Mail Tribune Sports - Top-rated Oregon City knocks off Grizz, 53-30

Mail Tribune (Medford, OR — Wayback)

2001-03-09

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Top-rated Oregon City knocks off Grizz, 53-30 By CLIFF PFENNING PORTLAND -- The Ashland Grizzlies needed some big-time heroics from their undermanned roster and a sub-par performance by top-ranked Oregon City to pull off an upset Tuesday night. They got neither in the first round of the Class 4A girls basketball state tournament. Ashland made 4 of 20 shots from the field in the first half and Oregon City made 43 percent of its shots for the game in beating the Grizzlies 53-30 at the Chiles Center. Oregon City's front line of center Hollye Holbrook and forwards Ashley Cadotte and Lisa Faulkner scored 33 points and grabbed 16 rebounds between them to lead the Pioneers (22-4) into Thursday's quarterfinals. Ashland (16-8) went almost four minutes before scoring its first basket and trailed 27-9 at halftime on the way to the consolation bracket. The Grizzlies play Forest Grove, which lost to Crescent Valley 59-34, at 10:30 a.m. today. Oregon City will play No. 4 Crescent Valley in the quarterfinals. "It's disappointing we didn't play better," said Ashland senior Jenny Pippa, who scored four points. "We knew this was going to be a tough game, but we didn't rise to the occasion." Junior Hanna Seltzer and sophomore Kristina Kalemkeris scored six points each to lead Ashland, which got just three points from Southern Oregon Conference player of the year Jackie Woods. Ashland missed senior point guard Chelsea Morgan, out with a knee injury, during the early part of game, when the Pioneers established they weren't about to be upset. Oregon City opened the game with an 11-0 run, fueled by four points from the 6-foot-3 Hollbrook, who is headed to Oregon State. Ashland had three turnovers in its first four possessions and didn't get a shot to glance off its rim until three minutes had been played. Seltzer scored with 4:10 left in the quarter and Pippa added a basket 10 seconds later to cut the deficit to 11-4. But the Pioneers pulled away from there. "The start of a game sets the tone," Holbrook said. "It didn't matter to us that they were missing one of the good players. We played like she was still on the court." Ashland kicked up its pressure defense in the third quarter and got the Pioneers to commit five turnovers in six trips up the floor while pulling within 27-15. But the Pioneers simply had too many offensive threats. Holbrook made a free throw and Cadotte rebounded a miss and scored for a 30-15 lead with 4:30 left in the quarter. Ashland didn't get closer than 13 thereafter. Oregon City outrebounded Ashland 40-24 and had 17 offensive rebounds, including four by Cadotte. "I thought we were athletic enough that we could play with them," Ashland coach Heather Roberts said. "But we just didn't play smart enough for long enough." The Pioneers often double-teamed the 6-foot Woods, who had six rebounds and six steals, and she attempted just six shots, making one. She averages 16 points per game. Pippa, who averages 10 points per game, made 2 of 11 shots from the field. "I thought we played hard," Roberts said. "We just didn't play well enough to win." Ashland made 13 of 43 shots from the field, but just one of 11 from 3-point territory. The Grizzlies finished with 21 turnovers, two more than Oregon City, which made 24 of 55 field-goal attempts. ASHLAND (30) -- Seltzer 6, McNaught 0, Woods 3, Bullen 4, Pippa 4, Morin 4, Huyett 3, Fascilla 0, Larson 0, Kalemkeris 6. OREGON CITY (53) -- Faulkner 6, Cadotte 14, Holbrook 13, Spencer 4, Hummel 9, Laski 0, Reinhart 0, Mills 3, Wodarski 4, Burnett 0, Coughlin 0, Groves 0. Ashland ....................................6 3 12 9 -- 30 Oregon City .............................19 8 12 14 -- 53 Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA