The Hermiston Bulldogs will play in their third straight 5A girls state basketball semifinal today after turning back rival Pendleton, 48-30, Wednesday at Gill Coliseum in Corvallis.
The top-seeded Bulldogs will take on No. 4 seed Corvallis at 6:30 p.m. at Gill Coliseum for the right to play for the 5A state championship. Corvallis ended Hermiston’s season a year ago in the semifinals. The other semifinal today pits No. 2 La Salle Prep against No. 3 Crater.
The Bulldogs were led by Abi Drotzmann and Kynzee Padilla, who each scored 10 points. The Bulldogs had solid contributions from Sara Ramirez, Jansen Edmiston and Tavin Headings, who each tallied 8 points for Hermiston on Wednesday.
Both teams struggled offensively, with Pendleton making just over 20 percent of their shots from the field, while Hermiston was just 14 of 53 from the floor and missed all 11 3-point attempts. Still, Hermiston led throughout the game, taking a 23-16 halftime lead before pulling away in the second half.
Kristin Williams was the only player in double digits for Pendleton with 10 points on the night.
