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60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, March 6, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 20, 2004 Crater�s Dani Montgomery, left, Jessica Wasniewski, center, and Courtney Ratty celebrate after the Comets defeated Roseburg and wrapped up the Southern Oregon Conference championship. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Comets conquer the SOC Crater wraps up conference title after wild victory over Roseburg By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — The queen is back. After a one-year absence, the Crater girls basketball team has returned to its throne atop the Southern Oregon Conference. The coronation was completed Thursday night, as the Comets gutted out a 48-43 home victory over Roseburg on the final day of the regular season. "Sweeter than you would imagine," senior point guard Whitney Black said of the satisfaction of a third SOC title to cap her Crater career and a seventh in nine years for the program. Advertisement The Comets (18-6, 13-1 SOC) now move ahead to the Class 4A state playoffs, where they’ll host Midwestern League No. 3 Willamette (18-5, 12-4 Midwestern) in a second-round game Wednesday night. The Indians (15-9, 7-7 SOC), meanwhile, had their postseason hopes dashed by the loss. Grants Pass (8-6 SOC) locked up the conference’s fourth and final postseason berth with a 55-35 rout of South Medford. But for most of the way Thursday, Roseburg appeared capable of pulling off the upset in Crater’s packed, senior-night gym. The Indians used an 11-0 second-quarter surge to take a 20-14 lead that would narrow to 20-18 at the half. The Comets couldn’t pull even until junior post Jessica Wasniewski split a pair of free throws to make it 30-all with 1 minute, 41 seconds to go in the third quarter. Roseburg reestablished a 32-31 edge entering the fourth, but Crater then made its move. Sophomore guard Emily Brookins opened the final period by converting both ends of a one-and-one to give the Comets the lead for good. Two free throws by senior wing/post Dani Montgomery, one from senior wing Katie Robertson and a 3-point dagger by Black accounted for the rest of an 8-0 run that gave Crater a 39-32 cushion with 5:06 remaining. When Brookins mimicked the sequence leading to Black’s first 3 of the period by chasing down an offensive rebound and passing back to the point guard for a long triple, the Comets were up 43-35 with 3:20 left. "It’s just our teamwork," Brookins, who has blossomed into a key reserve, said of her pair of boards and assists to Black. "We look for each other. Whitney talks really well. She gets open for the times we need her and is always there for us." The two treys turned out to be Crater’s lone field goals of the final quarter, but the Comets sealed the victory by hitting just enough of their free throws — 11-for-18 in the fourth — and playing their trademark gritty defense. Still, the Indians closed to 44-41 with 1:28 to go when junior forward Corynn Jorgensen converted a baseline layup off a feed from senior points guard Katie Stephens. Crater then ran more than 40 seconds off the clock before Montgomery was fouled and missed a pair with 46.8 seconds left. Senior forward Tera Thompson couldn’t hit a long jumper for Roseburg, and Black rebounded and sank 1 of 2 with 34.1 on the clock. Stephens’ pair from the line made it 45-43, then Brookins hit one to push the Comets to a 46-43 advantage with 26.6 remaining. Finally, Stephens missed a right-side floater, sophomore forward Shayla Corder rebounded but couldn’t convert from the left side and Montgomery snatched the board. Crater ran valuable ticks off the clock in the backcourt, then Robertson swished two free throws with 0.7 seconds left for the final margin. And the celebration — complete with a ladder and scissors to cut the nets — was on. "From the beginning, we said in November, ‘We’re gonna get this,’" said Montgomery, whose prep teams — the first two at Bend, last season at Crater — had finished fourth every year until now. "That was our first goal this year, and we’ve finally got it." Credit second-year head coach Scott Dippel with another wise move defensively in putting the Comets into their full-court trap in the second half, rattling the Indians. "We’ve struggled with that all year long," Bob Feasel, the Indians’ third-year head coach, said of the press. "We got to a point where we get tired from playing six kids ... and we have a hard time mentally adjusting to something like that." Crater, which won its final 11 SOC contests, forced 18 turnovers to 11 of its own. Roseburg muscled to a 40-28 rebounding edge, although the final five of Montgomery’s 11 boards helped the Comets grab a 12-9 edge in the all- important fourth quarter. Senior post Katie Fuller had 14 points and 13 boards for the Indians, and Jorgensen added 15 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. Black’s 13 points and Montgomery’s 11 paced Crater, which also received team highs of four blocks from junior post Nicki Tyska and four assists from Brookins. "I have always thought that the teams that we have had that have been successful have been able to adjust to a game plan defensively," said Dippel, an assistant with the Comets for seven years prior to succeeding David Heard. "When we needed to run, they did that to the best of their ability. When we needed to pick kids to try to take out of a game, they did that. "I’m real fortunate to have a real smart team. ... It’s been a lot of fun." ROSEBURG (43) — Jorgensen 15, Corder 7, Fuller 14, Martin 5, Stephens 2, Thompson 0. Totals: 17-49 8-11 43. CRATER (48) — Robertson 7, Montgomery 11, N. Tyska 6, Je. Stoner 2, Black 13, Brookins 6, Wasniewski 3, Ratty 0, Reiter 0. Totals: 15-43 16- 26 48. Roseburg ................................... 9 11 12 11 — 43 Crater ........................................ 12 6 13 17 — 48 3-point goals — Roseburg 1 (Martin 1), Crater 2 (Black 2). JV score — Crater 58, Roseburg 29. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times