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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 25, 2006 Crater�s Kenna Reiter splits the North Medford defense on her way to the basket during Tuesday�s game. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Comets slip by Tornado Late foul shooting carries Crater past North in OT By KEVIN GOFF Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — Aundrea Albright should have been wound as tight as a drum Tuesday night with two seconds left in a girls Southern Oregon Conference basketball game. The 6-foot-2 Crater post was about to attempt two pressure-packed free throws with two seconds to play and the Comets trailing North Medford, 41-39. So why was the mild-mannered Albright chuckling as she left the Crater huddle following a timeout? "I was thinking about the joke (told by assistant coach Caryn Ross)," said Albright, a 62 percent free-throw shooter on the season. "It was a blonde joke." But the Black Tornado wasn’t laughing after Albright calmly stepped to the line and sank the two free throws to force overtime, in which the Comets pulled away for a 53-46 victory at Crater High. Advertisement North Medford coach Tim Karrick called two straight timeouts to try and ice Albright. "I had already told them what I wanted to tell them during the first timeout," said Crater coach David Heard. "After the second one I asked if anyone had a clean joke they wanted to tell." The strategy paid off as Albright made both shots and Crater went on to drill 10-for-14 from the charity stripe in OT to seal the win. The free-throw line, however, was no laughing matter for North Medford as it shot just 9-for-27 in defeat. "Free throws, that’s the story right there," said Karrick. "We make half our free throws, we win the game." Crater (13-4 overall) moved to 5-2 at the halfway point of the SOC. The Comets are tied with Grants Pass and Roseburg for second place, one game behind league-leading Ashland. North Medford fell to 11-5 overall and is fifth in the SOC at 4-3. Senior Crater guard Emily Brookins scored six of her game-high 18 points in overtime to go with six rebounds and six assists. Junior guard Kenna Reiter added 14 points and five steals, while Albright finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Yet it was Albright’s free throws that helped the Comets come away victorious despite losing a double-digit lead in the second half. "I thought we really had control of the game," said Heard. "(North Medford) had some offensive rebounds in the second half that hurt us and they stepped up and made some big shots." None bigger than Megan Ross’ late in regulation. North Medford scored just two points against Crater’s zone defense in the second quarter and trailed 18-10 at the half after being pounded on the offensive boards by the Comets. The Tornado trailed 36-27 early in the fourth quarter before slowly chipping away. Rachael Barry’s 3-pointer brought North to within 36-34 with 4:47 left. Crater pushed its lead to 39-36 but North’s Lauren Berger and Whitney Hodnett each made a free throw after a foul on Amanda Haas and a technical foul on Brookins, who was whistled for the infraction after jumping up into the air after the foul call. The Tornado also got possession of the ball, trailing 39-38. "That was a big call," said Heard of the technical. "(Brookins) didn’t even say anything. I told the ref to let the players decide the game." Ross cashed in on the opportunity with a 3-pointer from the left elbow with 37 seconds to play to give North its first lead since early in the second quarter. Crater’s Kelsey Holderness came up short on a deep 3-point attempt with 10 seconds left but Albright came down with the offensive rebound and was fouled, setting up the nerve-wracking finish. "We let up a little in the second half for some reason," said Reiter. "We were taking it to them in the first half. "Albright really saved us." Ross, who scored all nine of her points in the second half, fouled out less than a minute into overtime. Berger and her game-high 11 rebounds were disqualified two minutes later. "The girls battled hard to get back into the game," said Karrick. "They never gave up even though they were down double digits in front of a hostile crowd." Erica Schultz led the Black Tornado with 14 points and Heidi Siebenlist added three assists and five offensive rebounds. NORTH MEDFORD (46) — Barry 7, Schultz 14, Preston 0, Siebenlist 1, Hodnett 8, Berger 5, Parker 0, Ross 9, Smith 2. Totals: 17-51 9-27 46. CRATER (53) — Bagdan 0, Stoner 0, Salyer 2, Brookins 18, Reiter 14, Tyska 0, Holderness 4, Haas 5, Albright 10. Totals: 18-48 15-26 53. North Medford...........................8 2 15 16 5 — 46 Crater........................................5 13 14 9 12 — 53 3-point goals — North Medford 3 (Hodnett 1, Barry 1, Ross 1), Crater 2 (Brookins 2). Fouled out — Ross, Berger, Albright. Technical foul — Brookins. JV score — Crater 57, North Medford 50. Reach reporter Kevin Goff at 776-4483 or e-mail Comets slip by Tornado ">[email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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