The Hermiston bench cheers late in the fourth quarter Feb. 22, 2022, at Hermiston High School as the Bulldogs defeat the Peninsula Seahawks 74-61. Hermiston then on Saturday, Feb. 26, scored at the buzzer to beat Everett 53-51 in a 3A regional basketball game at Everett Community College.

EVERETT, Wash. — Freshman Izzy Simmons scored 12 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter — including the game-winner at the buzzer — as Hermiston rallied to beat Everett 53-51 in a 3A regional basketball game Saturday, Feb. 26, at Everett Community College.

“I’m going to start calling them the Cardiac Kids,” Hermiston coach Jay Ego said. “They have no give up in them. Everett is a good team and their length really caused us trouble. They started 5-5, 5-11, 5-11, 5-10 and 6-1 players. Someone asked us if we were a soccer team.”

Hermiston (16-10) will play Kelso at 3:45 p.m. on March 2 at the Tacoma Dome in a state loser-out game. The winner will advance to the final eight.

It’s the first Hardwood Classic appearance for Hermiston, who joined the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association in 2018.

Everett, which hasn’t been to the state tournament in more than 25 years, finished its season 12-8.

The Bulldogs trailed 33-41 heading into the fourth quarter, where they outscored the Seagulls 20-10.

Hermiston trailed by seven points with 5 minutes left in the game, but pulled with 49-47 down the stretch.

Ella Sylvester scored to give the Seagulls a 51-49 lead with 1:47 to go, but Simmons scored a game-tying layup with 30 seconds left to even the score.

With 13.8 seconds left on the clock, Everett turned the ball over and the Bulldogs went to work.

Hermiston brought the ball up the court, and with time running out, Dri Coleman drove the lane but did not have a shot. She kicked the ball out to Simmons, who drove the key for a layup as time expired.

“It was really exciting,” Simmons said. “This has never happened to a Hermiston team before. We are headed to the Tacoma Dome. We are proving everyone wrong who said we couldn’t do it. We like to make things exciting.”

Though she is just a freshman, Simmons said she is adjusting to be a team leader.

“It’s like a dream,” she said. “I never thought I’d be in this position, or getting the game-winning shot, or being the one who leads us to the Tacoma Dome. It’s amazing.”

The Seagulls led 17-13 after the first quarter, but extended their lead to 29-19 at the half.

“We trailed the whole game until it was zeros,” Ego said. “We just ripped another team’s heart out. At the end of the third, I told them we had to execute. They settled down a bit. I’m really proud of them. It’s a long season and I appreciate how they have accepted the change.”

Senior Katelyn Heideman scored eight of her 13 points in the second half, while Bailey Young spread her 10 points throughout the game.

Alana Washington led Everett with 16 points, while Ella Sylvester added 13.