A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2019
HeraldSports
THOMAS
LEADS
DAWGS
PAST
FALCONS
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Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston’s Adrian Mendez shoots the
ball guarded by Hanford’s Luke Sutey in
the Bulldogs’ 58-52 loss to the Falcons on
Friday in Hermiston.
Dawgs lose
lead, key game
to Hanford
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston’s Jordan Thomas draws contact from Hanford’s Sarah Ellis (52) while rebounding the ball in the Bulldogs’ 52-43 win
against the Falcons on Friday in Hermiston.
By ANNIE FOWLER
STAFF WRITER
Hermiston coach Juan Rodriguez
has pleaded with his team all season to
feed the ball inside to 6-foot-4 post Jor-
dan Thomas. Friday night, the Bulldogs
did just that.
Thomas fi nished with a game-high
21 points to lead Hermiston to a 52-43
Mid-Columbia Conference victory over
Hanford at the Dawg House.
“It’s happening,” Rodriguez said of
utilizing Thomas more. “Other players
made some good plays too.”
Hermiston (7-10, 5-8 MCC), which
already has secured a regional playoff
berth, beat the Falcons (2-16, 1-13) for
the second time this season.
The Bulldogs controlled the game
from the start, with Thomas scoring the
fi rst fi ve points. They led 14-0 before
Abby Robinson got the Falcons on the
board with 45 seconds remaining.
Mati Byrd added a basket for Herm-
iston, and Sarah Ellis scored for Han-
ford with two seconds left for a 16-4
game at the end of the fi rst.
“First, we wanted to come out and
suck the energy out of them, and not let
them steal some early baskets,” Rodri-
guez said. “Second, we did not want to
put them at the free-throw line. The fi rst
half was good.”
The two teams played a pretty even
game the rest of the way. Thomas had
10 points in the second half, while Jaz-
lyn Romero scored seven of her nine in
the fi rst half.
Byrd scored six points off the bench,
and Jayden Ray scored fi ve of her seven
points in the second half.
Hermiston committed only one foul
in the fi rst half, keeping the Falcons
off the free-throw line. Hanford shot
all four of its free throws in the fourth
quarter, making each one.
Iliana Moran led the Falcons with 13
points. She was the only player in dou-
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
Hermiston’s Sydney Stefani drives on
Hanford’s Teresa Sijgers in the Bulldogs’
52-43 win against the Falcons on Friday
in Hermiston.
ble fi gures.
“Our zone was a little more aggres-
sive,” Rodriguez said. “We preach
defl ection.”
Hermiston at Richland
Freshman Mia Hernandez is starting
to get more comfortable with the Herm-
iston offense since her move from Sun-
nyside just before Christmas.
Hernandez had 10 points on Sat-
urday, and Jordan Thomas added 12
points and hauled down six rebounds,
but the Bulldogs still came up short in a
68-58 Mid-Columbia Conference road
loss to Richland.
“Mia is starting to get comfortable,”
Hermiston coach Juan Rodriguez said.
“She has come a long way and has done
a good job of adjusting. This was a good
game for her.”
The Bulldogs (7-11 overall, 5-9
MCC) held their own against the Bomb-
ers (11-8, 8-7) in the fi rst. They trailed
16-9, but two baskets by Thomas and
one by Kaylee Young made it 16-15.
Gracie Pierce, who led Richland
with 12 points, hit a 3-pointer with 1:09
remaining, but Kendall Dowdy matched
that with a three-point play for a 19-18
game. Nicole Gall scored with 26 sec-
onds left in the quarter for a 21-18 lead.
Richland would add two more points
to its lead in the second to hold a slim
33-28 lead at the half.
Hermiston pulled within one point
twice, and tied the scored at 27-27 with
a pair of free throws by Sydney Stefani
with 1:37 to play in the fi rst half.
Two consecutive baskets by Halee
Pierce gave the Bombers a 31-27 lead
with 41 seconds remaining.
The Bombers opened the third quar-
ter on a 9-2 run to take a 42-30 lead just
2 minutes into the action.
“I thought we started the game really
well,” Rodriguez said. “When it got to
double digits, they stopped competing.
As a coach, that is disappointing.”
Jordan Clark scored eight of her 11
points in the fourth quarter as the Bomb-
ers were able to keep their lead intact.
Jazlyn Romero added eight points
and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs,
who hosted Kamiakin on Tuesday after
deadline. Jayden Ray added seven
points and seven rounds, and Paige
Palzinski fi ve points and fi ve rebounds.
Box Scores
Hermiston 52, Hanford 52
Hanford 4 7 11 12 — 43
Hermiston 16 10 11 15 — 52
HANFORD — Moran 13, Beattie 8, Robinson 2, Nel-
son 6, Davis 8, Harlow 2, Ellis 4.
HERMISTON — Young 2, Ray 7, Byrd 6, Stefani 5, Her-
nandez 2, Romero 9, Thomas 21.
Richland 68, Hermiston 58
Hermiston 18 10 13 17 — 58
Richland 21 12 18 17 — 68
HERMISTON — Young 5, Ray 7, Byrd 2, Stefani 6, Palz-
inski 5, Dowdy 3, Hernandez 10, Romero 8, Thomas
12.
RICHLAND — Jor.Clark 11, Garza 15, Smith 2, H.Pierce
4, Gall 11, Jay.Clark 11, Davis 2, G.Pierce 12.
Hermiston made sure it held Connor
Woodward in check Friday night, but
Hanford in turn used its entire arsenal of
weapons to sneak past the Bulldogs in
Mid-Columbia Conference action.
The Falcons used a 19-7 run in the
fourth quarter to overcome a six-point
defi cit to start the fourth quarter and post
a 58-52 victory over the Bulldogs (12-5,
8-5 MCC) at the Dawg House.
“We didn’t fi nish plays, knock down
free throws and get crucial stops,” Herm-
iston coach Casey Arstein said. “At times
we stopped Woodward, but guys would
get free in the paint. We held him better
than last time.”
Woodward had 31 points the fi rst time
around, but had just 16 Friday to lead the
Falcons (8-10, 6-8 MCC).
“That was a really good game,” Han-
ford coach Paul Mayer said. “It was a
great environment and a lot of energy.
Everybody is hounding him (Woodward).
I’m proud of the guys for stepping up and
getting things done. Conner Milliken and
Blake VanderTop came off the bench and
did good things for us.”
Hermiston led 45-39 heading into the
fourth quarter, but the Falcons scored
three quick baskets to tie the score.
Cole Smith hit a big 3-pointer for the
Bulldogs with 4:02 to play, and they led
50-47 with 3:15 remaining.
Luke Sutey hit a free-throw line
jumper to pull the Falcons within a point,
and a pair of free throws by Dan Izqui-
erdo gave Hanford the lead for good with
1:55 to play.
The Bulldogs were 0 for 4 from the
free throw line in the fourth quarter, and
they shot a dismal 3 for 13 for the game.
“It wasn’t the smartest game we
played,” Arstein said. “We kind of gave
it to them. We had plenty of chances and
the guys played hard. We didn’t shoot the
ball well, which is something you can’t
always control.”
Both teams looked good at the start of
the game, exchanging 3-pointers. A deep
ball by Cesar Ortiz gave the Bulldogs an
11-6 lead, and Hermiston stretched the
lead to 16-10 before Hanford hit some
free throws to make it 16-13.
The teams were tied at 20-20 and
22-22 in the second quarter, but baskets
by Ryne Andreason, Jordan Ramirez
and Adrian Mendez gave the Bulldogs a
28-25 lead at the half.
Hermiston twice led by seven points in
the third quarter, and led by six heading
into the fourth.
Ramirez led the Bulldogs with 15
points, while Ortiz had 12 and Andrea-
son eight.
“I thought our defense was good,”
See Boys, Page A11
Hanford 58, Hermiston 52
Hanford 13 12 14 19 — 58
Hermiston 16 12 17 7 — 52
HANFORD — Horner 9, DeVine 4, Woodward 16, Sutey 2,
Izquierdo 13, Milliken 9, VanderTop 10.
HERMISTON — Andreason 8, Ortiz 12, James 4, Smith 6,
Madrigal 3, Ramirez 15, Mendez 4.
Richland 96, Hermiston 57
Hermiston 14 21 11 12 — 57
Richland 27 25 21 23 — 96
HERMISTON — Andreason 15, Ortiz 7, Smith 11, Davis 2,
Madrigal 2, Ramirez 12, Mendez 8.
RICHLAND — Kriskovich 1, Guice 22, Kreutz 4, Sanderson 21,
Streufert 9, Thompson 2, Northrop 20, Robertson 4, Schuster 13.