HERMISTON, Ore.-A boisterous playoff crowd was on hand as the Hermiston Varsity Girls Basketball team hosted Bishop Blanchet in the opening round of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) State Tournament on February 24.
Bishop Blanchet, of Seattle, ultimately topped the Bulldogs 57-24, in the loser out game.
“They were really active, give credit to their defense,” Hermiston Head Coach Jay Ego said of Bishop Blanchet. “Offensively we were tentative, which resulted in an inability to score.”
Bishop Blanchet jumped out to a 12-0 lead after the first quarter; however, Hermiston clawed their way back into the game, narrowing the deficit to 20-12 at halftime.
In the second half, Hermiston’s continued lack of aggression and trouble on the offensive glass allowed the Bears to pull away, according to Ego.
“They probably had over 20 offensive rebounds,” said Ego. “That nullified some good defense.”
Despite the large deficit, Hermiston played hard and fought to the end one more time in front of the home crowd.
Sofia Rodriguez led the Bulldogs with 8 points in the loss, while Marli Stackhouse added 6.
Despite the tough loss at state, Hermiston had a solid regular season, going 15-5 and earning the number one seed in the Mid-Columbia Conference, before finding playoff success with three more wins as the two-seed at Districts.
“This team is extremely resilient,” said Ego. “They faced a lot of adversity and came together and played for each other. I’m proud of how they conducted themselves all year long.”
