Prosser girls open 2A basketball tournament with a win, advance to WA quarterfinals

The Prosser girls basketball team beat Port Angeles 61-40 at the WIAA 2A girls state basketball tournament Wednesday in the Yakima Valley SunDome.

Halle Wright, who has committed to playing for Idaho State University next year, scored 22 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and had 5 steals to lead the Mustangs, who now advance to the 2A girls quarterfinals.

Prosser will meet Archbishop Murphy at 9 a.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.

The Mid-Columbia has 13 other teams playing in the various state tournaments.

Other sports

▪ Two former Tri-City Americans — Parker Bowles and Igor Bacek — are two of the more important players this season for the Hannover (Germany) Indians hockey team that plays in the third-tier Oberliga Nord.

Bowles, a center, is the leading scorer for the Indians (24-11-4-3, 83 points). Hannover is fourth out of 14 teams in the standings.

Bowles has 73 points (28 goals, 45 assists), which is eighth in the entire league. The left winger is fourth on the team in scoring with 49 points (14 goals, 35 assists).

The now 27-year-old played for the Ams from 2011 through 2016.

Bacek, 36, played one full season for Tri-City in 2005-06.

▪ Rian Clear (Walla Walla) and Chenoa Louie (Royal) are freshmen playing for the Saint Martin’s women’s basketball team (10-8 through games of Feb. 7) this season.

Clear is a starter and is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.7 points per game. Clear also is averaging 4.4 rebounds.

Louie, coming off the bench, is averaging 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds.

▪ Emma Combes (Hermiston) and Delaney Frame (Kamiakin) are members of the Arizona Christian University volleyball team, which had an 11-16 record this past fall.

Combes, a freshman, played in all 27 games the team had, and was third on the squad with 219 digs.

Frame, a sophomore outside hitter, had 143 kills during the season.

Combes also plays for the school’s women’s golf team.

▪ Former Chiawana football standout Dre’Sonte Dorton is going to possibly continue his football career.

The wide receiver finished his eligibility with Eastern Washington University a few seasons ago. But Dorton is now in camp with the Bay Area Panthers in the Indoor Football League.

Camp started Tuesday, March 1, with 40 players trying to make the 25-man roster.

Former Seahawk Marshawn Lynch is an owner of the Panthers.

▪ True freshman Seamus Hall (Walla Walla) punted 42 times this past season for the University of Sioux Falls football team, averaging 38.7 yards per kick.

Hall also landed 12 of his punts inside the 20 yard line, and his longest kick for his 8-3 team was 64 yards.

▪ Noelani Helm (Walla Walla) was a team leader for the University of Portland volleyball team (5-20 overall) this past fall. Helm led the team in assists with 416; was second in kills with 113. She was third on the team in service aces (19), blocks (29) and digs (147).

Helm is also on the beach volleyball team this spring.

▪ Freshman high jumper Tyler Jones (Hanford) has qualified for the NAIA Indoor Nationals this week.

Jones competes for Eastern Oregon University, and has a best leap of 6 feet, 7.5 inches.

▪ Kamiakin grad Maddie Kutschkau started 14 games at defender this past fall for the North Idaho College women’s soccer team.

Kutchskau had 8 shots for the Cardinals, 5 of them on goal. North Idaho was 12-6-0 this past season.

▪ Richland High senior Danica Lerch will continue to play basketball after this season is over for the Bombers.

She recently signed a letter of intent to play at Carroll College in Montana.

▪ Kamiakin senior Henry Mercado, who was named the Mid-Columbia Conference’s Offensive MVP this past fall as the Braves quarterback, has an offer to play at Eastern Oregon University.

▪ Looks like Leilani Mitchell’s basketball playing days may be over.

The Kennewick High grad who starred at the University of Idaho, University of Utah, the WNBA and overseas — is reportedly pregnant.

Mitchell and her wife have a boy, and she has played just four games for the Bendigo Spirit in the WNBL — the women’s professional league in Australia, where she and her family make her home.

She is not on the WNBA Washington Mystics roster, nor on the roster of the Australian women’s national team, the Opals.

▪ Sophomore Carlos Murillo (Othello) was one of four Mid-Columbia athletes who played for the Eastern Oregon University men’s soccer team, which finished with a 6-10 record.

Murillo had three goals, two assists, and 8 points for the Mountaineers. He led the team with 21 shots, and 9 shots on goal.

Others on the team this past season included junior Jaden Eder (Kamiakin), junior Christian Hagedorn (Richland), and sophomore Jodanni Osuna (Grandview).

▪ Senior Ashtin Olin (Chiawana) ranked second on the Sacramento State volleyball team this past season 450 assists. She was also third with 19 service aces for the Hornets, who finished the season with a 16-12 record.

▪ Richland High grad Greg Olson was let go by the new head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Josh McDaniel, recently.

But Olson shouldn’t be unemployed for very long. It’s quite possible the Los Angeles Rams will sign him as an offensive coach.

Olson spent the past four seasons as the Raiders offensive coordinator.