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WEDNESDAy, FEbRuARy 19, 2020
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Dawgs drop District 8 game
A 43-35 loss to Mt. Spokane in semifinals drops
Hermiston to consolation bracket
By ANNIE FOWLER
SPORTS EDITOR
Hermiston used a
stingy defense to hold
Mt. Spokane to 15 points
under its average, but
the Bulldogs had a tough
time putting the ball in
the basket at the other
end.
The Wildcats, the No.
5-ranked team in the
state, held on in the sec-
ond half for a 43-35 win
Friday over the Bulldogs
in the 3A District 8 semi-
finals at Mt. Spokane
High School.
“I’m proud of the girls
for coming out and com-
peting,” Hermiston coach
Maloree Moss said, “but
we did play a little scared
offensively. Defensively,
we held a team averag-
ing 58 points to 43, so
that was good to see. We
have to be more aggres-
sive offensively to beat a
team of that caliber.”
The Bulldogs will play
Kamiakin in a loser-out
game at 9 a.m. Friday at
Toyota Center in Kenne-
wick, Washington. The
Braves lost a 73-60 game
to Kennewick in the other
semifinal.
“It’s hard to beat a
good team three times,”
said Moss, whose team
beat Kamiakin 76-50 and
63-39 during Mid-Co-
lumbia Conference play.
“We will have to bring
our ‘A’ game.”
Mt. Spokane (17-3)
opened the game with a
3-pointer by Kyara Say-
ers, but the Bulldogs
(14-8) responded with a
layup by Jayden Ray and
a 3-pointer by Katelyn
Heideman for a 5-3 lead.
After the Wildcats tied
the score, Jazlyn Romero
made good on two free
throws for a 7-5 lead —
the Bulldogs’ last of the
game.
Gracey Neal, Jayda
Noble and Emma Main
hit consecutive baskets
down the stretch to give
Mt. Spokane a 13-7 lead
after the first quarter.
“I’m super proud of
the girls for the way they
played in the first quar-
ter,” Moss said. “The
second and third were
not super great. We got
a little tired, which usu-
ally doesn’t happen. That
hurt us getting back on
defense.”
The Wildcats took an
18-12 lead 4 1/2 min-
utes into the second quar-
ter, but a 3-pointer by
Romero made it 18-15.
Mt. Spokane would
use a 7-1 run the rest of
the quarter for a 25-16
lead at the half.
With each team scor-
ing 10 points in the third
quarter, the Wildcats kept
their lead at nine points
— 35-26 — with one
quarter to play.
A 3-pointer by Mad-
ison Feigum, and a bas-
ket by Mia Hernandez
cut the Wildcats’ lead to
37-33 early in the fourth
quarter.
Hermiston outscored
Mt. Spokane 9-8 in the
fourth, but could not
catch the Wildcats.
“Sadly, we gave up
too many second-chance
opportunities,”
Moss
said. “We got hot for a
bit, then had some defen-
sive lapses. It was 37-33
for a long time. Then they
got two quick ones, and it
went from there.”
Romero and Feigum
led Hermiston with seven
points each, while Heide-
man had six points,
Kaylee Young five, and
Bailey Young five points
and
nine
rebounds.
Romero
added
five
rebounds, while Hernan-
dez had four.
Noble, who has signed
to play at University of
Washington, had eight
points for the Wildcats,
as did Neal and Sophia
Bertotti-Metoyer.
Contributed photo by Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman Review
Mt. Spokane forward Jaimyn Sides drives the ball to the basket and into the defense of Hermiston’s Jayden Ray (left) during
Friday’s 3A District 8 semifinal game at Mt. Spokane High School.
BOX SCORE
Hermiston 7 9 10 9 — 35
Mt. Spokane 13 12 10 8 — 43
HERMISTON — Heideman 6, K.Young 5,
Ray 3, Feigum 7, Hernandez 2, Romero 7,
B.Young 5.
MT. SPOKANE — Sides 2, Main 5, Neal
8, Bertotti-Metoyer 8, Allen 4, Noble 11,
Kamalu-Vargas 2, Sayers 3.
“SADLY, WE GAVE UP TOO
MANY SECOND-CHANCE
OPPORTUNITIES. WE GOT
HOT FOR A BIT, THEN HAD
SOME DEFENSIVE LAPSES.”
Mt. Spokane guard Destiny
Kamalu-Vargas (back) and
Mt. Spokane guard Jayda
Noble (24) chase Hermiston
guard Jayden Ray (with ball)
downcourt during Friday’s
3A District 8 semifinal game
at Mt. Spokane High School.
Hermiston coach Maloree Moss
Contributed photo by
Colin Mulvany/The Spokesman
Review
Dawgs face Kamiakin in loser-out game
Hermiston won both Mid-
Columbia Conference games
against the braves
By ANNIE FOWLER
SPORTS EDITOR
For years, the Kamiakin girls
basketball team was one of the top
3A programs in the state.
Graduation took its toll on the
Braves last spring, but Herm-
iston coach Maloree Moss still
sees Kamiakin as a formidable
opponent.
The Bulldogs (14-8) and Braves
(5-17) will meet at 9 a.m. Friday
at the Toyota Center in a 3A Dis-
trict 8 loser-out game. The win-
ner advances to the second-place
game at noon Saturday against the
loser of Friday’s Kennewick-Mt.
Spokane game. The top two teams
advance to regionals.
“This is a higher-stakes game
than the last time we played
them,” Moss said. “It’s loser-out.
We played a lot of girls last time,
and he rotated five players at a
time. We won’t see that again.”
Kamiakin coach Lane Schum-
acher’s team has a different look
than the first two times it played
Hermiston — 76-50 and 63-39
losses.
The first game, junior Regan
Clark still was recovering from
a soccer injury. Two weeks ago,
the Braves were without junior
Amani Davis, who was under
concussion protocol.
“Regan had a good game
for us against North Central,”
Schumacher said of their Dis-
“THIS IS A HIGHER-STAKES GAME
THAN THE LAST TIME WE PLAYED
THEM. IT’S LOSER-OUT.”
Hermiston coach Maloree Moss
trict 8 opener. “She had 23 points.
It’s nice to see her getting more
aggressive with her shots.”
While his team’s shooting has
improved, Schumacher is more
concerned about what the Bull-
dogs are capable of.
“They have some girls who can
shoot, and shoot deep,” Schum-
acher said.
“I’ve seen it firsthand. We
need to do a better job of stopping
them, and taking away the dribble
and penetration. We need to focus
on containing their shots and pro-
tecting from long range.”
Moss would like to see her
team attack the rim and do a
better job of getting offensive
rebounds, which proves to be dif-
ficult at times because they do not
have a true inside presence.
The Bulldogs are led by senior
guard Jazlyn Romero, who aver-
ages 11.75 points a game, and is
one of the team’s top rebounders
and playmakers.
“She is something special,
for sure,” Moss said. “She is our
court leader. The girls trust her,
she plays with poise and she stays
composed in all situations. This
will be one of the biggest games
she will play, but she has com-
peted in other sports at a high
level.”
Hermiston also gets 10 points
a game from Katelyn Heideman,
mostly from long range, while
Kendall Dowdy and Bailey Young
take care of business inside.
Kaylee Young and Jayden Ray
play tough defense and can be
dangerous from the floor if you
lose track of them.
Davis leads Kamiakin with
14 points a game, with freshman
Nikole Thomas adding 11.8 for
the young Braves.
“Our record is not great, but
we keep competing,” Schum-
acher said. “They have a lot of
fight and haven’t quit all year.”