Mid-Columbia basketball revving up again with Kamiakin girls ranked No. 1

Let’s play catchup these next few days now that the holidays are over, starting with high school basketball.

The Mid-Columbia Conference schedule is ready to rev up again.

The Richland boys and the Kamiakin girls are back in their familiar spots — atop the MCC standings.

The Bombers sit at 6-0 in conference play, 8-2 overall with the two losses in the Utah tournament last month.

Richland ran roughshod over a very talented Jefferson of Portland team on Dec. 22, beating the Democrats 80-67. Cole Northrop leads Richland in scoring at 23.8 points per game.

But he gets plenty of support from teammates Dhaunye Guice (14.2), Garrett Streufert (13.7), Cody Sanderson (12.2) and Jack Schuster (7.4).

Right behind Richland are the surprising Hermiston boys, who are 4-1 and 8-1.

The Bulldogs’ only loss was to Hanford. But Hermiston has found ways to win the tight contests so far, and that should help the Bulldogs later in the season.

Hermiston has three players averaging in double-figure scoring: Ryne Andreason (20.2), Cesar Ortiz (13.6) and Jordan Ramirez (10.2).

The two teams — Richland and Hermiston — met Friday, Jan. 4, in Hermiston, with tipoff at 7:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, Chad Herron’s Chiawana boys are riding a three-game win streak, with the last game a 105-59 victory over a respectable Sunnyside team.

Senior Matthew Kroner is averaging 18.2 points a game for Chiawana, while sophomore Kobe Young — who has been a pleasant surprise for Herron — averages 12.7 points and can dominated on the boards.

The Riverhawks hosted Walla Walla on Jan. 4, then visit Southridge on Saturday.

The major matchup on the girls’ side this weekend was Kamiakin visiting Kennewick at 5:45 p.m. Jan. 4. The two teams have a combined record of 17-1.

They’re coached by former community college basketball coaches — Kamiakin’s Lane Schumacher (CBC men) and Kennewick’s Daron Santo (CBC women). Kamiakin at 9-0 is riding a nine-game win streak.

Kennewick, at 8-1, is riding a seven-game win streak.

The Braves are led by Oumou Toure, headed next year to Butler University, and averaging 20.6 points.

She has three teammates averaging in double-figure scoring — Alexa Hazel (11.8 points), Regan Clark (11.6) and Symone Brown (11.0). Kennewick counters with Madeline Gebers (18.4), MeiLani McBee (13.1) and Aislin Fiander (13.3).

Chiawana sits in third place behind the two Kennewick schools with a 4-1/5-4 record, going 1-2 at the Glacier Peak tournament over the break.

Clare Eubanks (10.4) and Delaney Pink (9.6) are the Riverhawks’ leading scorers.

But Chiawana coach Steve Davis said he needs his girls to find a better shooting touch in order to improve.

They have one month and 11 more regular-season games to get that done before postseason play begins.

Prep notes

The first Seattle Times prep basketball poll of the new year came out this week.

The Kamiakin girls are ranked No. 1 in the 3A girls poll, while Kennewick is ranked No. 8. Richland’s boys are No. 4 in the 4A poll, while Sunnyside’s girls are No. 7 in 4A girls.

▪ Here are the latest RPI rankings by the WIAA through Thursday night, Jan. 3: 4A boys, 4. Richland; 4A girls, 7. Sunnyside; 3A boys, 8. Hermiston; 3A girls, 2. Kamiakin; 8. Kennewick; 1A girls, 3. Warden; 2B boys, 1. Kittitas/Thorp; 2B girls, 4. Tri-Cities Prep; 7. Columbia-Burbank; 1B boys, 1. Sunnyside Christian; 1B girls, 10. Sunnyside Christian.

▪ A nice little scoring battle is starting to take place between Hanford’s Connor Woodward and Richland’s Northrop. Woodward leads all MCC scorers with 23.9 points a game. Northrop is at 23.8.

▪ Tri-Cities Prep sophomore Talia von Oelhoffen scored her 1,000th career point on Dec. 20. It was accomplished in just her ninth game into the season.

▪ On the same night, Zillah’s Callie Delp also crossed the career 1,000-point mark.

▪ Sophomore Delaney Pink was 6-for-6 from the 3-point line and finished with 21 points to lead the Chiawana girls past Edmonds-Woodway 60-43 in the first round of the Top of the Peak Tournament at Glacier Peak on Dec. 20.

▪ Ayoni Benavidez has been a standout for the Kennewick boys basketball team lately. He scored 30 points in a 60-51 Lions’ win over Hanford on Dec. 29. He also had 24 points in a 65-58 win over Eastmont.

▪ Chiawana’s Marissa Logozzo has signed a letter-of-intent to play women’s volleyball next fall at Montanat State University-Billings.

▪ Eastside Catholic star Gee Scott Jr., a standout junior wide receiver, has verbally committed to play collegiately at Ohio State University.

▪ MCC girls bowling picks up again after taking the holidays off. Kennewick and Pasco have been dominant in the standings so far, with both teams boasting 11-1 conference records. Pasco’s Dani Leal and Southridge’s Nicole Omler were the latest MCC bowlers to roll 200 games in the last few weeks.

College update

▪ Corban’s Beau Tilleman (Walla Walla CC) scored 13 points in a 94-49 men’s basketball win over New Hope College on Dec. 3.

▪ As we get ready to start NWAC East basketball play, it’s helpful to know that the women’s East division looks to be a monster. Eight of the nine teams in the division have a winning record.

▪ Mikayla Ferenz (Walla Walla) scored 29 points and grabbed six rebounds in the Idaho women’s 86-72 win in their Big Sky Conference women’s basketball opener over Idaho State. On Monday, she was named the College Sports Madness National Mid-Major Player of the Week for her efforts.

NWAC East basketball

The NWAC East Division began play Wednesday night, and I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a stronger lineup in the women’s portion.

Most of the other divisions have just three teams with winning records in preseason play. But the East has eight of its nine teams with winning records. It’s going to be a battle every night.

Here are Wednesday’s results:

• Wenatchee Valley defeated CBC 81-65, as Ashlynn Burgess led the visiting Knights with 28 points and 17 rebounds. CBC was led by Sara Ramirez (Hermiston) with 17 points and 5 rebounds.
  
  
• Jessica Cheney scored 18 points, had 7 rebounds and 5 assists, as Walla Walla beat Spokane 74-67. Holly Golenor added 14 points and 6 rebounds for the Warriors.
  
  
• Paige Vorwalla had a monster game of 29 points and 20 rebounds as Treasure Valley beat Yakima Valley 94-92.
  
  
• Miranda Johnson had 17 points and 6 rebounds to lead Big Bend over North Idaho 78-62.
  
  
• On the men’s side, Denzel Brantley scored a team-high 21 points, while Gabe Vorhies (Southridge) added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Victor Clarke had 14 points and 9 rebounds, as CBC beat visiting Wenatchee Valley 81-77.
  
  
• Damen Thacker scored 17 points, but it wasn’t enough as Walla Walla lost to Spokane 80-72. Garrett White led the Sasquatch with 17 points and 8 rebounds.
  
  
• Carson Bischoff scored 20 points and had 7 rebounds and 7 assists as Treasure Valley beat Yakima Valley 107-94.
  
  
• Alphonso Anderson had 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead North Idaho over Bib Bend 101-65.
  
  

NWAC East men’s basketball

Through Jan. 2

East/Overall

North Idaho 1-0/10-1

Spokane 1-0/10-4

Columbia Basin 1-0/4-9

Treasure Valley 1-0/3-8

Blue Mountain 0-0/2-9

Big Bend 0-1/10-2

Wenatchee Valley 0-1/8-4

Walla Walla 0-1/6-8

Yakima Valley 0-1/3-10

NWAC East women’s basketball

Through Jan. 2

East/Overall

Big Bend 1-0/12-2

Wenatchee Valley 1-0/12-2

Walla Walla 1-0/11-3

Treasure Valley 1-0/9-5

Blue Mountain 0-0/2-8

Spokane 0-1/12-1

North Idaho 0-1/10-3

Columbia Basin 0-1/9-4

Yakima Valley 0-1/9-4

MCC boys basketball

Through Jan. 2

MCC/Overall

Richland 6-0/8-2

Hermiston 4-1/8-1

Chiawana 4-2/6-3

Kennewick 3-2/7-3

Walla Walla 3-2/6-3

Kamiakin 2-3/5-4

Hanford 2-4/4-6

Southridge 1-5/2-8

Pasco 0-5/0-9



Friday, Jan. 4

All games start at 7:30 p.m.

Hanford at Pasco

Kamiakin at Kennewick

Richland at Hermiston

Walla Walla at Chiawana

Saturday, Jan. 5

Chiawana at Southridge

Hermiston at Kamiakin

Kennewick at Walla Walla

Pasco at Richland



MCC girls basketball

Through Jan. 2

MCC/Overall

Kamiakin 5-0/9-0

Kennewick 5-0/8-1

Chiawana 4-1/5-4

Walla Walla 3-2/4-5

Pasco 2-3/5-3

Hermiston 2-3/4-5

Richland 2-4/5-5

Hanford 1-5/2-8

Southridge 0-6/4-6

Friday, Jan. 4

All games start at 5:45 p.m.

Hanford at Pasco

Kamiakin at Kennewick

Richland at Hermiston

Walla Walla at Chiawana

Saturday, Jan. 5

Chiawana at Southridge

Hermiston at Kamiakin

Kennewick at Walla Walla

Pasco at Richland

MCC Bowling

Through Jan. 1

Kennewick 11-1 , Pasco 11-1 , Chiawana 7-4 , Walla Walla 7-5 , Richland 6-5, Hanford 5-7 , Hermiston 2-9 , Southridge 2-9 , Kamiakin 1-11.