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56 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, March 7, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend February 25, 2004 North Medford's Kailey Bostwick (3) will be a focal point for North as it looks to advance deep into the Class 4A state playoffs. SOC squads chase state success Crater, North Medford, Ashland and Grants Pass each will be tested in Round 2 tonight By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune Shifting into full-throttle, the Class 4A state playoffs offer up 16 girls basketball clashes tonight. Southern Oregon Conference teams own starring roles in four of those dramas, with designs on outlasting their competition and moving on to the final 16 Saturday. From there, the field narrows to the elite eight that earn the right to partake in the Oregon School Activities Association’s slimmed-down state tournament, March 4-6 at the University of Portland’s Chiles Center. But for now, there are more pressing issues. Let’s consider what the SOC’s heroines must conquer tonight: Advertisement WILLAMETTE AT CRATER — Winners of their last 11 games to secure a seventh SOC championship in nine years, the Comets (18-6, 13-1 SOC) are on a roll. But that doesn’t make second-year head Scott Dippel comfortable for tonight’s tussle at 7 in the Crater gym against the Midwestern League’s third-seeded Wolverines (18-5, 12-4 MWL). "It’s a real tough draw," says Dippel, whose Comets of a year ago won at Corvallis before falling at Lake Oswego in Round 2 of the state playoffs. "(Willamette has) been in every game they’ve played." Twin sisters Stephanie and Shelby Stephens give the Wolverines bite. The versatile juniors play both in the paint and on the perimeter and average 12.0 and 9.5 points per game, respectively. After placing seventh at the state tournament last year and fifth in 2002, Willamette has had to adjust to the loss of two-time MWL player-of-the-year Denise Hill (now at Boise State) and a roster that brought back just three players with varsity experience. "Our problem has been consistency," says Paul Brothers, who shares the head-coaching duties with Terry Harrison. "When we’re playing the way we’re supposed to, we’re pretty tough. When they don’t, if we can’t get 32 minutes of good play out of them, we struggle." The Wolverines handled Roseburg, 60-48, in nonleague action and twice fell to Sheldon, 47-42 and 48-30. The Irish, undefeated in the MWL, nipped Crater, 67-60 in double overtime, early in the season. "There’s not much of a secret as far as what we need to do," says Dippel, noting Willamette’s edge inside with the Stephens twins. "It’s real important that we pay special attention to them ... and that when we get an opportunity to get out, that we do and push the ball. "They play real good half-court defense. Because of that, if they can play in the low-40s or high-30s, that’s probably a game they feel comfortable with. They’re real physical and play a lot 2-1-2 zone and 3-2 zone." The Comets’ strength is their versatility, both in changing defensive looks and spreading scoring among their "Big Three" of seniors Dani Montgomery (post/wing), Whitney Black (point guard) and Katie Robertson (wing). The trio combines for 38.8 points per game, with Montgomery at 14.2, Black at 13.3 and Robertson at 11.3. WESTVIEW AT NORTH MEDFORD — For the second straight year, the Black Tornado (19-5, 12-2 SOC) draws the Metro League’s third seed in its postseason opener, which tips off at 7 tonight in the North gym. Last year, Southridge advanced to the state tournament with a 35-29, third-round win at North, and the Skyhawks went on to reach the semifinals before falling to eventual-champion Oregon City. This year, the Tornado is older, wiser and probably just plain better. "For us last year, it was a little bit of a new experience," says second-year head coach Tim Karrick, who guided North into the playoffs for the first time since 1999 last winter and has four starters back from that team. "I think our girls are more mentally ready and mentally prepared for (tonight’s) game than they were last year." Westview (16-8, 12-6 Metro) is also ready, according to fourth-year head coach Jeanette Armentano. "I think it’s just gonna be a dogfight," says Armentano, whose team tied for third in the Metro with Beaverton but beat the Beavers in both head-to-head league games and also knocked off South Medford, 56-44, earlier in the season. "Both teams play really good defense. We’re gonna have to stop their running game in order to have a chance to win." The Wildcats are led by senior guard Abbie Recore (a team-high 11.7 points per game in Metro play) and senior twin posts Lisa and Julie Olden, who both stand 6-foot-2. Lisa Olden has accepted a scholarship to the University of San Francisco and averaged 11.4 points in Metro action. "They do have a size advantage," says Karrick, who counters with juniors Michelle Westermann, 6-1, and Mellisa Eastwold, 6-0, and the knowledge that his squad beat Glencoe, a team that twice tamed the Wildcats. "I think the one thing we’re hoping for is that we can create a little havoc with our full-court press, get their guards a little flustered and cause some problems that way." Westview starts five seniors, while the Tornado starts four juniors. Junior point guard Kailey Bostwick is North’s leading scorer at 13.3 points per game. ASHLAND AT TIGARD — The Grizzlies (18-6, 9-5 SOC) have conquered this road before, winning at Pacific-9 Conference No. 2 Tualatin, 61-46, in the third round of the state playoffs last year. This time, the Tigers (19-4, 14-2 Pac-9) are the Pac-9 No. 2 Ashland must go through, starting at 7 tonight. "They’re just a good team," says Grizzlies second-year head coach Steve Humann, whose squad went two-and-out in its first state-tournament appearance since 2001 last winter and is the conference’s third seed this year. "They’re always there, always in the playoffs. You can count on five or six teams always being there, and they’re there all the time." Tigard is coached by Ken Johnson, an Ashland boys assistant in the late-1970s to early-’80s and a former Southern Oregon University football player. In his 16th year in charge of the Tigers, Johnson has a team he terms as athletic. Junior wing/post Charday Hunt averaged 12.6 points in Pac-9 play, while senior wing Jenny Cameron scored 10.4 and senior guard Kristi Jorgensen 10.0. Cameron (soccer) and Jorgensen (softball) have both signed to play other sports at the University of Oregon. "We’ll play transition, and we can play controlled transition," says Johnson, whose team’s only losses are to Tualatin twice, Sheldon and Putnam. "We try to take advantage of our athleticism, and we’ve got some smart kids, too." The Grizzlies’ guards are their heart and soul, with juniors Hilary Huyett and Alysse Carlson averaging 14.8 and 13.1 points, respectively. Humann also thinks getting junior post Abeni Hill involved inside will be integral. "They don’t match up with Abeni," Humann says. "And on the road, you have to play defense — solid, strong defense." GRANTS PASS AT TUALATIN — The Cavers (15-9, 8-6 SOC) aim to continue a surprising season by upsetting the Pac-9 champions on the road at 7:45 tonight. Grants Pass, fourth out of the SOC after being picked last in the preseason coaches’ poll, defeated South Salem, 46-33, in the first round at home Monday. Making their first postseason appearance since 1999, the Cavers now face the Timberwolves (19-4, 15-1 Pac-9). "Their goal at the beginning of the season was they felt like they could be a playoff team," first-year head coach Robert Lingo says of his Grants Pass girls. "We don’t feel a lot of pressure and think we have a chance to add success on top of what we’ve already accomplished." Senior guard Lindsay Mengis scores better than 15 points per contest to pace Tualatin, which is similar to North Medford in the way it pushes the tempo, Lingo says. Senior posts Shanna Claflin and Erin Glovinsky are the Cavers’ go-to talents. 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. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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