Bombers Sweep Away The Bulldogs - By Brayden Pratt

On Saturday, January 20th, after some crazy weather during the past week, the Hermiston Bulldogs braved the trek north to face the Richland lady Bombers at Richland High School. This 7-5 Richland team came into this game fresh from a nice win on Tuesday vs. the Pasco Bulldogs, defeating them by a dominating score of 66-37. The 7-7 Hermiston Bulldogs also came in fresh from an upset win, taking down the Kennewick Lions In Kennewick by a close margin of 53-51. So, both teams came into the matchup hungry to keep their winning ways going.

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Last time these two teams met down in Hermiston, it was Richland games from when the game tipped off. The bombers came away with a big 71-54 Victory down in Oregon, backed by a fantastic shooting performance by the whole team as they shot over 45% from the field in the game, propelling them to victory. In a game where once they took a lead early in this game, they never looked back.

This Richland Bombers team has had more of an up-and-down season than they were looking for. They may drop some games to teams they shouldn’t have, but they want to get back on track Saturday with a big statement win against a solid Hermiston team. In Tuesday’s win over the Pasco Bulldogs, you could see some stand-out players for Richland, including Mackenzie Shulz, who has been a dominant offensive force for the Bombers all year. While watching her play, you can tell she has that Mamba mentality where she knows things are going in every time she shoots. Also, Macie Milum is putting up good numbers for the Lady Bombers with 13 points and a couple of assists and steals, and coming off the bench for the bombers with some great minutes was Ryne Stottlemyre.

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Before the game, I was honored with a chance to speak with senior guard Macie Milum on how she and her team were feeling following the word week with canceled practices and even a canceled game Friday vs their rival to the north, the Hanford Falcons, Macie said this about the upcoming game, “I think to have this break due to the weather has got us really wanting to play and go out. We are just going out with full intensity, wanting this win.” Showing how fired up these girls are for their upcoming matchup.

Taking a look over at this Hermiston squad, they are headlined by junior guard Izzy Simmions and her teammate, junior Ellie Heideman, who, in their game vs Kennewick on Tuesday, combined for just under half of the team's total points and racking up steals and plenty of boards and assists to go along with their points. Alongside them was sophomore forward Aspyn Inners, who added 16 points for herself and is looking to keep that up coming into Saturday. But speaking of Izzy Simmions, she recently hit the 1000 career point club earlier this month against the Chiawana Riverhawks. So the Bombers would definitely have their handful for this matchup.

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Now finally, we are looking at the start of this game, where this 1st quarter was very back and forth and was really a great indicator of how chippy and close of a game this was going to be. The Bombers might have come in a little too confident after the last game between these two teams, but the Bulldogs were not going to make it easy for them as they held with them and made it a 15-14 game at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was the same back and forth, with Richland starting to extend their lead a little, but the Bulldogs were still right. They were fighting back on every lead that the Bombers tried to take. The close out of the 1st half, it would be a 34-27 game in favor of the Bombers, who were really able to execute inside with getting a lot of tough finishes, and playing in around the basket really did make it easier for them to get out in front. They will look to capitalize and continue with their early success and hope to put this game out of reach.

The bombers got the 2nd half going with a quick bucket from Senior Macie Milum on the quick assist from Shulz up at the high post, looking to build off that and take off with this game. But unfortunately, these bulldogs would not go away, sticking around battling for every basket and rebound. Although the scoring took off for both teams, it was still a 7-point game going into the final quarter, with the score at 55-48 still favoring the bombers. 

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The 4th quarter really was a nail-biter as the scoring for the Bulldogs picked up with Izzy Simmions hitting some huge shots and attacking the rim as well getting some easy ones as well as stepping out and hitting behind the ark to help make this game a 2-point game with just 30 secs left. The Bombers had to do something to avoid the home upset, and they did just that, responding with some HUGE free throws from sophomore guard Kylee Kukes as she can help put this game just out of reach for the Bulldogs and the Bombers can defend their home court.

This game defined what a ca n’t-miss game is, with both teams out there battling to the final whistle, neither team giving up an easy basket. The Lady Bombers will return home on Tuesday to match up with the Walla Walla Blue Devils in a make-up game for the first time this year. Walla Walla is 9-4 on the year, sitting at second in the Mid-Columbia Conference standings, but it is nothing the Bombers can’t handle as they are looking forward to this battle.