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Giles is quite a steal for Pilots By Greg Stiles EUGENE � There are nights when Ashlee Giles� hands are magic wands. She waves in the general direction of a dribbler and �poof� the ball is gone and one of Giles� University of Portland teammates is headed for an uncontested lay-up. Other nights, Giles havoc-creating hands buy her time on the bench. Friday night was among the latter, as the North Medford graduate fouled out with 8:36 to play in a 80-56 loss to No. 14 Oregon at McArthur Court. Giles, a 5-foot-11, sophomore guard, had as many as seven assists in a game during her freshman year and caused more consternation than can be quantified. "She�s the one you have to watch out for on the court," says Oregon guard Kourtney Shreve. "You�ll be coming toward her and all the sudden, the whole team is involved." The Pilots (2-1) could�ve used more of Giles and certainly needed more with Trish Felts hobbled and sitting on the bench in street clothes. Giles entered the game averaging three steals, but wound up with one in 23 minutes. She also missed five of her first six shots before hitting 2 of 3 in an eight-minute stint in the second half. But Giles refused to ease up on Shreve or Jamie Craighead. "I�m just going to go out and play defense like we�re taught in practice," Giles says. "My personal goal is to make the other player look terrible, take the ball away and force them to make bad passes." If Giles is a disruptive force, she�s done half of her job. She clogs passing lanes like french fries plug up arteries. "Ashlee does a great job of taking away the passing lanes," says Oregon point guard Shaquala Williams, last season�s Pac-10 player of the year, who is sitting out the 2000-01 campaign following knee surgery. "It�s instinct, a lot of girls don�t have it. She�s like a cornerback and gets that good jump. Maybe she didn�t know when the pass was coming, but has the instinct to be there." Portland coach Jim Sollars knew what he was getting when he signed the 5-foot-11 guard two years ago. "I recruited her because of two things," Sollars says. "She�s a pretty tough kid, hard nosed. She�s got great quickness. She has that real explosive first step. And she really likes to compete." Sollars watched Giles during her junior season at North when the Black Tornado won the consolation championship at the Class 4A state tournament on the Pilots� court at the Chiles Center. "I�m not sure there was anybody recruited in that tournament that scored fewer points," says Sollars as a �gotcha grin� creases his lips. "I knew she had great potential and had she been healthy she would�ve started every game last year." The majority of Pilots had a physical maladies a year ago. After winning a starting spot, Giles wound up missing six games and was slowed for a half-dozen others as she recovered from mononucleosis. Giles� hard-nosed approach isn�t just reserved for nationally-ranked opponents, such as Oregon (3-0). She slices and dices on the practice floor as well. "She�s very aggressive," says teammate Da�Love Woods. "She�s always after it. Even when she�s injured, she never wants to quit playing. She has a little ankle injury that�s bothering her, but she�s still giving 100 percent." Williams remembers her first impression of Giles, when they played together on an all-star team put together by Howard Avery�s Triple Threat organization. "She was pretty quiet and she was younger than the rest of us," Williams says. "She was a freshman or sophomore and the rest of us were juniors or seniors. But she wasn�t going to back down. She was on a team of good players and the only way she was going to get playing time was by taking it from us or earning it." Statistics don�t tell Giles� story nearly as well as the bumps, bruises and scrapes. But Sollars, for one, would love to see the statistics conform to her aggressive play. "We�re encouraging her to take open shots," Sollars says. "A lot of time, she�s passing up a good shot. It�s a learning process and will take some time." In fact, Sollars would be willing to trade a few of his steals leader�s thefts for more points. "I�d like for her not worry about steals and push guards to where we want them at times," Sollars says. Giles desire to strip the ball forced her to the bench shortly after she had pulled the Pilots to with 16, 50-34, points � the closest they had been since they had trailed 26-11 with 4:29 left in the first half. "It�s not really natural for me to pull up and shoot," admits Giles. "I�ll look at this game and think of things not to do. I need to step up and be a better leader and look to make the shots when I�m open." And then those opposing dribblers will fluster all the easier." 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 � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.