B2
SPORTS
East Oregonian
GIRLS HOOPS
Kennewick bounces
Hermiston from
district tournament
Romero scores 23
for Bulldogs in
71-52 loss
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
The Kennewick Lions
are on a mission, and the
Hermiston Bulldogs were
collateral damage Satur-
day afternoon.
Aislin Fiander scored
a game-high 26 points as
Kennewick stayed alive
in the District 8 playoffs
with a 71-52 victory over
the Bulldogs (8-14) at the
Lions Den.
“They played well and
shot the ball really well,”
Hermiston coach Juan
Rodriguez said of Kenne-
wick. “I thought it would
be to our benefi t that we
hadn’t played in 12 days
and they played last night.
We just didn’t score in the
fi rst half. We were too
tentative.”
The Lions (18-5) will
play North Central at noon
Monday at Kamiakin
High School. The winner
will turn around and play
Kamiakin at 3 p.m. for the
second berth to regionals.
“We played really
well,” Kennewick coach
Daron Santo said. “My
biggest concern was we
hadn’t had a real practice
in over a week. We were
kind of winded against
Mt. Spokane (Friday) and
I was worried about that
today.”
The Lions had an 18-12
lead after the fi rst quar-
ter, and it didn’t take long
in the second for the Lions
to put their game into
overdrive.
Fiander had 10 of
her points in the sec-
ond, including a pair of
3-pointers as the Lions
pushed their lead to 38-18
at the half.
Alexis Stein came off
the bench to score six of
her 11 points in the second
quarter.
“Lexi played well,”
Santo said of his 6-foot-2
freshman. “We told her to
be aggressive, and I was
hoping she would,”
Stein’s play inside cost
the Bulldogs, who saw 6-4
post Jordan Thomas rack
up three fouls.
The Bulldogs had a bit
of a bite to their game in
the second half as Jazlyn
Romero scored 14 of her
23 points.
“Jaz is aggressive and
they have to honor her
shot,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez emptied his
bench the fi nal 2 min-
utes of the game, and got
a combined seven points
from Katelyn Heideman,
Courtnee West and Mia
Hernandez.
“We are young,” Rodri-
guez said. “I knew for us
to compete, Jaz and Jordan
would have to do most of
the scoring. The program
as a whole, we are in a
good place.”
Thomas, in her fi nal
game for the Bulldogs,
had seven points.
“I was here when she
was a freshman,” Rodri-
guez said. “We have
grown together. She is
a great kid and it will be
sad not to have her on the
team, and not just because
she is 6-4.”
Box Score
Hermiston 12 6 13 17 — 52
Kennewick 18 20 19 14 — 71
HERMISTON — Heideman 3, West 2,
Young 5, Ray 5, Byrd 1, Stefani 3, Palz-
inski 1, Hernandez 2, Romero 23,
Thomas 7.
KENNEWICK — Av.Fiander 3, Davis
10, Ai.Fiander 26, McBee 12, Gebers
9, Stein 11.
BMCC HOOPS
Top-ranked Cardinals
turn down Timberwolves
By BRETT KANE
East Oregonian
The Timberwolves held
strong in the fi rst half, but
after the No. 1 Cardinals
went on an 80-43 tear in
the second, there was no
recovering.
In the end, North Idaho
handed the Blue Mountain
men a 128-85 loss in Coeur
d’Alene to stay unbeaten in
Northwest Athletic Con-
ference action.
Dylan Grogan scored
three straight points early
on to tie things up at 5-5,
but the Cardinals went
on two eight point runs
to keep the game in their
control.
Mehki Foreman took
matters into his own hands
and hit a 3-point jumper
with 2:39 left in the half
to come within 10 points
of North Idaho, and Trent
Garza scored from the
inside to bring the Timber-
wolves within just eight.
Five straight points
from Foreman and Bryson
Pierce brought the score
to 46-42 in North Idaho’s
favor with just 0:07 left,
but a bucket from North
Idaho’s James Carlson
gave them a 48-42 half-
time advantage.
A 3-pointer from North
Idaho’s Phillip Malatare
helped the Cardinals out
to a 20-point lead mid-
way through the fi nal half.
Another Cardinals trey
from Emmit Taylor broad-
ened that advantage to 31
points with 5:12 left, and
an 11-point Cardinals run
ensued to seal the game in
their favor.
Foreman led the Tim-
berwolves with a game-
high 38 points. The Car-
dinals got 32 points each
from Taylor and Nate
Pryor.
The
bottom-ranked
Blue Mountain (2-10, 4-19
NWAC) will host Walla
Walla on Wednesday for
more conference action.
Women’s hoops
The No. 3 North Idaho
Cardinals held each Blue
Mountain player to 10
points or fewer to turn
them away 81-24 on Satur-
day night.
The
Timberwolves
got three at the line from
Hayden
Meyers
and
Ammarae
Broncheau
before the Cardinals went
on a seven-point run to
stay ahead in the fi rst quar-
ter. Brooke Wheeler would
put in a jump shot before
North Idaho claimed the
quarter 16-5.
Wheeler came back
in the second quarter to
knock down another bas-
ket, but it would be the
only two points the Tim-
berwolves could muster
until the half. Meanwhile,
the Cardinals poured in 25
points for a 41-7 halftime
advantage.
The
Timberwolves
fi nally fought their way
into double digits in the
fourth quarter with buck-
ets from Wheeler, Meyers,
and Olivia Luna, but were
still outscored 20-10.
Wheeler
led
Blue
Mountain (3-19, 1-11
NWAC) with seven points
and nine rebounds. Meyers
and Chloe Morrison each
chipped in fi ve.
The Timberwolves will
host the No. 4 Walla Walla
Warriors on Wednesday
with a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.
Men’s Box Score
North Idaho 48 80 — 128
Blue Mountain 42 43 — 85
NORTH IDAHO — Taylor 32, Pryor
32, Evans 19, Malatare 19, Greene 7,
McLaughlin 7, Carlson 6, Anderson 2,
Dewar 2
BLUE MOUNTAIN — Foreman 38, Gro-
gan 12, Pierce 11, Garza 7, Hillard 7,
Hardman 4, Wolters 4, Roa 2
Women’s Box Score
North Idaho 16 25 20 20 — 81
Blue Mountain 5 2 7 10 — 24
NORTH IDAHO — Schrade 16, Peter-
son 13, Simpson 11, Williams 11, Sell-
man 11, Carlton 10, Krupa 9
BLUE MOUNTAIN — Wheeler 7, Mor-
rison 5, Meyers 5, Luna 4, Lee 2,
Broncheau 1
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Irrigon to take school record 9 to state
Hall and Kendrick
win district titles
for Knights
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
Irrigon placed a school
record six wrestlers in the
fi nals and came away with
two champions Saturday
at the 3A Special District 4
Tournament at Burns High
School.
The Knights will take
a school record nine to the
state tournament Friday and
Saturday at Veterans Memo-
rial Coliseum in Portland.
Asher Hall won the 106-
pound title for the Knights,
registering a 9-2 decision
over Corbett Graham of
Burns in the championship
match.
The other end of the
spectrum, Kaleb Kendrick
beat Luke Bailey of Burns
3-2 to win the 285-pound
district title.
Senior Alex Miran-
da-Walls, who has been
solid all season for the
Knights, lost a 3-2 decision
in the 170-pound fi nal to
defending state champion
Adam Simpson of Nyssa. It
was just the second loss this
season for Miranda-Walls
(39-2).
The two could meet
again in the state title match,
as they are on opposite sides
of the bracket.
At 126 pounds, Irrigon’s
Kyler Olney was second to
Justin Winn of Burns. Winn
pinned Olney in a time of
2:19.
Josue Aguilera of Irri-
gon placed second at 195
pounds, dropping the title
match to Bryan Flores of
Photo courtesy of Kirsti Cason
Trevor Antonucci of Hepper/Ione (left) tangles with Jordan Piercy of Culver in their semifi nal
match Saturday at the 2A/1A Special District 4 Tournament in Halfway. Antonucci won 9-6.
Nyssa 6-4.
Two-time state cham-
pion Jose Sanchez (2017-18)
of Nyssa made quick work
of Irrigon’s Reece Sheller
in the 220-pound fi nals,
winning by fall in 58 sec-
onds. Sanchez is 40-3 on the
season.
Placing third and also
earning a trip to state for the
Knights are Gabriel Romero
(113), Jacob Ayala (126) and
Brady Harrington (182).
Riverside will take two to
state — Ethan Snyder, who
was second at 132 pounds,
and Abraham Silva (third,
120).
Irrigon fi nished third
in the team standings with
192 points. Defending state
champion Nyssa ran away
with the team title, piling up
296.5 points and winning
eight of 14 weight classes.
2A/1A District
Tournament
The Hepper/Ione wres-
tling team will send two
to state coming out of the
tough 2A/1A Special Dis-
trict 4 Tournament on Sat-
urday at Pine Eagle High
School in Halfway.
The top two competitors
in each weight class advance
to the state tournament Fri-
day and Saturday at Veter-
ans Memorial Coliseum in
Portland.
Trevor Antonucci placed
second for the Mustangs at
113 points, getting pinned
in 2:34 by Steven Beckman
of Joseph/Wallowa in the
championship match.
At 160 pounds, Carson
Brosnan fi nished second for
Heppner/Ione, losing a 15-9
decision to Seth Butler of
Pine Eagle in the champion-
ship bout.
The Mustangs also have
two state alternates —
Jace Coe (152) and Charles
Cason (170).
Mychael Pointer of Echo/
Stanfi eld earned a trip state
after fi nishing second at
152 pounds. He was pinned
in the title match by Isaiah
Toomey of Culver in a time
of 3:08.
Culver captured the team
title with 340 points, and
won six of 14 weight classes.
Heppner/Ione fi nished sixth
in the team standings with
107 points. Echo/Stanfi eld
was 11th with 47 points.
PREP ROUNDUP
Golden Eagles hold fi rm as OOL’s No. 1 seed
East Oregonian
The Nixyaawii boys were
the Old Oregon League
favorites from the start, but
Joseph set out to challenge
them in Saturday’s district
championships.
In the end, the Golden
Eagles made off with a 54-42
win to claim the league’s No.
1 spot, but not before fac-
ing their season’s strongest
opposition yet.
“This was defi nitely one
of the toughest games we’ve
had,” said coach Shane
Rivera. “(Joseph) limits the
number of possessions you
have. They’re good enough
to take care of the ball
without turning it over too
much.”
Nixyaawii is used to
asserting dominance right
from the start, but this time,
they were up by just one
point — 22-21 — at the half.
And when Joseph trailed
33-32 going into the fi nal
quarter, something had to
change.
“My kids are used to
quicker success,” Rivera
said. “When that doesn’t
happen, they tend to rush
things. Joseph wanted to
slow the game down, and
we’re used to an uptempo
game.”
The Golden Eagles pulled
together a 13-0 run to open
the fourth quarter, driven
by Mick Schimmel, who
poured in 10 points to lead
the charge.
Tyasin Burns also scored
seven of his nine points in
the fi nal eight minutes.
“We fi gured it out and
adjusted to their pace,”
Rivera said. “Joseph is a
well-coached team, but we
kept up the pressure and
found holes in their defense.
It was a good fourth quarter.”
Schimmel sank 20 points
to lead the Golden Eagles
(24-2, 12-0). They’ll have
to win their sub-state home
game this weekend before
going for the state title.
Boys hoops
GRANT UNION 55,
STANFIELD 37 — Stan-
fi eld took the No. 4 spot in
the Blue Mountain Confer-
ence after Saturday’s dis-
tricts loss to Grant Union.
The Tigers trailed just
24-17 at halftime before
Grant Union came to life to
put the game out of reach.
“I’m proud of the boys
for not giving up, even when
they knew there wasn’t
much on the line,” said
coach Devin Bailey. “If we
won, we wouldn’t have gone
to state, and if we lost, we
wouldn’t have, either. But
they stayed in the game the
entire way through.”
Senior Cody Griffi n and
junior Rene Sanchez posted
eight points to lead the
Tigers (12-14, 7-5 BMC) in
their season’s fi nal game.
“My goal this year was
to develop leaders,” Bailey
said. “My seniors absolutely
fi lled in that role. They gave
guidance to the younger
guys. I don’t think we
achieved what we wanted to,
but it was a lesson, and hope-
fully next year, we’ll come
out and play strong from the
start.”
Girls hoops
IONE 45, DUFUR 29
— A fourth quarter run
helped Ione take home a Big
Sky League districts win on
Saturday.
The game was tied 17-17
at halftime, but Jessica
Medina hit a 3-pointer to
spark a 17-6 fourth quarter
comeback.
“It was a hard-fought
game,” said coach Nathan
Heideman. “(Dufur) got
worn out and fl ustered, and
we took advantage of that.”
Medina posted 19 points
to lead the Cardinals (18-4,
12-1 BSL), and Marie Chre-
tien added 10.
Ione will compete in a
regional playoff game on
Wednesday at Joseph.
SOUTH
WASCO
COUNTY 44, ECHO 41 —
Echo may have lost their dis-
trict championship game in
Madras, but coach Heather
Madison couldn’t be more
proud of her team.
“They played an amaz-
ing game,” she said. “It was
really back-and-forth. After
the game, I told the girls,
‘Don’t hang your heads,
because we didn’t leave any-
thing on the court. There are
still games ahead. It is what
it is.’”
The Cougars led 22-21
at the half, and took another
one-point lead in the fourth
quarter before the Redsides
hit three at the line to stay
out front in the fi nal minute.
Faith McCarty drained 14
points to lead the No. 2 Cou-
gars (13-13, 10-4 BSL), and
Tylene Skillman added 11.
McCarty and Skillman
were also named to the Big
Sky League’s fi rst team
all-stars that night. Rachel
McCarty was an honorable
mention.
Echo will host the fi rst
round of their state play-
offs on Wednesday against
Southwest Christian.
HEPPNER 62, GRANT
UNION 57 — The Heppner
girls came out ahead to close
the Blue Mountain Confer-
ence district tournament
on Saturday, claiming the
league’s No. 1 spot.
“Our defense ticked
it in for us tonight,” said
coach Robert Wilson. “We
talked all week about play-
ing aggressive offense, and
we did that tonight, too. The
shots just kept falling.”
The Mustangs (18-8, 8-4)
took a whopping 31 points
from Syndey Wilson. Jacee
Currin followed with 17.
“Sydney’s been playing
basketball all her life,” Wil-
son said. “She knows how
to put herself in the right
positions to make the right
plays.”
SCOREBOARD
LOCAL SLATE
TUESDAY, FEB. 19
Boys Basketball
Mac-Hi at Baker, GOL district champion-
ship game, 5:30 p.m.
Pendleton at Ridgeview, 6:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Ridgeview at Pendleton, 6:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20
Girls Basketball
Southwest Christian at Echo, TBD
Men’s Basketball
Walla Walla at Blue Mountain, 7:30 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
Walla Walla at Blue Mountain, 5:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, FEB. 22
Men’s Basketball
Big Bend at Blue Mountain, 7:30 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
Big Bend at Blue Mountain, 5:30 p.m.
Boys Basketball
Umatilla at Sutherlin, 5:30 p.m.
Kennedy at Heppner, 6 p.m.
Boys Wrestling
Pendleton, Irrigon, Heppner/Ione, Echo/
Stanfi eld, Riverside at State Wrestling
(Portland), 9 a.m.
SATURDAY, FEB. 23
Boys Wrestling
Pendleton, Irrigon, Heppner/Ione, Echo/
Stanfi eld, Riverside at State Wrestling
(Portland), 9 a.m.
Girls Basketball
Santiam at Heppner, 2 p.m.
NHL
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Tampa Bay
60 45 11 4 94 237 160
Boston
59 34 17 8 76 175 150
Toronto
58 36 19 3 75 206 164
Montreal
59 31 21 7 69 176 174
Buff alo
58 28 23 7 63 168 181
Florida
57 25 24 8 58 177 197
Detroit
60 23 29 8 54 168 199
Ottawa
59 22 32 5 49 186 219
Metropolitan GP W L OT Pts GF GA
N.Y. Islanders 58 35 17 6 76 169 138
Washington 59 32 20 7 71 199 189
Columbus
58 33 22 3 69 186 177
Pittsburgh
59 31 21 7 69 206 184
Carolina
59 31 22 6 68 173 165
Philadelphia 59 28 24 7 63 176 196
N.Y. Rangers 58 25 25 8 58 170 194
New Jersey
59 23 28 8 54 173 204
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central
Winnipeg
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
59 36 19 4 76 202 171
Nashville
61 34 22 5 73 186 160
St. Louis
58 31 22 5 67 174 162
Dallas
58 29 24 5 63 145 149
Minnesota 59 27 26 6 60 164 176
Colorado
59 24 24 11 59 189 192
Chicago
60 25 26 9 59 200 223
Pacifi c
GP W L OT Pts GF GA
Calgary
59 36 16 7 79 217 176
San Jose
59 35 17 7 77 214 184
Vegas
61 32 25 4 68 180 172
Vancouver 60 26 27 7 59 170 188
Arizona
59 26 28 5 57 154 172
Anaheim
59 23 27 9 55 133 187
Edmonton 58 24 29 5 53 163 195
Los Angeles 58 23 29 6 52 141 179
NOTE: Two points for a win, one point for
overtime loss. Top three teams in each
division and two wild cards per confer-
ence advance to playoff s.
Sunday’s Games
Pittsburgh 6, N.Y. Rangers 5
St. Louis 4, Minnesota 0
New Jersey 4, Buff alo 1
Philadelphia 3, Detroit 1
Florida 6, Montreal 3
Anaheim 5, Washington 2
Monday’s Games
Calgary 5, Arizona 2
Tampa Bay 5, Columbus 1
Chicago 8, Ottawa 7
Colorado 3, Vegas 0
Boston at San Jose, 7 p.m.
Washington at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday’s Games
Buff alo at Florida, 4 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, 4 p.m.
Pittsburgh at New Jersey, 4 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Carolina, 4 p.m.
Columbus at Montreal, 4:30 p.m.
Toronto at St. Louis, 5 p.m.
Anaheim at Minnesota, 5 p.m.
Nashville at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
Arizona at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
Wednesday’s Games
Chicago at Detroit, 4:30 p.m.
Winnipeg at Colorado, 5:30 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Calgary, 6:30 p.m.
Boston at Vegas, 7 p.m.
Thursday’s Games
Washington at Toronto, 4 p.m.
Ottawa at New Jersey, 4 p.m.
Carolina at Florida, 4 p.m.
San Jose at Pittsburgh, 4 p.m.
Minnesota at N.Y. Rangers, 4 p.m.
Buff alo at Tampa Bay, 4:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Montreal, 4:30 p.m.
Los Angeles at Nashville, 5 p.m.
St. Louis at Dallas, 5:30 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Edmonton, 6 p.m.
Arizona at Vancouver, 7 p.m.