A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2020
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Romero leads Dawgs past Walla Walla
She puts in 18 points
and grabs 11 rebounds
By ANNIE FOWLER
SPORTS EDITOR
Jazlyn Romero made
the most of her final regu-
lar-season home game Fri-
day night.
The Hermiston senior
point guard poured in 18
points and grabbed 11
rebound to lead the Bulldogs
past Walla Walla 53-42 in
Mid-Columbia Conference
play at the Dawg House.
“It was really the inten-
sity of the junior group,”
Romero said. “They are
beasts on the court. They
had a big impact in the sec-
ond quarter.”
Hermiston (13-7, 10-6
MCC) dropped its first game
to Walla Walla 55-42, but
used a big fourth quarter to
pull away.
“I am super proud,”
Hermiston coach Maloree
Moss said. “Every player
had a part in that win. They
are all buying in. To win a
game like like at the end of
the season is awesome.”
Blue Devils coach Mor-
gan Jo Poyner said a combi-
nation of things put her team
in a bad position.
“Their 3-point shooting
hurt us,” she said. “They
had nine 3s — we had a hard
time closing out their shoot-
ers. And, they did a good
job of shutting down our
playmakers.”
Rian Clear had eight of
her game-high 24 points it
the first quarter as the Blue
Devils enjoyed a 15-8 lead.
A bucket by Mia Huxoll
put Wa-Hi out front 22-13
with 2:44 to play in the sec-
ond, but a 10-2 run by the
Bulldogs — including 3s by
Mia Hernandez and Kaylee
Young — pulled Hermiston
to within 24-23 at the half.
Clear had 15 points in the
first half, but the defense of
Jayden Ray held Clear to
just nine points the rest of
the game.
“Rian is a fantastic
player,” Romero said. “She
works hard on offense and
defense. Jayden did a phe-
nomenal job on her in the
second half. I think she got
in her head a little.”
Romero scored seven of
her points in the third quar-
ter, including a 3-pointer
with 21 seconds remain-
ing on the clock that put the
Bulldogs up 36-35.
Alexis Kessell scored
for Hermiston to open the
fourth quarter, Hernandez
later drilled a 3-pointer and
added two free throws that
put the game out of reach.
Romero had eight points
in the quarter, including the
final two points of the game.
“You can’t get a better
all-around person than Jaz,”
Moss said. “In the class-
room and on the court. She
has been a blessing to this
program. She brings energy
and works her tail off every
night.”
Kaylee Young added 11
points and four rebounds for
Hermiston, while Hernandez
had 10 points, Bailey Young
six points and six rebounds,
and Ray eight rebounds.
Clear was the only Blue
Devil in double figures, but
Kysa Jausoro hauled down
10 rebounds.
Walla Walla 15 9 11 9 — 42
Hermiston 8 15 13 17 — 53
WALLA WALLA — Ogden 7, Clear 24,
Miller 2, Oliveras 5, Huxoll 4.
HERMISTON — Heideman 6, K.Young
11, Kessell 2, Hernandez 10, Romero 18,
B.Young 6.
HH file photo
Hermiston’s Jazlyn Romero, shown here against Pasco on Jan. 21, had 18 points and 11 rebounds Friday as the Bulldogs beat
visiting Walla Walla 53-42.
MCC ROUNDUP
Dawgs make quick work
of Braves in MCC win
Ray leads Hermiston
with 12 points on her
17th birthday
By ANNIE FOWLER
SPORTS EDITOR
Contributed photo by Michael Najera
Hermiston’s Jayden Ramirez (33) dribbles past Walla Walla’s Josiah Wik (4) during their Mid-
Columbia Conference game Friday at Hermiston High School.
Bulldogs finish season
with loss to Blue Devils
Rangel, Pitney lead
Hermiston with 12
points each
By ANNIE FOWLER
SPORTS EDITOR
Ivan Rangel and Trent
Pitney were part of a fresh-
man class at Hermiston High
School that had 14 promis-
ing basketball players.
Rangel and Pitney are the
only two left of the group,
and they finished their high
school careers Friday night
with 12 points each in an
87-57 Mid-Columbia Con-
ference loss to Walla Walla
at the Dawg House.
“To think if all of us had
stayed,” Rangel said after
the loss. “It was nice while
it lasted. It’s bittersweet, but
now it’s back to work, col-
lege and adulting.”
First-year
Hermiston
coach Drew Preuninger said
the season went by way too
fast.
“I told them this summer,
before you know it, the sea-
son will start,” he said. “And
now it’s over. It’s crazy.
Being a competitor, I wish it
wasn’t over.”
While the Bulldogs
(2-18, 1-15 MCC) finished
their season, the Blue Devils
(16-4, 12-4 MCC) will host
a District 8 playoff game
Wednesday.
The Blue Devils got off
to a hot start, finishing the
first quarter with a 22-8 lead.
“There aren’t many shots
they don’t like,” Wa-Hi
coach Adam Berg said of
his team. “When we get
the right looks, it’s a good
night.”
The Blue Devils led
47-24 at the half, and despite
an even third quarter, the
Bulldogs could not make up
the deficit in the fourth.
Rangel, who fouled out
with 4:21 left in the game,
scored all of his points in the
first three quarters.
He said it was a tough
night for him, not having his
mom (Veronica Ortiz) with
him as he finished his career.
She died Dec. 21, 2017.
“I just dreamed of my
mom being here when we
were being introduced,”
Rangel said. “She is my
motivation. She played bas-
ketball in Mexico — I got it
from her.”
Senior AJ Ramos-Barron
added 10 points for the Bull-
dogs, while junior Miguel
Moreno had 10.
“That was one of
Miguel’s better games,” Pre-
uninger said. “He does a lot
of good things for us.”
Diego Jaquez led the
Blue Devils with 24 points.
Michael Cornia added 22.
The Bulldogs lose four
seniors from this year’s
team, but will return key
contributors like Moreno,
Chase Elliott, Tyler Lin,
Jayden Ramirez and Jaime
Ramirez.
“I think Hermiston bas-
ketball has a bright future,”
Preuninger said. “We just
need to make sure they are
doing the right things and
getting in the weight room.”
BOX SCORE
Walla Walla 22 25 16 24 — 87
Hermiston 8 16 15 18 — 57
WALLA WALLA — Ashbeck 11, Wik 2, Cor-
nia 22, Jaquez 24, Watson 5, Coram 12,
Nielson 4, Wasser 7.
HERMISTON — Pitney 12, Davis 3, Elliott
8, Ramos-Barron 10, Carrillo 2, Rangel 12,
Moreno 10.
After two close games
that went down to the
wire, the Hermiston girls
basketball team had a lit-
tle fun during their Feb. 4
game.
Jayden Ray scored
a game-high 12 points
on her 17th birthday as
the Bulldogs celebrated
a 63-39 Mid-Columbia
Conference road win over
Kamiakin.
“It was so nice to see
them play as a team, and
confident,”
Hermiston
coach Maloree Moss said.
“We played a lot of
girls, and we were on the
same page and willing to
work.”
Ray scored all of her
points in the first three
quarters as the Bulldogs
(12-7, 9-6 MCC) enjoyed
a 47-29 lead.
“It was a good win,
especially after the last
two were so close,” said
Ray, who also had seven
rebounds.
“After the half, we kept
the high intensity and got
the job done. It was really
nice to have a smooth bas-
ketball game.”
Kamiakin (4-15, 3-12
MCC), which has long
ruled the roost in the
MCC, suffered its fifth
loss in a row.
“We have some youth
and inexperience,” Braves
coach Lane Schumacher
said.
“We’ve taken some
lumps this year. Hermis-
ton does a really nice job
of running their offense,
and they have some nice
shooters. When they get
by you, you have to be out
on them. They hurt us.”
The Bulldogs opened
the game with an 11-8
lead after the first quarter,
but extended their lead to
26-19 at the half.
A 21-10 run in the
third, bolstered by seven
points by Katelyn Heide-
man, and six by Kaylee
Young, put Hermiston up
47-29.
In the fourth, Madi-
son Feigum hit a pair of
3-pointers, and Young
and Mia Hernandez each
had one as the Bulldogs
cruised to victory.
“They played hard and
recognized what we were
doing defensively and
offensively,” Moss said
of her team. “We pushed
the ball and got transition
points, which was nice.”
Bailey Young came
off the bench to score 10
points and haul down 10
rebounds, while Jazlyn
Romero had eight points,
seven rebounds and and
handful of assists.
Kaylee Young added
11 points, and Heideman
nine.
“It’s nice to have some-
one like her to dish the
ball,” Ray said of Romero.
Kathryn Hollenberg led
the Braves with 11 points,
while Lindsey Benham
added 10.
MCC boys basketball
KAMIAKIN
84,
HERMISTON 50 —
Ivan Rangel poured in a
career-high 23 points, but
his efforts weren’t enough
as the Bulldogs dropped
an MCC road game to the
Braves.
“In the third quarter,
he went off,” Hermiston
coach Drew Preuninger
said of Rangel.
“He had 13 points.
He was shooting with
confidence.”
The Bulldogs (2-17,
1-14 MCC), who trailed
41-17 at the half, out-
scored the Braves 25-22
in the third quarter.
“All year long, the
third quarter has been
killing us,” Preuninger
said.
“The past few games it
has been good.”
The Braves (16-3, 12-3
MCC) opened the game
with a 15-0 run, getting
eight points from 6-foot-9
senior Kyson Rose.
Kamiakin led 22-6 at
the end of the quarter.
“In the first half, we
gave up way too many
offensive
rebounds,”
Preuninger said. “In the
second half, they gave
me more effort. We just
need to do that the whole
game.”
Sophomore
Chase
Elliott added 11 points for
the Bulldogs, while Trent
Pitney had five points and
six rebounds.
Rose finished with
a double-double of 15
points and 14 rebounds.
Trey Arland added 16
points, while Messiah
Jones chipped in 15.
“Their kids are big and
they work really hard,”
Preuninger said of the
Braves.
“They have some
really good players, that
is tough to coach against.”
BOYS BOX SCORE
Hermiston 6 11 25 8 — 50
Kamiakin 22 19 22 21 — 84
HERMISTON — Pitney 5, Lin 1, Davis 1,
Elliott 11, Ramos-Barron 3, Rangel 23,
Moreno 4, Jai. Ramirez 2.
KAMIAKIN — Westermeyer 9, Kennell
12, Gray Jr. 2, Downard 5, Jones 15, Bilo-
deau 10, Arland 16, Rose 15.
GIRLS BOX SCORE
Hermiston 11 15 21 16 — 63
Kamiakin 8 11 10 10 — 39
HERMISTON — Heideman 9, K.Young
11, Ray 12, Feigum 6, Seavert 2, Kessell
2, Hernandez 3, Romero 8, B.Young 10.
KAMIAKIN — Thomas 7, Benham 10,
Hollenberg 11, Eder 4, Schumacher 1,
Malloy 2, Lujan 4.