Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, January 19, 2022 -- SEVEN
Mustang Basketball continues winning ways
The boys basketball team nabbed 2 wins while the girls team gained their first league win
By: Blake Carter
The Mustang basket-
ball teams are heating up
at the right time. This past
week, the Stangs faced
three tough league op-
ponents: The Pilot Rock
Rockets, the Stanfield Ti-
gers and the Weston McE-
wen TigerScots. The boys’
varsity squad is coming
off an impressive week-
end, grabbing two league
victories. The girls’ team
looked to build up after a
slow start to league play.
Heppner got onto the
bus and traveled to Pilot
Rock Friday afternoon. Pi-
lot Rock got off to a slow
start in both boys’ and girls’
league action. The girls’
varsity contest featured
two squads still searching
for their first league victo-
ry. The boys’ game howev-
er provided an opportunity
for the Rockets to make a
statement win, as Heppner
is currently undefeated in
league, and ranked sev-
enth in the state.
The girls’ varsity
game was a tense one,
both teams playing with a
sense of urgency. Heppner
grabbed a 48-37 victory
over Pilot Rock. The game
got off to a close start, as
both teams traded baskets
for the majority of the first
quarter. The Rockets took
a one-point advantage into
the second quarter. Hep-
pner used a 15-8 second
quarter to grab a six-point
lead at 25-19 going into
the break. Heppner would
add another three points to
their lead in the third and
continued to expand the
lead in the fourth quarter.
ZaBrena Masterson scored
15 points to lead the Lady
Mustangs as Hadlie Na-
tion contributed another 10
points.
Girls stats vs PR: Han-
nah Finch, seven points,
three rebounds, one steal;
Zandra Masterson, five
points, five rebounds, two
steals; Hadlie Nation, 10
points, three rebounds,
one steal; Brook Wilson,
two points; ZaBrena Mas-
terson, 15 points, five re-
bounds, one steal; Hallee
Hisler, one rebound, two
steals; Hailey Wenberg,
nine points, nine rebounds,
one steal; Kadie Henrichs,
one rebound.
The boys team looked
to go 3-0 in league play,
while Pilot Rock looked
to shock the conference.
Heppner scored in bunch-
es as they grabbed the 77-
62 victory. Heppner had
a tough time stopping the
Rocket attack; they would
find easy gaps into the
lanes for quick buckets.
Pilot Rock found them-
selves tied with Heppner
at 17-17. Heppner scored
three more points before
the first quarter ended, and
continued into a 10-0 run
to start the second that ex-
tended the lead out to 13.
Pilot Rock wouldn't give
up any more ground for
the remainder of the half
as they trailed 42-29. Hep-
pner couldn’t extend the
lead much in the second
half, but they continued to
keep the Rockets behind as
they grabbed the win. Hep-
pner was very balanced of-
fensively, seeing six play-
ers score in double digits.
Caden George scored 15,
while Kason Cimmiyoti
chipped in 13.
Boys’ stats vs PR;
Tucker Ashbeck, five
points, three rebounds, two
steals; David Cribbs, 10
points, two rebounds, one
steal, two blocks; Trevor
Nichols, one rebound, one
block; Caden George, 15
points, one rebound, three
steals, two blocks; Landon
Mitchell, 11 points, two
rebounds, one steal, four
blocks; Cameron Proud-
foot, two points; Kason
Cimmiyotti, 13 points,
two rebounds, two steals,
one block; Brock Hisler,
10 points, one assist, four
rebounds, three steals; Joe
Sherman, 11 points, eight
rebounds, four steals, one
block.
Heppner
returned
home as they hosted two
talented Stanfield teams.
The Lady Tigers sit at
number six in the OSAA
automated rankings, with
two non-league losses,
and a spotless league re-
cord. While on the other
side, the Stanfield boys
team looked to continue
their early league success.
After a rough non-league
schedule, Stanfield quick-
ly turned things around as
they went 5-0 to start the
league schedule. The boys
sit atop the BMC stand-
ings. The team right on
their tail is the Heppner
Mustangs.
The Mustangs took
the fight to the Lady Ti-
gers, however the Tigers
were too much, ending in
a 53-21 loss for the Mus-
tangs. Heppner stayed in
the game for most of the
first half, however Stan-
field began to find the bot-
tom of the net and quickly
extended the lead into dou-
ble digits. The second half
brought most of the same
as Stanfield’s size proved
to be too much for the Lady
Mustangs to withstand.
The Mustang boys
continued to finish out the
weekend strong, as they
hoped to jump the Tigers
into first place in the BMC.
Heppner did just that as
they routed the Tigers, 73-
51. Heppner jumped out of
the gates fast, as they lim-
ited Stanfield offensively
and created easy buckets
on the other end. Heppner
gained an 11-point lead at
the end of the first quarter
and added onto it with an-
other 6 in the second quar-
ter to make it 41-24 at half-
time. Heppner was able
to stomp down on the gas
as they used an 18-8 third
quarter to all but seal the
Tiger's fate as they closed
out a 22 point victory.
Brock Hisler’s 15 points
led the Mustangs.
Boys’ stats vs Stan-
field: Tucker Ashbeck, 10
points, one rebound, two
steals; David Cribbs, six
points, two assists, four
rebounds, one steal, one
block; Trevor Nichols, four
points; Caden George, four
points, one assist, three re-
bounds, one steal; Landon
Mitchell, 12 points, two
rebounds, two steals;
Cameron Proudfoot, two
points; Kason Cimmiyo-
tti, nine points, seven re-
bounds, three steals, one
block; Blake Carter, two
points; Brock Hisler, 15
points, two assists, three
rebounds, two blocks; Joe
Sherman, nine points, one
assist, five rebounds, one
steal, one block.
Tuesday night the
Mustangs took on the
Weston-McEwen Tiger-
Scots. They will continue
their league schedule this
weekend with one game.
The Mustangs host Enter-
prise on Friday January 21,
with games beginning at
3 p.m. After Friday Hep-
pner will enter the second
half of league play. With
only seven teams in the
league, each team matches
up two times a year. Friday
will mark the sixth league
game and propel the Mus-
tangs closer to the end of
the season.
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