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Grizzlies take comeback win By Chris Miller Ashland Daily Tidings Coaches may be best known for halftime tongue-lashings, but sometimes the best motivational speeches come from the players. Just ask any of Ashland High's girls basketball team after their dramatic come from behind victory over the Crater Comets Friday night and they'll tell you senior post Marla Morin's halftime speech gave them all the motivation they needed to erase a six point first quarter deficit en route to a 46-41 Southern Oregon Conference home win. "In the first half we just found it hard to get excited, but Marla gave a huge speech and it got us revved," sophomore point guard Alysse Carlson said after the game. Ashland High's girls basketball teamcelebrates its come from behind win over the Crater Comets at home Friday night. Ashland Daily Tidings/CHRIS MILLER With about a minute and a half remaining in the halftime shootaround, Morin pulled her teammates over for a huddle near the stage end of the court's free-throw line. What she said verbatim only the hardwood may remember, but the point of her spirited chat definitely had an impact. "I said how much the game meant to us seniors, because we have never beat them," Morin said after the game about her first varsity win over the Comets. Crater scored first in the second half when senior guard Erin Kinney hit a running layup to put the Comets up by 6, 27-21. Then Carlson took Morin words to heart. She hit the second of her three 3-pointers to pull the Grizz within six. And as if that wasn't good enough, she hit another 3 on the Grizzlies' next possession after stealing the ball to tie the game at 27 apiece for the first tie since 4-4 with 4:21 left in the first quarter. Carlson then took the ball straight at the basket and gave the home squad the lead at 29-27 with 6:08 left in the contest - their first since the start of the game. The Grizz never relinquished the lead. "That was a wonderful girls high school basketball game," Grizz head coach Steve Humann said after the team's post-game huddle. "I am so proud of our seniors, they all played great. I am happy for them because they've not beaten Crater before." However, the game was far from over. In the first half, the normally good free-throw shooting Grizz struggled, only making 37 percent (3-8) from the line. Another cool shooting stretch would have let Crater back in, as they fouled the Grizz on every possession with three minutes left. But when it counted down the stretch, the Grizz made good on their free tosses, converting 100 percent (12-12) once they had the lead. "We just started to click on the free throws," Carlson said. "Crater has taken this game away from us so many years in a row, but it was a lot of fun and we picked up the intensity and went with it." The Comets tried a delay offense to diffuse the quick-hitting Grizz that worked in the first half. Ashland only scored 13 first-half points, their lowest of the season. But good coaching by the entire Grizz staff changed the tempo of the game, allowing Ashland to get back into its groove. "The 1-3-1 press changed the tempo of the game," Humann said. "I had a lot of help (on the sidelines). All four of us made changes on defense." 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 -