Hermiston's Sarah VonArx looks to pass past Pendleton's Lynette Minthorn in the Bulldogs' win over the Buckaroos Tuesday at Pendleton High School. <i>Staff photo by Nicole Barker</i>

PENDLETON – Stopping Shoni Schimmel was not an option. Containing her wasn’t much more plausible. So the Pendleton Buckaroos could only hope that senior post Lynette Minthorn could match her.

In the first quarter of their Intermountain Conference game Tuesday Minthorn did just that, putting up seven points to the Bulldog sophomore’s eight. But as the game went on, Schimmel and the Hermiston Bulldogs got the better of their rivals in a 55-36 victory.

The Bulldogs (21-4, 14-0 IMC) finished their IMC season with a perfect record in handing the Bucks (16-8, 8-6 IMC) just their second loss at Warberg Court this season.

“We were looking for (Minthorn) to match (Schimmel) and she almost did,” Pendleton coach Ryan Sams said. “And Shoni got a couple buckets late when the game was over so I thought (Minthorn) matched her fine.”

Schimmel ended the night with a game-high 20 points, but had one of her poorest nights from behind the three-point arc going one for 12 while hitting seven of eight from inside the arc. She also led the Bulldogs with five assists and turned in five rebounds.

Minthorn led the Bucks with 14 points and tied with Alexis Doutre for the team lead in rebounds with six. Overall, the Bulldogs outrebounded the Bucks 29-16.

With the Bulldogs leading 13-10 after the first quarter, Pendleton looked ready to give them a run to the wire with a steady stream of entry passes to Minthorn and an opportunistic defense that put itself in position for plenty of steals.

But even as Schimmel hit a slump – scoring only one point in the second quarter – the Buck offense put itself to sleep. With Sams wanting his team to play at a more controlled pace, the Bucks put an emphasis on passing around the horn and making the Bulldog defenders come to them to try to get Minthorn single coverage down low. But the plan backfired as the Bucks sometimes got so caught up in the ball control aspect of the offense that they passed on open shots or became hesitant to feed the ball into the lane.

“They quit executing what we were trying to do,” Sams said of his team’s offense. “We were trying to make (Hermiston) come out on us so it would leave Lynette (Minthorn) one on one. They did that pretty good in the first quarter but in the second quarter … we just totally went away from what got us there.”

But even as the Buck offense crept along, Pendleton was able to close within three points at 19-16 before a 10-4 Bulldog run gave them a 29-20 lead at the half.

“I guess that was a good strategy because the game was fairly close for the half and I think when we finally got the ball offense we rushed things. It frustrated us so it worked,” Royer said of the Bucks’ offensive strategy.

Pendleton started the third the same way they finished the second and Hermiston senior Brianna Stacona hit an early 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs their first double-digit lead of the game at 32-20.

With Minthorn not getting the looks inside anymore – she scored just three second-half points – Royer told his team to just sit back and make the Bucks create something on offense. The Bucks had been successful at breaking the Hermiston trap and getting easy looks down low but once the Bulldogs started clogging the middle with a zone, Pendleton struggled to adjust.

“They didn’t really do anything, they just sat out there and kept the ball,” Schimmel said. “We didn’t really know what to do so in the second half we just kind of sat back and let them stand out there and waste time.”

“If we could have pushed ahead they would have had to come out man to man and I don’t think they could have stopped Lynette,” Sams said. “We were telling (the team) in the huddle that if (Hermiston) gives you that open three, you have to take it.”

The entire Bulldog front court came up with solid games as Michelle Coombs, Sarah VonArx, Jessica Rowan and Paige Davis were able to hold Pendleton’s top two scorers coming into the game to just 12 points combined as the Bucks’ Jenny Beamer and Doutre ended up with six apiece.

VonArx had the best statistical night of the group with six points, and team highs in blocks (three) and rebounds (seven). Davis had four points and a team-high four steals.

“Sarah (VonArx) is one of the players that has really come on in the past seven or eight games,” Royer said. “She’s starting to play aggressive and play with more confidence and she’s a talented athlete. She’s somebody that we need to score for us and we need to get 10 rebounds a game for us too. She’s definitely capable of doing that.”

Shanna Treloar ended up with five points, three steals and three assists for the Bucks.

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HERMISTON 13 16 12 14 – 55

PENDLETON 10 10 5 11 – 36

HERMISTON (21-4. 14-0 IMC) – Shoni Schimmel 20, McCloud 11, VonArx 6, Stacona 5, Whitsett 4, Davis 4, Cobb 4, Schimmel 1, Webb, Pedro, Rowan, Royer, Coombs.

PENDLETON (16-8, 8-6 IMC) – Lynette Minthorn 14, Beamer 6, Doutre 6, Treloar 5, Swearingen 2, Koeller 2, Sanchez 1, Treloar, Vogler, Enright, Hoeft.

3-point field goals – Hermiston 4, Pendleton 1. Free throws – Hermiston 9-14, Pendleton 13-21. Fouls – Hermiston 18, Pendleton 11.