Wednesday, June 9, 2021
A9
SPORTS
PREP SPORTS ROUNDUP
Eagle boys outlast
Cove at home
Chieftain staff
JOSEPH — Chase
Murray scored a game-
high 28 points and Joseph
needed every one of them
as the Eagle boys shook
off their first loss and out-
lasted Cove at home Tues-
day, June 1, 71-63.
Mason Ferré added 17
points and Javon Brown
scored 13 as Joseph
opened up a 43-25 half-
time lead, then held on
at Cove inched closer. A
20-11 third quarter helped
the Leopards cut their
deficit in half, but Joseph
had enough, as Murray
scored 11 of his points in
the fourth to help preserve
the win.
Tee Ledbetter had
26 points to lead Cove,
including 19 in the second
half, and Pat Frisch added
16 points.
Joseph girls edge
Wallowa again
The Wallowa girls
gave Joseph all they could
handle for the second
time this season, but were
doomed by a big fourth
quarter from the Eagles as
Joseph held on for a 33-29
victory Wednesday, June
2, in Wallowa.
Sabrina Albee was the
lynchpin again for the
Eagles. The senior scored
25 points, including all
14 of Joseph’s first-half
points, the team’s first
16 points and 19 of the
team’s first 20 points.
But the Eagles entered
the fourth trailing 24-20
before Cooper Nave and
Aimee Meyers hit import-
ant 3-pointers to help the
Eagles rally. Albee added
two big buckets late to
help secure the win.
The teams were neck-
and-neck all night in the
low-scoring battle, tied at
2-2 after one and 14-14 at
the break.
Zoe Hermens and
Libby Fisher, both of
whom had eight points
to lead Wallowa, had
four points apiece in the
third as the Cougars built
a four-point lead after
three quarters. Sophie
Moeller added six points,
and had a big 3-pointer in
the fourth quarter for the
Cougars.
Meyers had five points
for Joseph.
The Eagles (4-2 over-
all) visited Echo Tues-
day, June 8, and Ontario
Wednesday, June 9, while
Wallowa hosts Union Fri-
day, June 11, and is at
Enterprise Saturday, June
12.
Cougar girls take
down Imbler
Ella Moeller scored
14 points, Zoe Hermens
added 13, and the Wal-
lowa Cougars used huge
first and third quarters to
pull away from Imbler for
a 37-23 victory Friday,
June 4, at home.
The Cougars outscored
Imbler 15-3 in the open-
ing quarter, getting six
points from Kyla Hook,
five from Moeller and
four from Hermens to set
the tone for the game. The
Panthers rallied to get
within 19-15 at the break,
but another offensive
burst in the third, led by
Moeller, who had seven
points in the period —
pushed the lead to 34-20.
Hook scored eight
points in the win.
Big third quarter
dooms Wallowa boys
The Wallowa boys bas-
ketball team was done in
by a huge third quarter
Friday, June 4, as Imbler
rallied after halftime to
earn a 50-39 victory in
Wallowa.
Tristin Bales and Zeb
Hermens combined for all
22 of Wallowa’s points in
the first half — Bales with
12 and Hermens with 10
— as the Cougars took a
22-19 lead at the break.
Imbler, though, turned
the tables with a 19-3
third-quarter run, with
eight of those points com-
ing from Bryce Hampton,
to take a 38-25 lead after
three. Hermens scored
seven points in the fourth
to try and rally Wallowa,
but the comeback fell
short.
Hermens finished with
17 points to lead the Cou-
gars, while Bales added
14 points.
Wallowa (1-4 overall)
hosts Union Friday and
visits Enterprise Saturday.
Enterprise girls
topple Echo
The Enterprise Out-
laws carried over momen-
tum from Tuesday’s win
at Wallowa.
Having several key
rotation players back
helped, too.
Claire Farwell scored a
game-high 12 points, and
the Outlaws had a big sec-
ond quarter on their way
to a 38-24 win at Echo
Saturday, June 5.
The teams were tied at
5-5 after one, but Enter-
prise outscored the Cou-
gars 14-2 in the second
to break things open and
take a 19-7 lead at half-
time. Rylin Kirkland had
four points in the quarter
to lead the balanced effort.
Farwell had six points
in the third to help put the
game out of reach.
Asiya Salim added
eight points for Enter-
prise, and Kirkland netted
seven points.
Enterprise (3-2 overall)
hosted Union Tuesday,
is at Imbler Wednesday,
hosts Wallowa Satur-
day and Powder Valley
Monday.
Enterprise boys
fall to Echo
Dylan Jennings had 12
points to lead a balanced
offensive attack, but the
Enterprise boys basketball
team fell short in its bid
for its first win, dropping
a road contest to Echo
Saturday, June 5, 67-50.
Both Jackson Decker
and Gideon Gray added
10 points for the Outlaws
(0-5 overall), who play six
games this week. Enter-
prise hosted Union Tues-
day, visits Imbler Wednes-
day, is at Joseph Thursday,
battles Pine Eagle and
later Wallowa at home
Saturday, and hosts Pow-
der Valley Monday.
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain
Enterprise’s Emily Love shoots during the second half of the Outlaws’ 40-38 overtime win over Wallowa on Tuesday, June 1,
2021.
Gray scores late, lifts Enterprise
girls past Wallowa in overtime
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA — Being
down four of its top seven
rotation players who were
on a senior retreat resulted
in a major challenge for the
Enterprise girls basketball
team.
But a dominant third
quarter that helped the Out-
laws take control of the
game, and timely baskets
when the game got tight
gave Enterprise what it
needed to escape Wallowa
with a 40-38 overtime win
Tuesday, June 1.
Jada Gray, who had 14
points, hit the game-win-
ner with 1:10 remaining in
the extra period when she
rebounded a Rylin Kirkland
miss, scored and was fouled
for that 40-38 lead. She
missed the free throw, but
the basket gave Enterprise
the margin it needed.
Wallowa came up empty
on two ensuing possessions,
and the Outlaws were able to
run out the clock and escape
with the win.
The Cougars led the
entirety of the first half until
Kirkland, who led Enter-
prise with 16 points, hit a
corner 3-pointer with 5 sec-
onds to go for a 17-16 lead at
the break.
Gray and Kirkland found
their touch in the third, and
Enterprise got its fastbreak
going and appeared ready to
run away with the win. Gray
scored twice in the first min-
ute of the third to help open
up a 21-16 lead. The lead
twice reached seven — the
See Girls, Page A15
Hermens, Bales power Wallowa boys past Enterprise
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
WALLOWA — Both
Enterprise and Wallowa
entered action Tuesday, June
1, in need of a victory.
In the end, it was the
hometown Cougars — pow-
ered by their seniors — who
came away with their first
win.
Zeb Hermens scored a
game-high 26 points, Tristin
Bales added 18, and the Cou-
gars led almost wire-to-wire
in a 54-42 win over Enter-
prise at Wallowa.
“It was nice. it was a good
win for us,” head coach Cody
Lathrop said. “I think more
than anything, it was set up
by two seniors. Zeb Hermens
and Tristin Bales, they kind of
propelled the effort. They shot
well, we rebounded even bet-
ter, so really happy for them.”
Both teams took a similar
approach to the game with
a high-octane and, at times,
Ronald Bond/Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa’s Jace Fisher shoots during a game against Enterprise
Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Fisher and the Cougars defeated the
Outlaws, 54-42.
frenetic pace.
It served the Cougars bet-
ter Tuesday, as both Her-
mens and Bales were able to
get to the rim repeatedly and
score on an array of layups
or short jumpers.
Hermens scored 10 of
Wallowa’s first 14 points,
including the basket that gave
the Cougars the lead for good
with his rebound and putback
for a 7-5 lead with 2:45 to play
in the first. Bales’ 3-point play
and Hermens’ layup quickly
gave Wallowa a seven-point
lead, and the margin was 16-9
after one when Bales scored
on a putback.
Hermens’ 3-pointer to
open the scoring in the sec-
ond pushed the margin to 10,
but the Outlaws hung around.
Gideon Gray’s putback and
Jericho Peters’ layup cut the
deficit to six, and Enterprise
got as close as 22-17 on a
pair of Jackson Decker free
throws with 3:54 left in the
half.
But Wallowa scored the
final six points — four from
Bales, and two on a late steal
and basket from Jace Fisher
— for a 30-18 lead at the
break.
The teams traded scor-
ing in the third until Hermens
scored near the midway point
for the team’s largest lead at
See Boys, Page A15
Evans wins, Enterprise takes fourth at Jo-Hi Invite
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
JOSEPH — Trace Evans
was dominant on the mat at
the Jo-Hi Invite Thursday,
June 3, pinning three of his
four opponents on the way
to easily winning the 160-
pound class and helping
Enterprise to a fourth-place
finish as a team.
Evans, the defending
state runner-up, pinned
each of his first three oppo-
nents in the round rob-
in-style tournament — two
of which he stuck in the first
round. He opened with a
65-second win-by-fall over
Crane’s Austin Ward, then
pinned Elgin’s Joe Lathrop
in 3:28, and needed just 21
seconds to finish off Elgin’s
Gen Wintersteen.
The final match was more
of a challenge, but Evans
fended off Culver’s Anthony
Hood by a 4-0 decision to
finish the day undefeated.
He scored half of the Out-
laws’ 32 points on the day.
Powerhouse Culver won
the meet with 213 points and
six champions.
The other two Outlaw
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wrestlers both placed third:
Tegan Evans earned two
victories, including a pin of
Trever Smith of Culver in
1:39, to place third at 145
pounds. Cody Fent, wres-
tling at 182, added a win by
fall over Abel Huizer of Cul-
ver in 31 seconds.
It was a tougher afternoon
See Jo-Hi, Page A15