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A6 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAy, JANuARy 15, 2020 HeraldSports Dawgs outlast Kamiakin Hermiston picks up first win over Braves since joining the MCC By ANNIE FOWLER SPORTS EDITOR Staff photo by Kathy Aney Hermiston’s Jazlyn Romero (22) brings the ball downcourt during Saturday’s game against Kamiakin at the Dawg House. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Hermiston’s Bailey Young (25) and Kamiakin’s Pinna Lujan (33) go after a loose ball during Saturday’s game at the Dawg House. team. She lit a fire under our butts.” That fire burned the hot- test in the final 8 minutes, where the Bulldogs went on a 21-4 run. The Dawgs opened the quarter with a 13-point streak, capped off by two at the free-throw line from Romero, hoisting them to their first of two 24-point advantages at 70-46 with 2:30 left to play. “We started hitting more shots,” Moss said of the fourth quarter. “Defensively, we got some stops. We really came together as a team. We outlasted (Kamiakin).” The Braves got one bas- ket each from Thomas and Lindsey Benham in the final three minutes. Hermiston (7-5, 4-4 MCC) got 13 points each from Heideman and Young. WALLA WALLA (Washington) 55, HERM- ISTON 42 — The Bull- dogs saw their four-game win streak come to an end, as they fell to the host Blue Devils in Mid-Columbia Conference action Friday night. “We had a really slow start,” Hermiston coach Maloree Moss said. “We needed a couple of our shots to fall in the first half, and that might have helped us gain some momentum.” Jazlyn Romero notched two treys in the first quarter, and the Dawgs trailed 17-12 at the first buzzer. They were outscored 17-3 in the sec- ond, where their lone bas- ket came from Jayden Ray beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Rian Clear scored 11 of Walla Wal- la’s 17 points in the second quarter. “I’m super proud of the way we responded after halftime,” Moss said, “but we ran out of steam, and the ball didn’t fall our way like we needed it to in the fourth.” The Dawgs took the third quarter 13-6, and the fourth 16-15, but could not com- plete the rally. Romero led Hermis- ton (6-5, 3-4 MCC) with 18 points, and Ray added 11. Clear had 22 points on the night for the Blue Devils (8-3, 4-3 MCC). Bulldogs can’t keep up with Blue Devils HERMISTON HERALD Hermiston held an early 8-2 lead over the Blue Devils, but after a time- out, Wa-Hi went to work and showed no mercy in an 86-49 Mid-Columbia Con- ference home win Friday night. “The first quarter was pretty competitive,” Herm- iston coach Drew Preun- inger said. “We came out and hit a couple of 3s.” Sophomore Chase Elliott had 10 of his career-high 19 points in the first quarter for the Bulldogs. The Blue Devils led 48-28 at the half, and 69-40 at the end of three quarters. “There was a running clock there for a minute or so,” Preuninger said. “We were down by 40. We knew this would be a tough year. They have better players Big second half propels Richland over Hermiston Ruloph leads Dawgs with 20 points By BRETT KANE STAFF WRITER In the Mid-Columbia Conference, any slack in your team’s momentum can cost you the game. While the Hermiston girls experienced that in brief lapses, it was what derailed the visiting Kami- akin Braves on Saturday night. The Dawgs fought to hold onto a 10-point advan- tage throughout the contest, and an early fourth-quar- ter rally put the game out of reach for good as Hermiston cruised a 76-50 win. It was the Bulldog’s first win over Kamiakin (2-10, 1-7 MCC) since they joined the MCC. “We wanted to come out strong, and we did that,” said Hermiston senior Jaz- lyn Romero, who poured in 16 points to lead the Bull- dogs. “But then we lagged a little bit. You can’t afford those mental lapses in the MCC. You never know — anyone can win any game on any given night.” Romero, sophomore Sydney Seavert, and junior Kaylee Young opened play with three consecutive treys for Hermiston that helped it to a 9-2 lead. Braves freshman Kath- ryn Hollenberg notched two unanswered baskets that pulled them within five points in response, and sophomore Kylie Malloy hit a basket to cut the deficit to just three with 4:36 left in the quarter. Seavert sank another 3-pointer in the final minute to help keep the Dawgs up 22-16 at the buzzer. Braves freshman Nikole Thomas, who finished the game with 15 points, got her team within three points again with just 3:53 left in the half, but Romero strung together two baskets from beyond the arc for a 31-22 advantage. Sophomore Mia Her- nandez hit a 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds to give Hermiston a 37-27 lead at the half. In the game’s closest quarter, the Bulldogs were outscored 19-18 in the third. A 3-pointer from Kate- lyn Heideman helped the Bulldogs to a 10-point lead at 51-41 with just 2:30 to go. The Braves trailed just 55-46 with one quarter to play. “Our coach (Maloree Moss) kind of yelled at us at the half,” Heideman said. “We weren’t playing as a Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports than us, and their inside presence killed us. We prob- ably gave up 20 offensive rebounds.” Trent Pitney added 15 points for the Bulldogs. Michael Cornia led the Blue Devils with 23 points, while Dylan Ashbeck added 15. KAMIAKIN 78, HERMISTON 29 — The Bulldogs fell to an eight- game skid as they dropped a Mid-Columbia Conference matchup against visiting Braves on Saturday night. Chase Elliott was the only Hermiston player to score in double digits, fin- ishing with 13 points on the night. The Bulldogs (2-10, 1-7 MCC) were held to just three points in the fourth quarter — a basket from Miguel Moreno and one point from the free-throw line by Elliott. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Hermiston’s A.J. Ramos-Barron (11) tries to work the ball inside during Saturday’s game against Kamiakin at the Dawg House. The Hermiston Bull- dogs opened a few eyes during their Jan. 7 game. Jaiden Ruloph scored 12 of his 20 points in the second quarter as the Bull- dogs pulled within 41-39 at the half against Richland. It was a fleeting moment of accomplish- ment. The Bombers (7-4, 4-3 MCC) regrouped at the half, and promptly went on a 23-8 run in the third quarter to pull away for an 85-62 Mid-Columbia Con- ference win at Art Dewald Gymnasium. “The first half, that was fun,” Hermiston coach Drew Preuninger said. “We have been talking about having fun, and me giving them a little bit lon- ger of a leash. We should have gone into halftime tied, but we couldn’t take care of the ball the last few seconds.” Ben Fewel scored nine of his 17 points in the first quarter, floating through the key for easy baskets and helping the Bombers to a 24-13 lead. The Bulldogs (2-8, 1-5 MCC) took their first lead at 37-36 with 1:41 to play in the second quarter as Ruloph hit both ends of a one-and-one. After a 37-37 tie, Ruloph hit a short jumper to put Hermiston out front 39-37. Two free throws by Twazae Gladney tied the score at 39-39, and a steal and bucket by Fewel with 2 seconds left on the clock, put the Bombers back on top. Less than 5 minutes into the third quarter, the Bombers had gone on a 20-2 run to take a 61-41 lead. Hermiston outscored Richland 15-10 in the fourth quarter, but it was too late to get back in the game. “I don’t know how may offensive rebounds we gave up,” Preuninger said. “It was a ridiculous amount. We weren’t box- ing out. They were crash- ing the boards like nuts. That was huge.” A.J. Ramos-Barron added 11 points for the Bulldogs, while Trent Pit- ney had 10 points and four rebounds. Chase Elliott, in just his third game back since breaking his leg during the football season, added eight points. “It has been nice to get Chase back,” Preuninger said. “He has another gear no one else has — it forces them to play faster.” Ivan Rangel, who has had a few big games for Hermiston, was held to three points, but he pulled down eight rebounds. “Jaiden has the touch and the confidence, and that is half of shooting,” Preun- inger said. “If you don’t have confidence, nothing happens. We need some- one else to step up and start scoring some points for us to win games.” William McClelland led the Bombers with 20 points. The 6-foot-4 junior stepped outside the arc for three 3s. BOX SCORE HERMISTON 13 26 8 15 — 62 RICHLAND 24 17 23 10 — 85 HERMISTON — Ruloph 20, Pitney 10, Elliott 8, Ramos-Barron 11, Rangel 3, Moreno 6, Jay.Ramirez 4. RICHLAND — Schuster 3, Rew 5, Glad- ney 13, Fewel 17, Wagar 7, Albrecht 14, Daniels 6, McClelland 20. Bulldogs defuse Bombers Hermiston hands Richland 2nd MCC loss By ANNIE FOWLER SPORTS EDITOR Hermiston faced a 10-point deficit at the half. The 3-point shots weren’t falling, and Richland was dominating the boards. Good thing every game has two halves. Jazlyn Romero scored 11 of her game-high 14 points in the second half, and the Bulldogs outscored the Bombers 34-19 over the last two quarters en route to a 47-42 Mid-Columbia Con- ference win on Jan. 7 at Art Dewald Gymnasium. “Tonight, we showed our mental toughness,” Romero said. “What we have been taught, showed tonight.” Any way you slice it, the win could be classified as the biggest victory for Hermiston (6-4, 3-3 MCC) since it joined the MCC last season. “This is confidence booster tonight,” Romero said. “We are competitive in the MCC. That will shift over into our next game against Walla Walla (on Friday).” Trailing 23-13 at the half, Hermiston coach Maloree Moss challenged her play- ers to shut down the Rich- land perimeter and apply more pressure going into the third quarter. “We put pressure on them a little bit more, and we switched to zone, which helped,” said Moss, whose team has won four games in a row. “They didn’t have a 3 in the second half. The girls had a ton of heart. This is a big win for us — they earned this one.” Richland (6-5, 5-2 MCC) scored to opened the second half and take a 25-13 lead. The Bulldogs slowly chipped away at the lead, getting seven points from Romero. Bailey Young was left all alone down low with 2 sec- onds left in the third. She put the ball off the glass and in the basket to tie the score at 30-30 with one quarter to play. Hermiston took its first lead, 35-34, on a 3-pointer by Katelyn Heideman with 5:46 to play. Heideman’s second trey of the quarter put the Bulldogs ahead for good with 2:38 to play. The Bombers tried to get back in the game, but an intentional foul on the part of Megan Holm, sent Kendall Dowdy to the line for two. She made one free throw to give her team a 45-42 lead. The Bombers fouled again, but this time Romero made both free throws with 16 seconds remaining to seal the win. “When that happens, you have to take advantage of it,” Romero said. “They are a really good team.” Dowdy added five points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs, while Young had eight points and three rebounds. Mia Her- nandez and Jayden Ray each had five rebounds, while Romero added five rebounds, five steals and a handful of assists. “Jaz has come into her own and sees the floor really well,” Moss said. “It’s really awesome to see.” BOX SCORE HERMISTON 5 8 17 15 — 47 RICHLAND 16 7 7 12 — 42 HERMISTON — Heideman 6, K.Young 2, Ray 6, Dowdy 5, Romero 14, Hernandez 6, B.Young 8. RICHLAND — Jo.Clark 11, Smith 11, Ja. Clark 5, Fox 8, Holm 7.
