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47 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, November 25, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds 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 Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 24, 2004 Montgomery leads charge as Comets swoop by Ashland By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — No answer for Dani Montgomery. Steve Humann knew it before Friday night’s Southern Oregon Conference girls basketball game. Ashland’s head coach was definitely keen to it afterward. Montgomery, Crater’s 5-foot-11 senior wing who is equally adept inside and out, served as do-everything catalyst in the Comets’ 64-48 drubbing of the Grizzlies. She collected 20 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and four steals to push Crater (10-6 overall) to 5-1 in the SOC, one game back of 6-0 North Medford. Advertisement "One person got on a roll, and that was Dani Montgomery," said Humann, whose club (12-4) suffered its third straight loss and sank to 3-3 in the SOC. "We tried, but we just didn’t have anyone to match up with her. ... She’s a true athlete." Early on, the Comets trailed 12-8 following junior guard Hilary Huyett’s second 3-pointer for Ashland with 3 minutes, 11 seconds left in the first quarter. But Crater pulled into a 13-13 deadlock by the end of the first, then opened the second with an 8-3 surge to snatch the lead for good. By halftime, when the Comets held a 30-23 cushion, Montgomery had 12 points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals to her credit. Crater started the second half like a tsunami, burying the Grizzlies with an 18-2 wave to take a 48-25 stranglehold. Senior point guard Whitney Black splashed two of her three 3s during the streak, and Montgomery capped it with a bank shot off a Black feed with about 2½ minutes to go in the third quarter. "We really fed off the energy of the crowd," second-year Comets head coach Scott Dippel said of the burst. "The first half to me kind of felt like a little lull. We kind of could not get out on the break. We were getting dead-ball turnovers. "Then we started getting a couple steals, and Whitney hit a couple big shots, and the crowd really got into it, and you could see everybody on the court’s energy just went up." Crater’s shifting defenses caused eight Ashland turnovers in the third period, and the Grizzlies converted just one field goal in each of the second and third quarters. "We’re a pretty big team, and so we really tried to be aggressive and intimidate them," Montgomery said of a Comets defensive effort that forced 25 total turnovers and limited Ashland to 13-for-48 (27.1 percent) shooting from the field. Crater’s edge was 51-28 entering the fourth quarter, plenty large enough to shake off a 10-0 Grizzlies surge that made it 53-38 with 5:37 remaining. Still trailing by that margin, Ashland had an empty offensive possession and missed two technical free throws. The Comets then added the finishing touches, starting with senior wing Katie Robertson’s feed to senior wing Jessica Stoner for a streak- and press-breaking layup with 4:45 left. Montgomery dropped her ninth and final field goal a minute later, somehow draining an entirely off-balance jumper on the left side of the lane to make it 57-38. "I don’t know," she said of the circus shot, which completed her 9-for-16 effort from the field. "I’m just like, ‘Ya know, I’m gonna get this one in.’ I wanted it." As for the Grizzlies’ trouble matching up with her, Montgomery added, "It kind of works out for me on my size. I’m not really a post, but I kind of grew to post size." Her performance — which Dippel didn’t hesitate to call "her best game of the year" — led the way, but there was plenty of help. Black scored 15 points and dished six assists. Robertson was superb defensively in compiling eight points, eight rebounds and six steals. And junior posts Nicki Tyska and Jessica Wasniewski were their usual scrappy selves with eight points, five rebounds and four blocks and seven points and seven boards, respectively. Crater shot 14 of 21 from the floor in the second half and 27-for-56 (48.2 percent) in the game, but the Comets did commit 12 turnovers in the fourth period to boost their total to 22. They grabbed 38 rebounds to the Grizzlies’ 31, including a 23-13 first-half edge that lifted them to their halftime lead. Ashland was paced by 20 points from Huyett, but 12 of those came in the fourth quarter. Junior post Abeni Hill fought her way to 11 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore guard Jamie Roupp amassed six points, six rebounds and three steals. Junior point guard Alysse Carlson was limited to seven points and three steals. "We really played our most aggressive tempo since the (Les Schwab South Coast Holiday Tournament, which the Grizzlies won in late-December in Coos Bay)," Humann said. "I think Crater is the best team that we’ve faced so far." ASHLAND (48) — Roupp 6, Golling 1, Hill 11, Huyett 20, Carlson 7, Hasty 2, Chase 1, Thivierge 0. Totals: 13-48 18-26 48. CRATER (64) — Montgomery 20, Wasniewski 7, N. Tyska 8, Robertson 8, Black 15, Brookins 2, Je. Stoner 4, Ratty 0, Ja. Stoner 0, Wiersma 0, K. Tyska 0. Totals: 27-56 7-12 64. Ashland ..................................... 13 10 5 20 — 48 Crater ...................................... 13 17 21 13 — 64 3-point goals — Ashland 4 (Huyett 3, Carlson 1), Crater 3 (Black 3). Fouled out — Roupp. Technical fouls — Brookins, Crater bench. JV score — Crater 58, Ashland 34. 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. 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