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Sister's imprint made Peck press on By DON HUNT The weeds were high and the dirt was thick on the Pecks' makeshift basketball court in the backwoods of Talent. It was here, in the early 1990s, that Natalie Peck learned to dribble and shoot. Her mentor and motivator was her sister, Kim, who had fallen in love with the game several years earlier. "She wouldn't let me come into the house until I got things down right," Natalie Peck says. "I'd dribble the ball and it would hit a rock or a weed and I'd lose it, and she'd just say, `Get the ball and try again. If you can dribble here, you can dribble anywhere.' "She was my inspiration for playing the game and for never giving up." Kim Peck died unexpectedly on her 17th birthday in August 1993, just before the start of her senior year at Cascade Christian High School. Doctors believe something in her heart or coronary arteries may have failed, but no one knows for sure what happened. One thing is certain: Kim Peck would be awfully proud of her little sister these days. Natalie Peck was named the player of the year in the Southern Cascade League last week after leading Cascade Christian to a 27-4 record and a seventh-place finish at the Class 2A state tournament in Pendleton. Peck earned another prestigious award earlier this month when she was named Cascade Christian's scholar athlete of the year. And if that weren't enough, she was recently handed a full scholarship to play basketball at Western Baptist College in Salem. "The scholarship is like a dream come true because without it, I wouldn't be able to go to college," says Peck, whose full ride is worth more than $17,000 a year. "Everything is falling into place for me." Peck, not so little these days at 6-foot-1 and 165 pounds, averaged 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in helping Cascade Christian to its best-ever record. She was joined on the all-league first team by teammate Crystal Tait, Lost River's Hollis Baley and Katie Mullanix and Bonanza's Krista Nieraeth. Another Cascade Christian player -- junior post Christine McCandless -- made the second team. "Natalie is one of those rare players who can do it all on the basketball floor," Cascade Christian coach Loren King says. "She can drive the ball to the basket, she can hit the 3-pointer, she can rebound and play defense. She's worked hard to become the complete player that she is. "She'll do just fine at the college level." A testament to Peck's all-around skills is the fact that she registered three triple-doubles this season -- reaching double figures in points, rebounds and assists. Peck played post her first three years with the Challengers before moving to the wing this season, which is where she preferred to be all along. "It was a big adjustment moving to the post when I was a freshman," Peck says, "but now I'm thankful I learned how to play underneath. "Now, whenever a big player defends me, I can take her off the dribble, and whenever a smaller player guards me, I can post her up. It's really fun to be able to do both." Before her sister got her interested in hoops, Peck spent most of her weekends on soccer fields. Her teammates included current North Medford High standouts Ashlee Giles and Lu Crenshaw. "We were the classic soccer kids -- out there every weekend for months," Peck says. Peck eventually gave up soccer for volleyball, where she was a first-team all-league performer for the Challengers last fall. Track and field also found its way onto Peck's activity list -- she finished third at district in the discus last spring. Peck admits she sometimes wonders how her basketball career would have fared had she attended a 4A school. But she's quick to add, "I felt this (Cascade Christian) is where the Lord wanted me to be. "A lot of people said I'd never get a scholarship if I went to a small school, but it happened." Tait, meanwhile, was named to the first team for the third straight year. The 5-7 senior point guard averaged 12 points, five steals and four assists per game and shot an eye-catching 57 percent from the field. "Crystal's quickness and defense were huge for our team," King says. "She was our spark plug. Pretty much as she went, we went. She led our fastbreak and was all over the place on our press." Tait also had an uncanny knack for driving through the key, getting knocked around and still putting the ball through the hoop. "She could ricochet down a very busy key and still make the basket," King says. McCandless averaged more than 10 points and seven rebounds while doing the dirty work in the paint. SCL all-stars First Team Player, School Class, Pos. Natalie Peck, Cascade Christian ...................... Sr. Hollis Baley, Lost River ................................... So. Crystal Tait, Cascade Christian ........................ Sr. Katie Mullanix, Lost River ................................ Sr. Krista Nieraeth, Bonanza ................................. Jr. Second Team Player, School Class, Pos. Tana Ross, Lost River ..................................... So. Robyn Hendry, Gilchrist .................................. Sr. Roses Harris, Chiloquin .................................. So. Sarah Manning, Bonanza ................................ Sr. Christine McCandless, Cascade Christian ........ Jr. Honorable Mention Marish Redfox, Jr., Chiloquin; Lacie DePue, Jr., Chiloquin; Lani Brophy, So., St. Mary's; Rachel Hess, Jr., Bonanza; Shauna Jackson, So., St. Mary's; Monica Hernandez, Sr., Lost River. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.