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--> --> Ashland junior post Marla Morin tries to score inside as Alysse Carlson (right) looks on. Ashland Daily Tidings/AMY ALONZO Grizz girls fall in league opener; AHS boys, SOU roundup By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings South Medford outscored Ashland 8-0 in the final 3:38 Friday to spoil Alysse Carlson's breakout game and hand the Grizzlies a 57-47 Southern Oregon Conference loss at the Mountain Avenue gym. Carlson, Ashland's freshman point guard, scored a career-high 19 points to go with her seven rebounds but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter as her counterpart, South's Whitney Grant, scored the last four points and had a critical steal. Grant, who finished with 13 points and five assists, picked off an errant pass then drove the length of the court with just under 20 seconds left to clinch the victory. "To me, I think we could have beat this team," Carlson said. "They made smart moves on our mistakes and they took advantage of when we went wrong." The loss dropped the Grizz girls to 2-4 overall, and was the league opener for both teams. Ashland played catch-up most of the way, but scored four straight points to get within 49-47 with 3:40 to go in the game. The Grizzlies' aggressive full court press led to a quick foul two seconds later, however, and Grant sank both free throws to give South Medford some breathing room. Despite four missed shots and a turnover over the next 2 1/2 minutes, Ashland had a chance to cut the deficit to two with just under a minute left, but a Panther steal off an inbounds pass led to Kirsten Gillingham's layup with 30 seconds left. That gave the Panthers a six-point cushion and Grant did the rest. Ashland coach Stephanie Santos said her team played well in spurts, "and then they would go into their inexperience zone, freak out and rush, instead of just slowing down. I think another game or two and hopefully, we won't have to worry about that anymore." "I think that we took some big steps as a team," Grizz post Marla Morin said. "We were doing a lot more gelling together but by the same token, we weren't executing at the proper times and they were filling in those gaps when we weren't executing." Morin was the Grizzlies second-leading scorer with 12 points. She also had 12 rebounds and four steals, both team highs. Junior post Julia Sobolik chipped in with eight points. Gillingham, a junior guard, led South with a team-high 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Panthers also got 12 points and a team-high 11 rebounds from freshman guard Katie Singler. Carlson scored 11 points in the first quarter, helping the Grizzlies break out to a 21-17 lead early in the second quarter. South Medford went on a 5-0 run to regain the lead then Grant scored inside after the teams traded baskets to put the Panthers up for good, 24-23. South increased its lead to 33-28 at the half and led 44-38 after three quarters. Carlson netted six points in the third and Morin added six in the fourth, but the rest of the team added only seven points in the second half. Carlson showed her potential early on, draining a contested 3-pointer, two jump shots and a fastbreak layin, all in the first quarter. Her spectacular three-point play off a drive in the second quarter brought the crowd to its feet. "She's really good; she's awesome," Morin said of Ashland's floor leader. "At times she pulls Hanna Seltzer moves on me and I'm just thinking, `what are you doing?' Like the last game, she totally looked at me when she was going in for a layin and just put it up and it was like déjà vu all over again, but she's got so much potential. It's going to be exciting to see what she can do this year." "Yeah, I'm getting more comfortable," Carlson added. "I still have the first game jitters but I'm sure they're going away already. It's big shoes to fill. I mean, I'm following Hanna Seltzer and all those great players, but I'm just having a good time still and I'm doing the best that I can." The Grizzlies next will take on the Grants Pass Lady Cavers in another SOC contest scheduled for Tuesday, at Grants Pass. Ashland Boys Basketball At Anderson, Calif., behind Titus Weston's game-high 18 points and Lance Streng's 13 points and six assists, the Grizzlies upset No. 1 seed C.K. McClatchy 59-51 in the semifinals of the 43rd annual Anderson Invitational on Friday. Ashland (3-2) will take on Hayward of the San Francisco Bay area in today's championship game at 4:30 p.m. The Grizzlies outscored McClatchy 22-11 in the second quarter to seize a 32-22 halftime lead, then held off a late Lions' run to advance. Ashland will get plenty of rest after the championship game. Their next game isn't until Dec. 27, at home against Rogue River. SOU Women's Basketball At Kirkland, Wash., Sara Marks scored a game-high 17 points and Kara Magee-Arick added 13 points and seven rebounds, leading the Raiders to a 70-63 Cascade Conference-opening win over Northwest College Friday night. Marks was just 7 of 22 from the floor but connected on 3 of 6 3-pointers for the Raiders, who improved to 4-4 overall. Northwest was led by Moriah Hover's 16-point, 12-rebound effort, but leading scorer Katy Lockard managed just 10 points on 4 of 11 shooting. The Raiders were out-rebounded 43-39 and had 21 turnovers, but made up for it by holding the Eagles to 32 percent shooting (24-for-75). The Raiders continue their Cascade Conference schedule tonight at Evergreeen. Email your... 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