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CLOUDY Temp: 45 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Wednesday, February 19, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend January 22, 2003 North Medford's Kerstin Mellbye is the leading scorer in the SOC and has led the Black Tornado girls basketball team to a 4-1 start in conference. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Mind over matter for Mellbye North senior’s more aggressive mentality has helped her rank among the state’s top scorers By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune When it comes to post play, Kerstin Mellbye has seen the light. And now she’s playing lights out to lead the North Medford girls basketball team. "When you play down (in the paint), you have to have the mentality that you’re gonna dominate, like every rebound’s gonna be yours, or everyone just overpowers you," says the Southern Oregon Conference’s leading scorer. "So it’s kind of all in your head how you want to play down there." The 6-foot-2 post’s newfound mentality has helped her scoring average leap from 9.6 points per game last year to 18.5 per outing this season. Only Cicely Oaks of Grant (24.9), Jessie Shetters of Wilson (19.5) and Jillian Harmon of Lakeridge (18.9) are scoring more than Mellbye in the state’s Class 4A ranks. The increased aggression in her game hasn’t been lost on Mellbye’s teammates. "She’s improved a ton," says junior guard Anna Lilly. "She’s at the point where she’s going up strong now with every shot, and she’s going up hard for the rebounds." As one of just two seniors on the Black Tornado roster, Mellbye’s play is the driving force behind North’s surprising 4-1 start in SOC play. The third-year varsity player’s rise mirrors that of her team, which went 5-19 overall and 2-12 in conference action to finish tied for last in the league last year. According to first-year head coach Tim Karrick, Mellbye’s ascent is the fulfillment of potential previously unrealized. "It’s always been there," Karrick said following North’s 51-46 victory at Eagle Point on Friday in which Mellbye compiled 25 points and 11 rebounds. "It was a matter of her just realizing she had it. She’s figured out that if she puts her mind to it, she’s pretty tough to stop." With the Tornado (9-6 overall) preparing to travel to SOC-leading and fifth-ranked Roseburg (13-2, 5-0 SOC) on Friday, Karrick offers close to the same assessment for his team’s overall success. "I think the talent is here," says Karrick, who coached the North JV team for three years before directing the freshmen squad last season. "It’s nice that they’re really starting to believe in each other as a group, that they can do some of the things they’ve been doing." Besides scoring — which she does with a blend of size and strength, touch and talent — Mellbye has been doing plenty of other things to help the Tornado in its bid to break a three-year playoff drought. In fact, defense and rebounding are the things Karrick mentions first when discussing Mellbye, who has to be considered an early favorite for SOC player of the year after taking second-team all-conference honors last season. All the improvements, however, are grounded in Mellbye’s change in approach. "She’s started to become more physical," Karrick says. "Her defense and her blocking out and rebounding — especially these last six, seven games — have been her biggest things that I’ve noticed, and I really appreciate it. "The points get all the press, but she’s doing a lot of the other things that have impressed me more." Mellbye has recorded double-doubles in four of North’s five conference games and had another double-digit performance in both scoring and rebounding against Sheldon earlier in the season. By comparison, she had four double-doubles all of last year. And after scoring fewer than 10 points in half of the Tornado’s 24 contests a season ago, Mellbye has been in double figures all 15 games so far this campaign. Her high of 27 points came in North’s lone SOC defeat, 55-53 to South Medford on Jan. 7, and she is averaging 20.8 points per game in conference action. The universal progress has Mellbye now envisioning a collegiate career to follow in the footsteps of stepsister Ericka Cook, who graduated from North Medford in 1998 before playing at Oregon State. "Last year, I didn’t believe I could go on and play (in college)," says Mellbye, whose stepfather, B.G. Brosterhous, played professional basketball in Europe after starring at Klamath Union and the University of Texas. "But when I looked back, I was like, ‘(Cook) was just as good as I was here.’ And I’m like, ‘I could do it, if I put in the effort and time and wanted it.’" Sure enough, Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., Warner Pacific in Portland, Lane Community College in Eugene and the Rogue Valley’s own Southern Oregon University are among those programs that are showing interest in Mellbye. But she has some more proving — fueled by her continual improving — to do at the prep level first. "At the beginning of the year, I don’t think a lot of people looked at North and said, ‘Oh, Kerstin Mellbye,’" she says. "But it’s Ashland, Marla Morin. Beth Mueller for South. And there’s others, but I’m talking in terms of posts. "So I do think I was underestimated." The inner fire, after all, can always use more fodder. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S