Former Hermiston, WNBA Star Jailed in Umatilla County-Various Charges

A former Hermiston and later Louisville and WNBA girls basketball standout is in the Umatilla County jail, facing a variety of charges.

Umatilla County reports, as do multiple national sports sources that 29-year-old Shoni Schimmel was arrested early Monday for felony assault and criminal mischief, as well as several misdemeanors including domestic abuse, menacing and others.

Authorities did not reveal the background of these charges, however, her bail was set at just over $48,000.

Schimmel captured the imagination of Northeastern Oregon and Southeastern WA after her standout career at Hermiston and then Franklin High in Portland led her to the Univesity of Louisville. She was raised on the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Reservation before transferring to Hermiston. She fast became known as a hoops phenomenon.

She moved to Portland after Hermiston to increase her opportunities of getting an NCAA D-I scholarship, she got one at the University of Louisville.

There she became the school's 3rd all-time leading scorer, was a two time Second Team All American, and in 2013 led Louisville to the NCAA final before losing to UConn. She was drafted in 2014 into the WNBA.

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After two very good years in the WNBA with the Atlanta Dream, including an MVP award, she played one year with the New York Liberty following a trade in 2016. A concussion ended her season after 17 games there.

After taking 2017 off for personal reasons, she returned to the league in 2018 and played two games with the Las Vegas Aces before being waived.

She has been out of the league since then. According to the Umatilla County Sheriff's office, her arrest was on Highway 331, a short 5 mile road that runs from Oregon Highway 11 through the Umatilla Reservation to Interstate 84 east of Pendleton. It's also known as the Umatilla Mission Highway. Why the arrest took place there is not known.