Here are the MCC basketball leaders a quarter way through 2023 season
Hermiston’s Dalton Massey finished his first-ever trip to the PRCA National Finals Rodeo by placing sixth in average in the Steer Wrestling event.
Massey brought home $19,300, giving him a season total of nearly $284,000 in earnings.
That placed the 30-year-old at No. 2 in the world for 2023. Pretty great for a guy who needed a good year to keep going in rodeo.
Massey has been on the circuit since 2014. Before this season began, his lifetime earnings had been $216,800. So this season’s earnings have far exceeded his previous total of all years combined.
Great season for Massey.
MCC boys basketball
We’re just about 25 percent of the way through the Mid-Columbia Conference season, with one more night of conference play set for Tuesday, Dec. 19, before teams either take a winter break or jump into non-league contests.
Here are some free-flowing observations: Adam Berg’s Wa-Hi Blue Devils have gotten out of the game quickly, winning their first five out of six games. Ken Higgins has been the main guy so far, averaging about 17 points a game.
We talked about Richland last week, and they’re still probably the team to beat. But here comes Kamiakin, despite losing some players to graduation and getting soundly handled by Davis in the Braves’ season opener. Senior Peter Dress will be fun to watch. He’s already had a 40-point game.
Kennewick looks to be pretty balanced this season, with a different player stepping up each night to lead the team in scoring.
▪ Got a chance to see senior Jesse Tijerina play a few weeks ago for Southridge in a 75-54 Suns’ win at Chiawana. He’s an outstanding outside shooter who also has a quick first step and can find his way to the basket. But what makes him even more dangerous is he can find the open guy at a moment’s notice. In order for DJ Traver’s Southridge team to make some noise this season, more players besides Tijerina must step up and make plays.
“These kids have played a lot together this past summer,” said Traver, whose team got its first win over Chiawana since the 2015-16 season. “It was a really good summer. They’re experiencing a little payoff for their effort.”
▪ Chad Herron has a very young Chiawana team, with not a senior on the varsity roster.
That wasn’t by design.
He had plans for both DJ Duran and Michael Hansen, both seniors, to lead this squad. But football injuries stopped that opportunity.
So the Riverhawks are going with a young but very scrappy squad, and while they haven’t won a game yet — they’re 0-4 in MCC play, 0-8 overall — they’re getting closer. Last weekend, Chiawana lost two close contests to two of the conference’s better squads this season — falling 56-52 to Kennewick, and dropping a 57-53 verdict to Walla Walla.
4A MID-COLUMBIA CONFERENCE
Walla Walla 4-0 MCC, 5-1 overall
Kamiakin 3-0, 4-1
Richland 3-0, 4-1
Kennewick 3-1, 4-3
Hanford 2-2, 3-3
Southridge 1-2, 2-4
Pasco 0-3, 0-7
Hermiston 0-4, 0-5
Chiawana 0-4, 0-8
Tuesday, Dec. 12 — Kamiakin 77, Hermiston 75; Moses Lake 68, Pasco 25.
Friday, Dec. 15 — Kamiakin 56, Southridge 37; Kennewick 56, Chiawana 52; Richland 85, Hanford 53; Walla Walla 68, Hermiston 60.
Saturday, Dec. 16 — Hanford 73, Pasco 24; Kennewick 58, Southridge 55; Richland 79, Hermiston 60; Walla Walla 57, Chiawana 53.
Tuesday, Dec. 19 — Chiawana at Richland, 7:30 p.m.; East Valley-Yakima at Hanford, 7:30 p.m.; Hermiston at Pasco, 7:30 p.m.; Kennewick at Kamiakin, 7:30 p.m.; Southridge at Walla Walla, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 21 — Hermiston at West Valley-Spokane, 6 p.m.; Kamiakin at Sunnyside, 6 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 22 — Kennewick at Lewis & Clark, 7 p.m.; Post Falls at Kamiakin, 5:30 p.m.
MCC girls basketball
Richland girls basketball coach Amy Westerfield told a local TV sports reporter earlier this month that this conference will be very tough, and that the rest of the state is starting to recognize just how good the MCC is.
She’s right.
There are at least five teams who could do some serious damage come postseason — Chiawana, Kamiakin, Kennewick, Richland and Walla Walla.
Let’s start with Chiawana. The Riverhawks have a new head coach in Gary Jonas; some new players — including Sunnyside sophomore transfer guard Baylee Maldonado; and a loaded non-conference schedule.
Despite having no seniors, the Riverhawks have to be considered a favorite. Which makes it a little jolting to see them sitting in fifth place at the quarter pole of the MCC race.
Chiawana has a three-game losing streak right now: a 58-53 loss to 2A power Ellensburg; a 67-63 loss to Kennewick; and a 76-72 loss to Walla Walla.
“These girls show a bunch of resolve,” Jonas said after a win over Southridge a few weeks ago. “They’re a pretty good bunch. But we still have a long way to go.”
Post player Malia Ruud, who recently scored her 1,000th career point at Ellensburg, agrees.
“There are definitely huge expectations for us,” said the junior standout. “We know we have a target on our back. But there are a lot of ways to improve. I like everything about this team. Everyone makes the extra pass. Everyone is a hard worker. And we have a really deep bench.”
They’ll get a push from Kennewick, though. Haylee Johnson and Dylyn Dress are a great 1-2 punch. Johnson, already committed to play basketball and run track next year for Eastern Oregon University, is averaging 19.8 points a game.
Dress is scoring 15.0 points a game. Head coach Daron Santo has a veteran-laden team with this squad too.
Meanwhile, Lane Schumacher still has enough talent at Kamiakin (after losing Nikole Thomas and Maddy Rendall to graduation) to make some noise. Senior Nicole Wertenberger (19.6) and junior Aubrey Herrin (10.6) lead the way in scoring. Herrin and Mia Howard are dominating the boards.
Westerfield’s Bombers have yet to lose a game, and Macie Milum has successfully returned from last season’s torn ACL.
But she’s not the team’s leading scorer. Junior forward Mackenzie Schulz has that honor. She showed last season as a sophomore she could shoot the ball, and this season so far she has been the team’s top scorer in three of the team’s first four games. Schulz is averaging 17.3 points, while Milum is at 13.8 points a game.
Finally, Tresa Reibel’s Wa-Hi Blue Devils — just like the Wa-Hi boys — have jumped out quickly with a 4-0 MCC record (4-1 overall).
Walla Walla has great scoring depth, but Madison Reibel leads the team at 17.2 points per game, while Cami Martin averages 14.8 points.
▪ Pasco’s first-year head coach Sierra Perez picked up her first victory on Dec. 7 against Eisenhower in a 66-40 victory.
Journee Brooks led the way with 23 points for the Bulldogs.
So far, Brooks is the Bulldogs’ leading scorer with 12.2 points a game. But Leilani Sanders (11.8) and Mia Salgado (10.7) are right behind her.
4A MID-COLUMBIA CONFERENCE
Kennewick 4-0 MCC, 5-1 overall
Walla Walla 4-0, 4-1
Richland 3-0, 4-0
Kamiakin 2-1, 4-1
Chiawana 2-2, 5-3
Hanford 1-3, 1-5
Southridge 0-3, 2-4
Pasco 0-3, 1-5
Hermiston 0-4, 1-5
Tuesday, Dec. 12 — Ellensburg 58, Chiawana 53; Kamiakin 69, Hermiston 48; Moses Lake 48, Pasco 44
Friday, Dec. 15 — Kamiakin 74, Southridge 34; Kennewick 67, Chiawana 63; Richland 56, Hanford 41; Walla Walla 68, Hermiston 49
Saturday, Dec. 16 — Hanford 56, Pasco 49; Kamiakin 51, Davis 44; Kennewick 81, Southridge 63; Richland 71, Hermiston 54; Walla Walla 76, Chiawana 72
Tuesday, Dec. 19 — Chiawana at Richland, 5:45 p.m.; East Valley-Yakima at Hanford, 5:45 p.m.; Hermiston at Pasco, 5:45 p.m.; Kennewick at Kamiakin, 5:45 p.m.; Southridge at Walla Walla, 5:45 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 20 — Federal Way vs. Walla Walla at Eastmont, 12 p.m.; Pasco at Eastmont GESA Winter Shootout
Thursday, Dec. 21 — Hermiston at West Valley-Spokane, 4:30 p.m.; Kamiakin at Sunnyside, 4:30 p.m.; Mead at Chiawana, 5 p.m.; Pasco at Eastmont GESA Winter Shootout; Walla Walla at Eastmont, 6 p.m.
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
