STRETCHING OUT: Sophomore wing Lauren Orr (No. 14) avoids a block by Hermiston’s Rileigh Andreason during Tuesday’s game in Hood River against the Bulldogs. Orr has had an increasing impact on games as the season has progressed, leading HRV in Tuesday’s game with nine points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
STRETCHING OUT: Sophomore wing Lauren Orr (No. 14) avoids a block by Hermiston’s Rileigh Andreason during Tuesday’s game in Hood River against the Bulldogs. Orr has had an increasing impact on games as the season has progressed, leading HRV in Tuesday’s game with nine points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Though wins have been hard to come by for the HRV girls basketball team this season, particularly in the Columbia River Conference, Tuesday’s game against the league-leading and sixth-ranked Hermiston Bulldogs, proved a big confidence boost to a team still looking for its first CRC win.
The Eagles (3-15, 0-5 CRC) lost to the Bulldogs (17-3, 5-0) by a score of 62-39 — a situation that is becoming as familiar to the Eagles as it is to other teams in the CRC who have struggled matching Hermiston’s prolific offense. Through 20 games, the Bulldogs have scored 1,169 points, which is the second-most in 5A girls basketball, behind La Salle’s 1,294.
But the final score doesn’t illustrate the impressive first half HRV put up against Hermiston on both ends of the court. The Bulldogs, likely expecting to roll the Eagles like they did in the teams’ first meeting (a 78-43 HRV loss Jan. 29), found themselves tied 8-8 at the end of the first quarter, as HRV banged the boards and forced turnovers. HRV’s high level of play continued into the first few minutes of the second quarter, as HRV matched Hermiston and even grabbed a brief, two-point lead midway through the quarter.
“We competed better because the girls are playing a tougher brand of basketball at both ends of the floor,” explained HRV Head Coach Scott Walker. “The first 12 minutes we shot the ball better than we have all year and that made a difference. Hermiston was missing a great player, (senior guard Sara) Ramirez, who always puts a ton of pressure on us at both ends, so that definitely helped.”
HRV’s fleeting lead vaporized, as the Eagles went cold on shooting and the Bulldogs heated up, spurring them to a 9-0 run to go up 30-21 at the half. The gulf widened in the third quarter, as Hermiston turned up its intensity and pushed the lead out to as many as 25 points, which proved too difficult for HRV to overcome.
“The biggest difference is they started man pressing us and we didn’t recognize and handle it very well,” Walker said. “That led to some easy baskets for them. The other difference was us missing layups and not getting back to stop runs. Giving up two points at our end, and then two quick points at the other end deflates confidence and momentum.”
Lauren Orr led HRV in scoring, rebounding, and blocks with nine, 10, and two, respectively. Kassidy Davidson also scored nine and had a team-high three steals. Marlie Bloomster also had three steals and added seven points and four rebounds. As a team, HRV went 16-for-58 (28 percent) overall from the field and was 4-for-8 (50 percent) from the free throw line.
“Overall, I was really proud of how the girls performed. They have shown remarkable improvement in the last two weeks,” Walker noted. “We had 11 fewer turnovers from the first time we played them and 10 more rebounds. We are just playing a better brand of ball right now.”
HRV was scheduled to play The Dalles (10-9, 2-3) Friday night in Hood River at 5:15 p.m. (results not available at press time) and then enter the final round of CRC play Tuesday with a 7 p.m. game at Pendleton.
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