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AHS hoopsters thinking big By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings New coach, new season, same goal - a Southern Oregon Conference championship. Led by first-year head coach Steve Humann and armed with a talented corps of returners, the Ashland High girls basketball team kicks off what it hopes will be a banner 2003 SOC season tonight against the Eagle Point Eagles. The Grizzlies (7-3) wrapped up their preseason schedule last Saturday with a 55-41 win over West Salem in the championship game of the Dallas Tournament and head into tonight's contest - scheduled for 7 p.m. at Mountain Avenue gym - riding a season-best three-game winning streak. "We're excited to be home," said Humann, who earlier in the season pegged the SOC title as the team's first goal and the state title as its ultimate goal. "It's been an odyssey on the road. We're right where I like to be. We've used the preseason to come together." So far, that coming together ride has been pretty smooth. Despite a grueling non-league schedule that included nine road games, the Grizzlies have won six of their last seven since back-to-back setbacks to eighth-ranked Lakeridge and unranked Crescent Valley in the first week of December and have surpassed the 60-point barrier six times. Led by the inside-out scoring tandem of senior post Marla Morin and sophomore guard Hilary Huyett, Ashland - rated No. 1 in the conference in a preseason SOC coaches poll - is averaging 61.3 points per game while holding opponents to 50.4. Morin, Ashland's 6-1 wrecking ball who came in third in SOC-Player of the Year voting last season, is averaging 17.1 points per game, while Huyett, a 5-9 transfer from Idaho who played with many of her current teammates while growing up in Ashland, is scoring 17.2 per contest. While those two consistently score in double digits the rest of the points and the bulk of the rebounds are generally spread evenly through the rest of the roster, which is why Humann likens his team to a train run by a slew of role players. "Marla is the engine," describes Humann, "Alysse (Carlson) is the engineer, Hilary is the fuel, Chloe (Hansen) and Julia (Sobolik) are the conductors, then people are coming off the bench who fit right in." Carlson, a 5-8 sophomore point guard, returns following a promising freshman year in which she earned a spot in the starting lineup during preseason workouts and showed steady improvement the rest of the way. Hansen, a 5-10 senior wing, and Sobolik, a 5-11 senior post, will team with Morin to give Ashland what should be one of the most formidable front lines in the SOC. Eagle Point (7-2) opened the season with seven straight wins but lost two in a row last weekend in a 16-team Seattle, Wash., tournament. The Eagles, who finished the 2001-02 season 5-19 overall and 2-12 (tied for eighth) in the SOC, are led by 6-0 junior post Ashley Curtis and 5-10 senior post Alisa Lee. "I think we match up well," Humann said after Thursday's practice. "We're well prepared, we're coming off wins and we have confidence." Ashland finished 13-14 last season, losing to Glencoe in the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs. The Grizzlies finished SOC play tied with Grants Pass for fourth place at 7-7, then beat the Cavers in a playoff at Grants Pass to qualify for state. The Grizz haven't exactly relaxed during their Christmas vacation. Following the weekend tourney Humann gave his team Sunday and Monday off, but they practiced Tuesday and Wednesday and will hold a shoot-around today. Ashland opened the season Dec. 3 with a 64-43 road win over Marshfield, but was quickly brought back to earth thanks to a pair of losses to Lakeridge (63-58) and Crescent Valley (58-55) at the Crescent Valley Tournament. The Grizzlies then bounced back with three straight wins over Thurston (63-45), Summit (56-40) and Yreka 60-38. Ashland dropped its next game Dec. 20 to Redmond (86-70), but hasn't lost since in games against Mt. View (62-58), Summit (70-32) and West Salem. "It'll be great being at home," said Humann, pointing out that his team hasn't played in front of its home crowd since the Dec. 10 drubbing of Thurston. "I'm looking forward to that, and (assistant coach) Ross Coldwell has the defense ready." 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 -