East Oregonian
PENDLETON — The final moments of Weston-McEwen’s third-place game at the Blue Mountain Conference District Tournament on Saturday were spiked with emotion in both directions.
After trailing for most of the fourth quarter freshman TigerScot Marlene Bodmer corralled a 3/4-court pass that led to a layup at the buzzer as Weston-McEwen upset Union 43-42 for the final state playoff spot out of the conference.
The basket gave the game’s final 29 seconds its third lead change.
“J’Shon (Thompson) looked up, passed the ball and ‘boom,’ the ball goes in and we won,” Bodmer said. “It was a little hectic and crazy.”
Morgan Entze had given the TigerScots a 41-40 lead with her own made shot on the TigerScots’ last possession before Bodmer’s bucket, but Union took the advantage back immediately. Prior to the decisive drive, Union’s Kaci Langford
thrust her team ahead with a basket, leaving just nine seconds game.
Running short on time, the TigerScots wasted none, in-bounding the ball and hurling it up court as the clock continued to roll. Luckily, the team had dedicated large chunks of practices to late-game scenarios like Saturday’s recently. Just in case, coach Amber Doremus said.
“We just let it ride, and it works out because Marlene makes layups,” she said.
Morgan Entze scored 13 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Weston-McEwen, while Union’s Keesha Sarman had a huge day with 18 points and 13 boards.
Bodmer finished with six points, the last two erasing any lingering frustrations from her 3-for-15 shooting day.