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Grizzlies get back on track Photo by Drew Fleming Jackie Woods of Ashland shoots over South Medford's Heather Fossen. by GREG STILES ASHLAND -- Right from the start it had the makings of a blowout. Visiting South Medford rushed out to a 12-2 lead in less than five minutes as the Ashland Grizzlies clanked a half-dozen shots off the rim. Then, in a momentum shift of hurricane proportion, the Grizzlies swept the Panthers off the floor Friday night, racing to a 78-39 Southern Oregon Conference girls basketball victory. "I think we play in two modes," said Ashland senior Chelsea Morgan. "Either we sit back and relax or we play with so much energy that we can't stop." Or be stopped. After a week of licking their wounds following a 50-48 overtime loss at Crater, the SOC co-leaders righted everything that went wrong against the Comets. For one, Morgan and fellow post Jackie Woods avoided foul trouble that made them ringside spectators much of the previous game. That translated into 46 points -- 26 by Woods and 20 from Morgan. Secondly, after watching South put on a clinic of moving the ball -- leading to four quick layins -- Ashland clogged the passing lanes. Morgan, Woods, Hanna Seltzer and Kirsten McNaught took turns swiping the ball. South Medford's watches as Ashland pulls away in their SOC matchup. From left, they are assistant coach Jeanie Hoffbuhr, head coach Andrea Wegner and players Kellie Thomas, Emily Perttu and Amber Hunt. Instead of one shot and heading back on defense, the Grizzlies shot and shot again, collaring 18 offensive rebounds. "We jumped on them and got off to a great start," South Medford coach Andrea Wegner said. "Then they made some adjustments and we didn't make the adjustments to counter theirs. "We weren't moving to the ball and then we started throwing the ball away." South remained on top, 15-11, at the end of the first quarter. But a 9-2 burst, spurred by Woods' theft of a long pass and basket, to start the second period put Ashland in front for good. The Grizzlies claimed a 33-23 halftime advantage, and an 8-0 burst to start the third quarter all but ended South's chances of beating both first-place teams in the first run through the conference schedule. "Jackie is unbelievable when she turns it on," said Morgan of her teammate. "She got us fired up and everyone started rotating on the press. When they started making those long passes, we stepped up and stole them." Woods added 10 rebounds and seven steals, while Jenny Pippa scored 10 points, five steals and doled out six assists. "It was very important just to stay in the game tonight," Woods said. "I can't get frustrated and go after everything. I've just got to move my feet and do what my body allows me to do. It was terrible to sit on the bench and watch (the end of the loss to Crater)." The victory improved Ashland's record to 6-1 midway through the SOC schedule and to 10-5 overall, while South Medford dropped to 3-4 in conference and 7-8 overall. Ashland coach Heather Roberts was pleased with the way her team won. "We didn't play our game against Crater," Roberts said. "We're much better playing a transition game and pressing than playing a half-court game. They kept passing to the same places and we were there. "When we play as one, we're pretty tough. It was nice for our posts to rebound from last week." South Medford wound up with 31 turnovers and faltered badly from the field after hitting 6 of 11 shots in the first quarter. The Panthers made only nine of their last 32 shots and wound up 15 of 43 from the field. Lynn Wooton led South with 23 points and nine rebounds. SOUTH MEDFORD (39) -- Grant 8, Salisbury 0, Hunt 0, Fossen 2, Wooton 23, Adams 0, Thomas 2, Cohee 0, Zenz 4, Wright 0, Mueller 0. Totals: 15-43 8-11 39. ASHLAND (78) -- Morgan 20, Huyett 3, Bullen 0, Larson 2, Seltzer 8, Pippa 10, Woods 26, McNaught 9, Kalemkeris 0, T. Talbott 0, Fascilla 0, Morion 0. Totals: 34-76 7-12 78 South Medford ..............15 8 10 6 -- 39 Ashland .....................11 22 25 20 -- 78 3-point goals -- South Medford 1 (Grant 1), Ashland 3 (Huyett 1, Seltzer 2). JV score -- Ashland 42, South Medford 39. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA