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Grizz get first big test tonight By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings The streaking Ashland High girls basketball team will get its first big Southern Oregon Conference test tonight when the fifth-ranked Roseburg Indians pay a visit to Mountain Avenue gym. The unranked Grizzlies - winners of six straight - haven't lost since Dec. 20 and will be looking to improve on their 3-0 SOC record and 10-3 overall mark. Roseburg, rated No. 2 behind Ashland in the league's preseason coaches poll, also is 3-0 in league play (11-2 overall), which makes tonight's game easily the biggest early season matchup in the SOC. "They're a very good team," Ashland coach Steve Humann said. "They're well-coached, they have good players and they're a very formidable team. It's a big game for us and I believe that we'll be well prepared both mentally and physically." Leading a balanced Roseburg squad is 5-5 junior Katie Stephens, 5-7 senior Micaela Williams, 6-2 junior Katie Fuller and 6-4 senior Kristen Bitter, who scored 12 points in Roseburg's 49-36 win over Eagle Point on Friday. The Grizzlies will counter that lineup with 6-1 senior Marla Morin, 5-9 sophomore Hilary Huyett, 5-8 sophomore Alysse Carlson, 5-10 senior Chloe Hansen and 5-11 senior Julia Sobolik, among others. The Grizzlies' inside-outside combination has proven too much for most opponents this season. With Morin and Huyett leading the way, the Grizzlies have cracked the 60-point barrier eight times and are averaging 61.5 points per game. That was the story again Friday night, when Huyett sank five 3-pointers en route to a 24-point night in a 64-56 win at South Medford. In Huyett (17.2 points per game) and Morin (17.8 points per game), the Grizzlies have two of the top nine scorers in the state and Oregon's top scoring tandem. Humann says he likes to go inside first, but when Huyett's signature high-arching shot is falling Ashland has done a good job getting her the ball. They'll need to be firing on all cylinders tonight, Humann says, to hand Roseburg its first conference loss. "I think Marla's going to have to do well," Humann said, "Hilary's got to shoot from the outside, Alysse is going to have to drive the train and Chloe and Julia are going to have to be the conductors and make sure everything runs right. "I think we match up pretty well. I think it'll be a challenging game, but we're not putting a lot of emphasis on one game." LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -