Document text
Crater advances to title game By Greg Stiles PORTLAND � It wasn�t the way the Crater Comets would�ve scripted it, but somehow they barged into tonight�s finals of the Class 4A state girls basketball tournament. Amy Denson scored four points and Jody McLeod came up with a pivotal offensive rebound and putback in overtime as the Comets claimed a 57-51 victory over the Jesuit Crusaders before 3,315 at the Chiles Center. The burden of the No. 1 seed loomed large and heavy for the Comets as they repeatedly fought off No. 4 Jesuit to earn a rematch of the 1998 championship game against Oregon City. The Comets built leads of seven points in the third quarter and six in the fourth period, but the Crusaders always had an answer � primarily in the form of 3-pointers. "That was a little too close," said McLeod. "We never seemed to be able to pull away. They�re an excellent team that gave us a hard time and we got through it." Denson turned in her second straight heroic effort, finishing with 23 points to go with 11 rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals, while Sarah Pool added 12 points, McLeod 14 rebounds and Bre Johnson had a hand on deterring much of what Jesuit tried on the inside. Still, there were times when it appeared the 25-1 Southern Oregon Conference champions were going to be derailed in their bid for a third trip to the state final in four years. The deepest trouble came late in regulation when a 47-41 lead with 3:01 left dwindled to two points in short order when Michelle Nilsen scored off a rebound and then canned a shot from the left wing. Pool hit two free throws to up the lead to four, but Asha Wilkerson rolled to the hoop to make it 49-47 with 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Then Lexie Helgerson stepped in front of Pool and the Crater point guard was called for a charge. The Crusaders tied it when Rachel Knox drove the left side and scored with 11 seconds to play. Crater called a timeout with seven seconds to go near mid-court, but instead of getting one last shot, they gave the Crusaders multiple cracks at pulling off an upset. Pool�s inbound pass glanced off Denson and McLeod couldn�t retrieve the ball before it rolled out of bounds beneath the Jesuit basket with four seconds to play. The Comets had a team foul to give, so they weren�t about to let the Crusaders get a shot off. Unfortunately, it was Janell Sapienza who committed the foul � her fifth with 1.5 seconds to play. Jesuit got off a pair of off-balance shots in the final moments, but Wilkerson�s effort rimmed off as the horn sounded. "We made one or two bad decisions and you can�t do that without allowing weird things to happen and a whole lot of weird things happened," Crater coach David Heard said. "That was our plan to foul, but I just wish it wouldn�t have been Janell." The weirdest thing of all happened when the overtime began. Jesuit lined all of its four non-jumpers well toward Crater�s basket and the Comets did the same. But referee Lea Bush�s toss was tipped toward the sideline and both jumpers pursued. However, it is against the rules for one of the jumpers to possess the ball before a non-jumper touches it. Umpire Bill Draper apparently didn�t see what happened and Bush had her back to the play until Wilkerson retrieved and tossed it to Knox, who drove to the basket for a quick two points. The Comets protested without satisfaction. "What they told me was that it wasn�t a correctable error," Heard said. "That�s the only thing that bails them out. That was a tough one emotionally for me coming off (Pool�s) charge that should�ve been a no-call." The Comets hit 22 of 35 free throws in the game, but only 6 of 11 in the overtime. But the good news was that the Comets were able to work the ball inside. McLeod hit the second of two free throws at the 3:26 mark. With a one-point lead, the Crusaders began milking the clock and did so effectively for one minute before Denson�s pressure produced an over-and-back turnover. "I was going for the steal," Denson said. "I was lucky I didn�t foul." The Crusaders were stunned and their lead evaporated quickly. "I don�t know what happened and I don�t know how to explain it," said Jesuit�s Courtney Fritz, whose team had eight fewer turnovers. "I know I wasn�t comfortable with a one-point lead, but we wasted some time off the clock. When you�re doing that it�s rough, you have to make rush decisions and you don�t want to make the wrong play." Denson got fouled by Knox and tied it on the front end of a one-and-one. McLeod came up with her biggest rebound of the game, scored and was fouled (Wilkerson�s fifth) with 2:04 left. McLeod�s free throw was off and the teams exchanged missed field goal attempts before Denson was intentionally fouled by Helgerson with 25 seconds left. Denson drained both free throws, the Comets got the ball back and she added another one to make it 56-51 with 21 seconds to go. "I played like I was intimidated tonight," said Pool, who had a difficult time with quick-handed Jesuit defenders. "The only reason we got where we are now is God." The Comets shot a respectable 6 of 13 (46.2 percent) in the first half, but got off 10 less shots than the Crusaders (6 of 23, 34.8 percent). But it was at the foul line that Crater kept pace with the 3-pointer shooting Crusaders. The Comets hit 11 of 16 free throws before the intermission. After taking a 1-0 lead following the opening tip, the Comets didn�t take another lead until they put together a 5-0 spurt midway through the second quarter. Sapienza drained both ends of one-and-one, Denson hit the second of two free throws and then stole the ball and laid it in when Crater slapped on a full-court press to take a 19-16 lead. Fritz�s second 3-pointer tied at 19-19. Bre Johnson hit two free throws and Denson added a 6-foot jumper. Knox made it a two-point game late in the half before Pool made it 24-21 at the break. "We started out in a 3-2 zone but weren�t rotating like we should at the start," Heard said. "Later, with Bre at the top, we were able to close down the passing lanes. That�s the most active she�s been all year. "But they do an excellent job of finding the right spot and the right person and they sure have quick releases." Oregon City defeated Springfield, 47-37, in the other semifinal. The Pioneers will seek their seventh championship in 10 finals appearances. Their last championship was a 48-42 win over Crater three years ago. "I want our girls to believe they can win," Heard said. "But I don�t know what we have left. Oregon City does the little things so well. This is the matchup everybody has been talking about all year. I�ve been trying to ignore it all year. I didn�t want to talk about it until Friday." And now Saturday and a chance for Crater�s first championship is at hand. JESUIT (51) � Fritz 14, Knox 12, Helgerson 6, Kocarnik 4, Wilkerson 4, Nilsen 4, Turner 3, Dickinson 2, DiLorenco 2. Totals: 20-62 4-4 51. CRATER (57) � Denson 23, Pool 12, Sapienza 9, McLeod 5, Johnson 4, Black 2, Nafie 2. Totals: 17-37 22-35 57. Jesuit.....................................................12 9 15 13 2 � 51 Crater.....................................................10 14 19 6 8 � 57 3-point goals � Jesuit 7-22 (Fritz 4, Helgerson 2, Turner 1), Crater 1-4 (Pool). Fouled out � Sapienza. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.