
coach Wilmer Cabrera said
nothing is impossible, and
his team has nothing to lose.
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
COLUMBUS,
Ohio
(AP) — Neither Toronto FC
nor the Columbus Crew was
unhappy with the 0-0 draw
in the first leg of the MLS
Eastern Conference Final.
Nonetheless,
Toronto
would seem to have the
upper hand as the two-game
aggregate-goals series heads
back to its home field.
Toronto, which set an
MLS record for points in the
regular season with 69, will
have two key players back
for the second game. Sebas-
tian Giovinco (16 goals, six
assists) and Jozy Altidore
(15 goals, six assists) served
one-game
suspensions
Tuesday night.
Giovinco was out because
of accumulation of yellow
cards in the conference
quarterfinal against the New
York Red Bulls. Altidore was
given a red card in the second
leg.
“We’re
an
entirely
different team with them
on the field,” Toronto coach
Greg Vanney said. “Also, it
adds something different for
(the Crew) to deal with.”
With away goals used as
the tiebreaker for the series,
Toronto was hoping to put
one past Crew goalkeeper
Zack Steffen but did not have
a shot on goal.
AP Photo/Jay LaPrete
Columbus Crew’s Federico Higuain, center, dribbles the
ball between Toronto FC’s Jonathan Osorio, left, and
Steven Beitashour during Tuesday’s Eastern Confer-
ence championship soccer match in Columbus, Ohio.
“There were a couple of
acceptable results,” Crew
coach Gregg Berhalter
said. “Zero-zero is one of
them. It’s a result we can
live with. If we score in
Toronto, it changes the whole
complexion.”
Toronto FC midfielder
Michael Bradley likes his
team’s chances to repeat as
conference champions.
“We needed to leave
here with the opportunity to
finish things at BMO Field
next week. We did that,” he
said. “We came here and
controlled things and handled
things in a good way.”
Crew midfielder Artur
had a 25-yard blast in the
73rd minute that just missed
the right post. Toronto
goalkeeper Alexander Bono
made a save on Harrison
Afful in the 85th minute to
preserve the draw.
The Crew got stronger
offensively as the match went
on and had another oppor-
tunity go awry in the 91st
minute when Ola Kamara
couldn’t get on the end of a
cross from Justin Meram.
“We kept pushing. We
didn’t give up,” Berhalter
said. “We tried to create goal-
scoring chances. I wouldn’t
say we were frustrated.”
The winner of the series
hosts the MLS Cup on
Dec. 9 against the Western
Conference winner, either
the Houston Dynamo or
Seattle Sounders FC, who
won the 2016 MLS Cup with
a victory over Toronto on
penalty kicks.