SPORTS
Wednesday, december 18, 2019
HermIsTOnHeraLd.cOm • A9
Slow start hurts Hermiston in loss to Kennewick
By ANNIE FOWLER
sTaFF WrITer
Hermiston was hot from
the 3-point line in the second
half, but it was a lackluster
first half that put the Bull-
dogs behind the 8-ball early.
Avery Fiander scored a
career-high 24 points — 16
in the first half — to lead the
Lions to a 59-48 Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference victory
Saturday night at the Dawg
House.
“We didn’t play the best
team defense, that’s what it
came down to,” said Herm-
iston coach Malloree Moss,
whose team fell to 0-2 in
MCC play. “They hit their
shots. They are a tough
team, and we knew that.
They hit the boards hard
and we didn’t do what we
needed to do.”
The Lions used their size
to dominate the boards, and
took advantage of uncon-
tested shots in the paint.
“Our defensive rebound-
ing was key tonight,” Ken-
newick coach Daron Santo
said. “Our defense is really
great. I’m happy that
we came out aggressive
tonight.”
The Bulldogs came out
and took a 5-2 lead, and led
8-6 before the Lions took
control of the game for good
on a deep 3-pointer from
the right wing by MeiLani
McBee.
From there, Kennewick
finished the quarter on a 7-2
run for a 16-10 lead.
Hermiston’s
Jazlyn
Romero scored seven of her
11 points in the first quarter.
Fiander scored 10 of her
points in the second quarter
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Mia Hernandez and an unidentified Kennewick
player battle for the ball during Saturday’s game.
Moss said. “We turned it on
a little too late. As a coach,
it’s good to see them playing
until the end.”
Pasco beats Hermiston
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
Hermiston’s Katelyn Heideman brings the ball down the court during Saturday’s game against
the Kennewick Lions.
as the Lions went on an 18-5
run to take a commanding
34-15 lead at the half.
Hermiston pulled within
36-21 early in the third
quarter courtesy of a pair
of 3-pointers by Makaylee
Young.
Kennewick enjoyed a
45-25 lead at the end of
three quarters, but the Bull-
dogs never backed down.
They went on a 23-14 run
in the fourth quarter to make
things interesting.
Young, who led the Bull-
dogs (2-3, 0-2 MCC) with
15 points — all off 3-point-
ers — scored nine points in
the fourth quarter.
Hermiston scored 11 of
the game’s final 13 points to
keep the score respectable.
“We have a lot of heart,”
In a battle of the Bull-
dogs, Pasco made a 20-7 run
in the second quarter to take
down Hermiston early and
hand them a 54-45 MCC
loss on Friday.
Hermiston took a 24-11
lead by the end of the first
quarter, bolstered by Katelyn
Heideman’s four 3-pointers,
but the game got away from
them after the opening eight
minutes.
“We came out hot,” Moss
said. “We played hard team
defense. But we let ‘em back
into the game in the second
half. We went cold.”
Romero scored two
points at the line in the third
quarter — the only points
Hermiston would record
until the final eight minutes.
Hermiston
outscored
Pasco 12-8 in the fourth
quarter, but could not over-
come its early deficit.
Heideman led the Herm-
iston Bulldogs with a team-
best 16 points on the night.
BOX SCORE
KENNEWICK 16 18 11 14 — 59
HERMISTON 10
5 10 23 — 48
KENNEWICK — Fiander 24, Flores 6,
Thornton 10, McBee 8, Gebers 11.
HERMISTON — Heideman 6, M.Young 15,
Ray 2, Dowdy 1, Hernandez 7, Romero 11,
Brown 2, B.Young 4
Hermiston boys finish in fourth place at La Grande tournament
By ANNIE FOWLER
sTaFF WrITer
Jon Lee and Dustyn
Coughlin finished second,
and Hermiston finished
fourth in the team standings
Saturday at the Muilenburg
Tournament at La Grande
High School.
The Bulldogs rolled up
229 points, just six points
behind third-place Weiser,
Idaho. La Grande won the
team title with 387 points,
while Burns was second
(263.5). Mac-Hi was ninth
(105), while Pendleton was
12th (102), and Heppner/
Ione 17th (35.5)
Lee registered two pins
and a major decision to
reach the 220-pound finals.
In the championship
match, Lee was pinned by
La Grande’s Spencer Gerst
in 1:38.
Gerst also pinned Herm-
iston’s Sam Cadenas, in 1:20
in the semifinals. Cadenas
won his next two matches to
finish third.
Coughlin had pins of 50
seconds and 1:23 to reach
the 285 semifinals, where
he beat Joel Rogers of La
Grande 1-0.
Cutter Sandstrom of
Scappoose pinned Coughlin
in the championship bout in
2:49.
Also placing for the Bull-
dogs were Trevor Wagner
(4th, 170), Daniel Faaeteete
(4th, 182), and Blake Betz
(4th, 195). Hunter Dyer won
the consolation champion-
ship at 132.
Girls wrestling
Hermiston finished sev-
enth in a field of 27 teams
Saturday at the Warden
Invitational. Marina Izagu-
Romero signs at OSU for track
By ANNIE FOWLER
sTaFF WrITer
Since she was a little girl,
basketball has been life for
Jazlyn Romero.
She plays summer ball for
the Oregon Elite out of Lake
Oswego, and has been a var-
sity player for four years at
Hermiston High School.
Three years ago, she dis-
covered track, and the sport
is quickly becoming a big
part of her life.
Last week, Romero
signed to throw the javelin
for Oregon State University.
“Coach (Dave) Dumble
is a really great coach, and
his philosophy is similar
to coach (Emilee) Strot,”
Romero said. “He has
expressed his interest in me
as an athlete. Definitely a
confidence booster when the
coaches believe in you.”
Strot, who threw shot put,
discus and javelin at Ken-
tucky and UC Berkeley, has
helped Romero navigate the
recruiting process to find the
right fit.
“Oregon State is a rela-
tively new program, and they
are trying to make a name
in the Pac-12,” Strot said.
“Dave Dumble is one of the
best. Jazlyn going right out
of high school and signing
early is a big deal. It’s a big
deal to go Division I. She
deserves the scholarship.
Hopefully, this is the start of
something big for Hermiston
High School and her.”
Romero likes that she can
be a driving force in helping
put OSU on the track map,
so to speak.
“Any Pac-12 school has
the stuff,” Romero said.
“They are developing a pro-
irre-Frasser led the way for
the Bulldogs, placing second
at 100 pounds.
Marysol
Flores
of
Ephrata pinned Izagu-
irre-Frasser in the first round
in the title match.
Schae Borrego (145) and
Shiyenne Swaggart (155)
placed fourth, while Amree
Braithwaite was fifth at 140,
and Halle Thomas sixth at
145.
The Bulldogs will partic-
ipate in the Hanford mixer
Tuesday, then will compete
at the Lynden Tournament
on Friday and Saturday.
EO Media Group/Ronald Bond
Hermiston’s Jonathan Lee wraps up Estacada’s Nico Winsor on
Saturday during their 220-pound semifinal match. Lee won
the semifinal match by an 11-0 major decision, but lost in the
title bout to La Grande’s Spencer Gerst.
Noland’s versatility earns
her a shot with SLCC softball
By ANNIE FOWLER
sTaFF WrITer
Courtesy of Oregon State Athletics
Hermiston’s Jazlyn Romero signed a letter of intent last week
to throw the javelin at Oregon State University.
gram, and I like knowing I
can be part of that.”
The Beavers are getting
an athlete whose potential
has yet to be tapped, accord-
ing to Strot.
“Jazlyn’s entire life has
been dedicated to basket-
ball,” Strot said. “Ten weeks
a year, the past three years,
has been dedicated to track.
She ended up being a com-
plete stud. She has so much
potential. She hasn’t even
tapped that yet. There is so
much more for her to learn.”
Strot has done more than
help Romero with her throw-
ing. She also has a girls only
weightlifting class at the
school. Romero and softball
player Bailee Noland started
the program as freshmen
four years ago.
“They were the only two
freshmen in the class,” Strot
said. “To see them signing
today is special.”
Both players said the pro-
gram has made a difference
in preparing them for the
future, both physically and
mentally.
With Romero, Oregon
State is a getting an athlete
with a solid foundation.
Romero threw a personal
best of 151 feet, 9 inches at
the Mid-Columbia Confer-
ence district meet in Herm-
iston, then threw 143 feet at
the District 8 meet in Rich-
land to earn the top seed to
state.
At state, she won gold
with a toss of 144-11 —
more than 15 feet further
than the next competitor.
Michelle Coombs holds
the Hermiston school record
with a mark of 155-11, set in
2008. Breaking that record is
on Romero’s list of things to
do come spring.
Romero also made visits
to Washington State Univer-
sity and University of Ari-
zona before selecting OSU.
Romero just started her
senior year of basketball for
the Bulldogs. It hasn’t quite
hit yet that this is the end of
that road.
“The thing with this, I
grew up playing basketball
my whole life,” she said.
“Track fell in my lap. If I had
a chance to go Pac-12, I’m
not going to turn that down.
I think I will look back and
I will miss basketball, but
right now, I’m still playing.”
Bailee Noland, one of
the top softball players in
the Columbia Basin, will
take her game to the next
level after signing last
week with Salt Lake Com-
munity College.
While a lot of local col-
leges would have loved to
have had her versatility
in their lineup, she chose
SLCC after making an offi-
cial visit.
“I was at practice one
day and coach (Kate)
Greenough asked what
I thought of SLCC,” the
Hermiston senior said. “I
didn’t know anything. The
coach (Cyndee Bennett)
got a hold of me, talked to
me about the school and
the program. After that, I
headed to Utah.”
Safe to say, it was a pro-
ductive visit.
“When I first met the
girls and the coaches, I felt
this was the place for me,”
Noland said.
Greenough said her for-
mer coach at Utah State
helps connect players with
certain programs.
“I was trying to use my
resources to find a home for
Bailee,” Greenough said.
“It is a top five national
junior college program that
has gone to junior nation-
als the past few years. It’s
a step in the right direc-
tion, not a destination. She
will be pushed to be better
every day.”
The SLCC coaches put
Noland through a work-
Staff photo by Annie Fowler
Bailee Noland has signed a letter of intent to play softball at
Salt Lake Community College.
out when she visited. She
pitched, caught, and took
swings with the Bruins
baseball team.
“I caught a girl from
Australia (Tarni Stepto)
who threw 75 mph,”
Noland said. “She’s going
to play in the (2020) Olym-
pics. Most of the pitch-
ers there have a scary
change-up and rise ball.”
Then, Noland took her
turn in the batting cage.
“She wanted to see me
hit in a very uncomfort-
able situation,” Noland
said. “I wasn’t nervous —
I was going for it. They
(baseball players) were hit-
ting bombs, but I felt I did
pretty good.”
In Noland, the Bru-
ins are getting a complete
package.
Her junior year, she was
named to the Mid-Colum-
bia Conference’s first team
as a utility player.
On the mound, she was
10-5 with a 4.06 ERA. She
had a 2-to-1 strike to walk
ratio, and struck out 56 bat-
ters over 88 innings.
At the plate, she led the
Bulldogs with 46 hits and
a .575 average. She hit
31 singles, five doubles,
one triple, and nine home
runs. She also scored 30
runs and had 35 RBIs. She
struck out just nine times
in 80 at-bats.
Defensively, she com-
mitted just two errors in 27
games.
“Her coaches know
what she can do,” Gree-
nough said. “She will find
a way to get on the field,
and isn’t afraid of hard
work.”
SLCC plays in the Sce-
nic West Athletic Confer-
ence, and is a regular par-
ticipant in the NJCAA
tourney. They also play a
strong preseason sched-
ule, which includes games
against Idaho State Uni-
versity, Weber State, Utah
State and BYU.