Experience pays off for Hermiston
Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Been there, done that.
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That, Sherwood girls basketball coach Wes Pappas said, was the biggest difference in Hermiston’s 46-24 win in the Class 5A quarterfinals Wednesday at Matthew Knight Arena.
The Bulldogs (20-5) have been to five straight state tournaments and now two straight semifinals.
Meanwhile the young Bowmen (18-8) are just laying the foundation of what Pappas said he hopes to be their own state tournament run.
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“I think that there’s something to be said for that,” Pappas said. “They were probably more comfortable.”
Hermiston plays Corvallis at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. Sherwood plays a consolation elimination game at 10:45 a.m. today against West Albany.
“We’ve been here,” Hermiston coach Steve Hoffert said. “Sherwood is a god team, but that’s our advantage and that’s something we have to take advantage of.”
The Bulldogs built their lead in the second quarter, turning an 8-6 lead after the first into 23-11 at halftime. Senior Shelby Sanders scored six of her game-high 14 points in the quarter.
Sanders, at 6-foot-2, bullied her way inside, easily getting rebounds and scoring close to the basket.
“I don’t think there’s a post in the state that can match up with her athleticism-wise,” Hoffert said. “She’s a luxury to have.”
Hermiston’s other post, 5-11 McKenzie Byrd scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had two blocks.
“They’re big and strong,” Pappas said. “We’re not necessarily big, and we’re trying to get stronger. That’s probably the most athletic team I’ve seen in a long time and that goes for 6A too.
“That is just a big, strong athletic team.”
The Bulldogs finished the first half on an 11-1 run and started out the third quarter on a 7-2 run. That broke the game wide open at 30-13.
Sherwood did make one final push. Mallory Shields (13 points) scored six straight for the Bowmen, and they cut the lead to 30-19 late in the third. Shields scored another two points with 7:19 in the fourth quarter, and Hermiston’s lead was 32-21.
Sherwood didn’t score again until 1:29 left in the game, a stretch that the Bulldogs used to go on a 12-0 run and ease back into the semifinals.
Hermiston lost to Springfield in last year’s final four but rebounded to beat Corvallis in the third-place game.
“We like our position,” Hoffert said. “We liked it coming in. We felt like we could get here.”