E AST O REGONIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2022
FOLLOW US ON
TWITTER @EOSPORTS |
FACEBOOK.COM/EOSPORTS
A8
YVC looks to rebuild with help from Echo’s McCarty
was considering Walla Walla for a
long time. When I went there for a
workout, my shot was off and noth-
ing was going right. I had some
good conversations with (coach)
Bobbi (Hazeltine). I didn’t know
if I would fi t in. They have a very
strong program and you have to be
disciplined. After my workout at
Walla Walla, it opened my eyes. It
was a lot diff erent than high school.”
By ANNIE FOWLER
East Oregonian
E
CHO — You’ll have to
forgive Yakima Valley
College women’s basketball
coach Robin Andrea if he
gets a little excited when he
talks about Faith McCarty.
The Echo High School sharp
shooter and all-round talent will
be a key player as the Yaks look to
rebuild their program.
“The thing that really jumped off
to me about Faith is her toughness,”
Andrea said. “It jumps off the court.
It’s more than the contact that she
takes or delivers, it’s her physical
strength and toughness and resil-
iency when things don’t go your
way. That toughness really rings
true. I couldn’t get her on the phone
fast enough.”
McCarty was drawn to Yakima
Valley because Andrea is starting
from the ground up.
“They are building a whole new
program, instead of me going into a
program,” she said. “When I talked
to him, he was determined to get me
there. His off ense is a ball-screen
off ense, which is something I really
like.”
McCarty, who plans on major-
ing in business management and
agriculture business, also is look-
ing forward to a fast-paced game at
the college level. In Oregon, there is
no shot clock in high school, which
tends to slow down the game.
“Oregon needs a shot clock,”
McCarty said. “The game goes so
much faster and is so much more
intense. When I watch my cousins
Katelyn and Ellie (Heideman) play
at Hermiston, it’s so much faster.”
YVC plays in the Northwest
Athletic Conference East with local
schools Blue Mountain Community
College, Columbia Basin College and
Walla Walla Community College.
A solid foundation
EO Media Group, File
Faith McCarty of Echo pushes her way in during the Oregon School Activities Association 1A State Championship
quarterfi nals at Baker High School on March 3, 2022. McCarty is heading to Yakima Valley College in the fall to
continue her education and play basketball.
Andrea took over the Yakima
Valley women’s program coming
out of the pandemic. He inherited
a team of players, many who have
moved on. He retained a couple of
players off the team, but is bringing
in a whole new squad.
“We are not leaving any stone
unturned,” Andrea said. “We have
a 6-1 international post player from
France coming in. She played a year
at a junior college in Texas. We also
have players coming from Florida
and Arizona. We are bringing in top
people.”
McCarty is looking forward
to being part of the foundation of
YVC’s program.
“I think it is going to be so much
fun,” she said. “We are all going
to be a team of freshmen except
for a couple of girls. I’m excited. I
think there will be a lot of positives
coming out of the program. We are
starting fresh.”
In her senior season at Echo, the
5-6 McCarty averaged 17.5 points a
game, along with seven assists and
fi ve steals, and was named to the
Big Sky League fi rst team.
At the 1A state tournament,
McCarty averaged 15.7 points, 2.7
assists and 2.3 steals a game, and
was named to the all-tournament
second team.
Echo (19-6) won the district title
and fi nished sixth at state, winning
its fi rst state trophy since placing
second in 1995.
“She will be a 2 in our system,
and a secondary ball handler,”
Andrea said. “There are aspects of
her game she will have to work at.”
Having to play every position on
the fl oor is not one of them.
“She is so tough, mentally and
physically, and she is willing to
work hard to get better,” Andrea
said. “We can put her in a position
to do what she can do while we
work on other things. If she has to
play inside, I have done a poor job
of recruiting.”
McCarty also talked with
Umpqua Valley Community
College near Roseburg, and Walla
Walla Community College.
“I really liked the style of play
at Umpqua Valley, but it was a
little too far,” McCarty said. “I
McCarty has been playing
basketball since the second grade.
She played Amateur Athletic Union
ball with her cousin Katelyn Heide-
man until the eighth grade, with her
uncle Aaron Heideman coaching
their teams.
“He taught me literally every-
thing I know,” McCarty said of her
uncle. “I played middle school and
AAU basketball. The coaches appre-
ciate you coming into high school
knowing your fundamentals.”
Andrea likes that McCarty’s
game is solid.
“That’s why her toughness
popped out at me,” he said. “She can
step up and take the open shot. The
other side is when you get to know
her. There is a strength of character.
She is confi dent and mature. There
is a diff erent kind of person who
holds themself accountable, and
is able to get that respect from her
teammates.”
McCarty is one player who is
not afraid of hard work. She works
on the family farm, and helps her
grandpa.
“I work for my dad cutting hay,
wheat and diff erent grasses,” she
said. “We are pretty busy. I have
been doing this since I was like
13. With extra rain we’ve had, you
have to rake the grass two or three
times before you bale. That’s where
my work ethic comes from, being
raised on a farm.”
Happy
Independence Day
Local Investment. Jobs. Clean Energy.