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Grizz lose heartbreaker By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings PORTLAND - The Ashland High girls basketball team owned the boards most of the way, but couldn't coral the rebound that mattered most in a heartbreaking loss Tuesday. Redmond senior guard Jessi Schaumburg grabbed a long rebound and drilled an eight-foot jumper with seven seconds left to give the Panthers a 58-57 first-round victory over the Grizzlies in the Class 4A tourney opener. Schaumburg's shot, her first bucket of the game in nine attempts, ruined a valiant Grizzly comeback that erased a seven-point deficit in the last three minutes in front of a stunned bipartisan crowd at the Chiles Center. "They got a lucky shot off," Ashland senior post Marla Morin said, "and I guess that's kind of how life goes sometimes." Morin, who led Ashland with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a losing cause, banked in a baseline jumper with 18 seconds left to give the Grizzlies their first lead since midway through the third quarter. Redmond inbounded and worked the ball to senior guard Nicole Hudson, who fired a wide-open 3-pointer from the left side. The rebound careened directly to Schaumburg, who got the shot off through the teeth of the Grizzly defense. "That was probably one of our only rebounds of the game, but it certainly came at the right time," Redmond coach Wes Owens said. Ashland quickly inbounded to sophomore guard Hilary Huyett, who was way off on a half-court heave. The loss dropped Ashland (19-8) into the loser's bracket of the 16-team, double-elimination tournament, where they played the sixth-ranked Sheldon Irish (21-4) at 9 this morning. Sheldon will take on Southridge (18-8) in Thursday's semifinals. "That last shot, that's just throw it up there and it's luck," Ashland senior post Julia Sobolik said. "And sometimes luck just doesn't turn your way. I don't think we could have done anything to stop that shot. There's always the what-if, if you look back at that. I think we played a solid game and it just wasn't our roll of the dice." Huyett and sophomore post Abeni Hill - delivering easily her best game of the season - each scored 13 to compliment Morin. Hudson led all scorers with 24 points on 9 of 17 shooting, including 5-for-9 from beyond the arc. No other Panther scored in double figures. Ashland High coach Steve Humann talked up Redmond's full-court press prior to the game and sure enough, the Grizzlies struggled to advance the ball all day. Redmond's highly touted press produced 19 steals, helping the Panthers survive being out-shot 45 percent (24-for-53) to 37 percent (21-for-57) and outrebounded 40-31. The Panthers (21-4) forced 22 turnovers, including eight in the third quarter, when they outscored Ashland 22-15 to take a 47-43 lead into the fourth. Redmond's non-stop press continued to wreak havoc in the final quarter, and the Panthers took what appeared to be an insurmountable 53-46 lead on Mallory Whipple's steal and subsequent fastbreak lay-in at the 5:10 mark. "They were very tough," AHS sophomore guard Alysse Carlson said of the Panthers' press. "All the press breakers that we worked on, we had to work even harder to try to get them to actually work. They were extremely tight on defense." Two minutes of perimeter passing in an attempt to run out the clock left Redmond in the same position with 3:06 left, but with Whipple at the line for a one-and-one. But low and behold Whipple clanked Redmond's first chance to bury Ashland, and the Grizzlies followed with an assault that very nearly landed them in the second round for the first time in team history. Huyett, who was held to 5 of 17 shooting, got it started with an inside bucket with 2:52 left. Redmond turned the ball over moments later, and Huyett came through again -- this time with a spectacular three-point play that capped a twisting, falling hook shot. Candice Miller missed inside on Redmond's next possession, and Morin was fouled grabbing the defensive board. She sank both ends of the one-and-one to tie the game at 53 with 2 minutes left. Another turnover by Redmond gave the Grizzlies a chance to take the lead, but -- in a game-altering six-point swing -- Carlson missed a wide-open 3-pointer and Hudson banked in one at the other end, putting the Panthers up 56-53 with 1:18 to go. The fun was just beginning. Morin scored inside with 56 seconds left to pull Ashland within one again, and the Grizzlies fouled Hudson with 38 seconds to go. Then, in a wild sequence that had both fan sections gasping, Hudson missed the front end of her one-and-one attempt and Sobolik rebounded. Sobolik dished to Huyett, who threw a deep, errant pass that deflected off players from both teams before dribbling harmlessly out of bounds. After a brief hesitation, the officials gave Ashland the ball on the side with 27 seconds left. After a timeout, the Grizzlies quickly got the ball to Morin, who was isolated on the right side. She easily scored her seventh make in 11 attempts. Redmond's press looked like too much for the younger, greener Grizzlies early. Behind a flurry of steals, the Panthers reeled off a 15-4 first-quarter run to go up 17-10. But led by sophomore post Hill, the Grizzlies countered with a 16-4 rally of their own to stake a 26-21 lead. The Grizzlies held on for a 28-25 halftime lead. Ashland still has a shot at eclipsing its best state tourney showing ever - an eighth-place finish in 1999 - but must run the table in the loser's bracket to do it. The winner of the consolation championship game is awarded the fifth place trophy. Sobolik said the Grizzlies won't lay down today. "The goal now is to go back to the hotel today and regroup and come back tomorrow and win," Sobolik said. "That's our goal, and we want to stay. I think we can. We're going to win (today) and keep on winning." Her coach agreed. "We're not ready to end it right here," Humann said. "I think they'll come back with a vengeance." 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 -