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Morin second in POY voting By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Roseburg by one - again. Roseburg High senior wing Jori Grady was voted the Southern Oregon Conference girls basketball Player of the Year on Sunday, edging Grizzly senior post Marla Morin by a single point, 100-99, and North Medford senior post Kerstin Mellbye by two in one of the closest ballot tallies in league history. The SOC champion Indians (22-2 overall, 14-0 SOC), who defeated the Grizzlies 46-45 in a crucial league matchup back on Jan. 14, also took home the Coach of the Year award for Bob Feasel. Ashland High senior post Marla Morin (right) drives around Roseburg senior post Kristen Bitter during Roseburg's 46-45 Southern Oregon Conference victory Jan. 14 in Ashland's Mountain Avenue gym.Daily Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA Morin was one of four Grizzlies (17-7, 10-4) who made the annual list of the SOC's best and one of two on the first team. Ashland Sophomore guard Hilary Huyett was a first-teamer, while AHS sophomore guard Alysse Carlson and senior post Julia Sobolik both garnered honorable mention status. In a phone interview Sunday night, Morin said she's disappointed, but not heartbroken. "It was definitely in my mind, because I felt like I had a good (season)," Morin said, "but it's not like I'm going to have a stroke or anything because I didn't get it." Morin currently leads her team and the conference in scoring (18 points per game), and also averages a team-best 9.9 rebounds per game. She's shooting 54 percent from the field, 72 percent from the free throw line and has 38 steals and eight double-doubles. Those numbers plus Morin's "emotional leadership" led Ashland first-year coach Steve Humann to think his star was a shoo-in. "I really felt that Marla had established herself as the conference player of the year," Humann said, "but I can also understand how Jori Grady got it. I'm not upset. Knowing Marla, she'll think it's a great honor and she'll just pick up where she left off Thursday night (in Ashland's state playoff opener). "Marla's not a glory hound. She'll take all the honors that come her way and be gracious about it. I can be more upset than she is." The last two of the six first-teamers were Crater senior post Dani Montgomery and South Medford senior post Beth Mueller. Garnering second-team honors were: Roseburg junior guard Katie Stephens; Crater junior guard Whitney Black; Klamath Union sophomore wing Jenni Ritter; Roseburg senior wing Micaela Williams; and Eagle Point senior post Alisa Lee. Third-team honors went to: Eagle Point junior post Ashley Curtis; Roseburg junior post Katie Fuller; Crater junior guard Katie Robertson; South Medford senior guard Natasha Wright; and North Medford sophomore guard Kailey Bostwick. Huyett is averaging 14.1 points per game - second on her team and third in the conference. She also leads the Grizzlies in assists (106, 4.4 per game), steals (73, 3.1 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.9-to-1). And, in perhaps her most important contribution, the 5-9 sharp-shooter has drained a team-high 65 3-pointers. "It's really exciting, it's a great honor and I think it really reflects the entire team," Huyett said after Ashland's Sunday night practice. "When one person gets an award it's due to a team effort." Carlson, Ashland's 5-8 starting point guard, is averaging 8.7 points and 3.8 assists per game for the Grizzlies, while Sobolik is averaging 5.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Carlson was a third-team all-star her freshman season, while Sobolik is a first-time selection. "It's an honor to make any four of those teams," Carlson said. "I think it's great that four of us made it � It's almost our starting five so I think we're all pretty proud that we worked hard and got that far." Added Sobolik: "I think for this team, what makes this special is that we're not focused on the individual. We have some great players and so you can't ignore that. I think, basically, this is a team - that's all we're worried about." Morin, who will be attending Portland State University in the fall on a full ride volleyball scholarship, came in third in last year's player of the year vote behind co-winners Amy Denson and Sarah Pool of Crater. Grady was a third-team selection last season and Mellbye was a second-team pick. Humann thinks Morin's near miss in Sunday's vote could provide another source of motivation for his team leader when the Grizzlies begin their playoff run at home in three days against the winner of McNary vs. Reynolds. "I can see that someone's going to pay," Humann said, "and it's probably going to be either Reynolds or McNary." Grizz playoff notes: Humann and company learned just how hard their playoff road will be over the weekend when the OSAA released the pairings. If Ashland beats the McNary-Reynolds winner it will play Tualatin, the second-seed out of the Pac-9 Conference, Saturday in Tualatin for a spot in the Class 4A State Tournament (March 4-8 at the University of Portland's Chiles Center). There, they'd play sixth-ranked Sheldon (20-2) in the first round and would also be on the same side of the bracket as No. 1 Oregon City (21-1) and No. 8 Central Catholic (18-4). "I think we're going to be ready," Humann said Sunday. "We had a good, hard workout today and we're gathering information on both McNary and Reynolds, so it doesn't matter who we play, we'll be ready mentally and physically." 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