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--> --> Jan. 19: Steady Grizzlies pick up must-win; AHS sports wrapup By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings A mistake-free offense and another stellar performance by Marla Morin helped Ashland squeak past Grants Pass 54-45 Friday in Southern Oregon Conference girls basketball action at the Mountain Avenue gym. Ashland's most significant win of the season moved the Grizzlies into a tie with the Lady Cavers for fourth place in the conference standings. Only the top four teams qualify for the league playoffs and both the Grizzlies and the Lady Cavers have six league games remaining on their schedule. The win avenged a 57-40 Grants Pass home win back on Dec. 18, which was the second of two consecutive losses Ashland suffered at the start of league play. Since, the Grizz have won four of six to improve to 8-10 overall. "I think our last game (against Grants Pass) we were just starting off and it was the beginning of the season," Grizzlies' sharp-shooter Stefani Talbott said. "I think that we've improved a lot throughout. I think just working as a team we've gotten used to each other on the floor and I think it just shows that we stepped up as a team. We've improved so much since the first time we've played them." Morin led all scorers with 25 points, despite facing double and triple-teams all night, and also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds. Talbott added 10 points, Julia Sobolik chipped in seven points and grabbed five boards (all off the offensive glass) and Alysse Carlson tallied seven points. Ashland also got six boards and a team-high five assists from Abigail Gooch. "We came out with a lot of intensity, I think," Morin said. "Even in the locker room, we were all really focused before the game and we were just ready to play. We wanted to win this game, we needed this game for the playoffs." Grants Pass got a team-high 12 points, including three 3-pointers, out of Alison Klingel and eight points from Kelli Brigas. The Grizzlies, putting forth perhaps their most conservative effort of the season, never trailed, but never had more than a seven-point cushion until the final minutes either. Ashland's lead fluctuated between one and five points through the first three quarters before the Grizzlies finally delivered the knockout punch - an 8-0 run at the start of the fourth that turned a 44-43 nail-biter into a 52-43 runaway with 4:09 left. Morin both started that rally and capped it off with inside buckets, and also had a three-point play attempt in the middle, but missed the free throw. Carlson scored the other two points from the charity stripe. "Morin is probably twice the ball player she was early in the year," Grants Pass coach Ken Lathen said. "She's really come on. I don't know her but I can tell you just from watching her, I'm impressed with her character, her competitiveness. She's fundamentally sound and she seems like just a super human being. You put all those together and get somebody like that, they're just improving leaps and bounds. "There are some players at Crater that are probably better but they're better because they have more experience. She's going to be every bit as good as they are and I think she'll be a Division I player." Grants Pass trailed by four points after the first quarter, by one at halftime and by three heading into the fourth but could never get over the hump, as Ashland dictated the tempo and avoided costly turnovers - something that haunted the Grizzlies in their loss at Grants Pass. Both coaches said the Grizzlies are much improved since opening league play with consecutive defeats. "We're just a whole new team, we're a totally different team," Ashland coach Stephanie Santos said. "This is how they should be playing from now on. They've finally gelled. They know what their jobs are and their expectations." Devoid of the freelance, helter-skelter running game that dominated Ashland's early-season contests, the Grizzlies were content to simply out-execute Grants Pass. For the most part, they did just that. Morin looked more comfortable passing out of double teams and Carlson, Gooch, Talbott, Chloe Hansen and Kate Morris whipped the ball around until somebody had an open shot. On the first play of the game, Morin got the ball in the post and was immediately doubled. Early in the season this may have led to a turnover, but the more seasoned junior post kicked it out to Talbott, who swished her first of two treys. "We showed that we're not just a one-person team, we have all areas," Talbott said. The Grizzlies occasionally showed flashes of their fastbreak offense as well. Early in the third quarter Carlson threaded the defense with a pass to a streaking Talbott, who slashed in for the layup to give Ashland a 39-34 lead. The Grizzlies' game-clinching rally was capped in almost the same way, but this time with a pass from Gooch to Morin. Ashland has a week off to prepare for another critical SOC clash, Jan. 25 against South Medford (6-2 SOC). South Medford, two games ahead of Ashland in the conference standings, beat the Grizzlies 57-47 on Dec. 14 in both teams SOC-opener. Ashland Boys Basketball At Grants Pass, the Cavemen jumped out to a 39-16 halftime lead en route to their fourth consecutive victory Friday, 82-38. Grants Pass wing Brant Minor led all scorer with 21 points as the Cavemen (12-3, 4-2 SOC) handed Ashland (5-9, 1-5 SOC) its third straight loss. The Grizzlies were paced by Nick Palmesano's 13 points. Next up for the Grizz boys is a Jan. 25 home tilt against conference-leader South Medford (15-1, 6-0). Ashland Swim Team At Medford, the Ashland girls and boys varsity swim team each finished second to Grants Pass in a Southern Oregon Conference three-way Friday at the Medford YMCA pool. Grants Pass won the boys meet with 142 points and took the girls competition with 123 points, while the Ashland boys had 114 and the Ashland girls had 111. North Medford was a distant third in both meets. The Black Tornado boys finished with 39 points while the girls picked up 72. The Grizz boys were led again by Brad Scoles, who swept the 200 and 500-meter freestyle races. Scoles, who also helped Ashland's 200 freestyle relay team grab second place, won the 200 in 1:52.72, well ahead of second-place Adam Zoppo of Grants Pass, who touched in 2:05.91. Scoles then won the 500 in 5:22.63, over 30 seconds faster than runner-up Rory Van Brunt of Grants Pass (5:59.09). No other Ashland boys were victorious, although the Grizzlies did notch six second-place performances - two by relay - and three third-place finishes. Individual second-place finishers for the Grizzlies included Arron Nelson ( 50 free, 25.45; 100 free, 54.97) and Nathan Jessop (100 breaststroke, 1:21.66), while the third-place performers were Geoff Berteau (200 intermediate medley, 2:42.58), Jeremy Johnson (500 free, 6:32.34) and Caleb Salmond (100 backstroke, 1:10.73). The Grizz girls were led by Michelle Smith and Haley Scoles, who both picked up individual titles. Smith won the 200 IM in 2:35.50 while Scoles won the 50 freestyle in 29.42. The Ashland girls also won the 400 freestyle relay, had four second-place performances and five third-place performances, not counting the third-place 200 medley relay team. The Grizz girls' second-place finishers were: Lila Little (200 freestyle, 2:22.37; 500 freestyle, 6:14.65; 200 freestyle, 2:22.37) and Smith (100 butterfly, 1:11.77). Their third-place finishers were: Scoles (100 freestyle, 1:05.02), Ava Godfrey (200 freestyle, 2:24.71; 500 freestyle, 6:29.98), Caitlin Sanferd (50 freestyle, 30.96) and Faye Walker (100 breaststroke, 1:30.02). Ashland next takes on North Medford and Crater in a Jan. 25 three-way, to be held at the Southern Oregon University pool. Ashland Downhill Ski Team The Ashland High boys varsity team won a six-team giant slalom meet while the girls grabbed second in a four-teamer Friday on the Tempest run at Ski Ashland. South Medford won the girls race, edging the Grizzlies by three seconds in total time. The Grizzlies were represented well in the boys race, notching five of the top six times. Brian Westerberg led that charge, taking second to Lakeview's Jens Odegaard in 2:15.15. Odegaard's total time was 2:04.39. Other Grizz boys in the top-six were Chris Newton (2:20.34), Dustin Way (2:21.44), Wes Tygerson (2:23.79) and Darren Yondorf (2:24.90). The Ashland girls were paced by fifth-place finisher Megan Hald, who crossed the finish line in 2:32.49. Camilla Thorndike (sixth, 2:36.14) and Sarah Camp (seventh, 2:39.12) also had impressive runs for the Grizzlies. North Medford's Heather Caswell won the race in 2:25.86. The meet concludes with today's slalom, which began at 10 a.m. Ashland Bowling Team At Grants Pass, the Ashland girls finished second to Roseburg in a 19-team conference tournament Jan. 6 at Showtime Lanes. In the first three regular game segment, senior Bianca Montagnino averaged a 184 and bowled a high game of 222 to lead the Grizzlies. Other Grizz bowlers include: Angela Walsh, Traci Brander, Natalie Braham, Rachael Prado, Jenny Schueller and Carly Winner. The Grizzlies are coached by Joe Dauenhauer Jr. Email your... 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