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Comets come up short Oregon City wins title against cold-shooting Crater By Greg Stiles PORTLAND � The fire that fueled the Crater Comets through 26 games was snuffed out Saturday night. More than once after the Comets turned back Jesuit in overtime in Friday night�s semifinals, Crater coach David Heard wondered out loud: "I don�t know what we have left for (Saturday) night." He found out in short order. The Comets fell behind early and then lost all contact in the third quarter as Oregon City pulled away for its seventh state championship in 10 years, 48-30, before 4,318 at the Chiles Center. "I sensed it as soon as we were done (Friday night)," Heard said. "It effected us much more mentally than physically. These are young athletes and they bounce back quickly, but they were mentally exhausted." It was the second year in a row and third time four years the Comets have come up short in the championship game. Oregon City beat Crater, 48-42, in the 1998 finals. That one, however, was the last of five straight crowns for the Pioneers. This time, the Comets entered the tournament seeded No. 1 and Oregon City No. 2. "We didn�t play our best the whole tournament," senior guard Janell Sapienza said. "And we couldn�t get anything going tonight. We didn�t have anything to give. "We know we can do 100 times better than that. We couldn�t play our best, so this happened." Crater faced a 22-15 deficit at halftime, but it grew into tenable figure with 40 seconds left in the third quarter as the Pioneers (26-1) rattled off 14 points while Crater could only answer with Sarah Pool�s field goal. It was 38-21 going into the fourth quarter, and the only real question left was whether the Comets would reach Oregon City�s tournament-low, points-allowed average of 30 per game. "Maybe our legs were tired, and that�s why we weren�t able to shoot the ball well," Heard said. "That was our poorest offensive game of the year, no question." Crater�s 28.9 percent shooting performance mirrored that of many of its opponents� efforts during the season. Their 1-for-9 marks from 3-point range and 7-for-18 (38.9 percent) from the foul line were also uncharacteristic. For three games, junior forward Amy Denson carried the Comets offensively and senior center Jody McLeod led a dominating inside presence that gave Crater extra shots and opponents few second shots. But Denson was 0-for-10 from the field and Oregon City outrebounded the Comets, 31-30. "We told our girls the game was going to be won on who got the second shot," said Oregon City co-head coach Brad Smith, who picked up his 500th career victory. "Sometimes it was going to take three or four tips and then battle for the ball. We felt (the Comets) were warriors and we had to be just as tough as they were." Crater shot better than 60 percent against a couple of the best teams in California in December, but the Comets couldn�t find the mark in the first half against the Pioneers. Crater made just 4 of 19 (21.1 percent) from the floor. The Comets had no answer for Oregon City�s 3-point barrage. "It was really important for us to set the tone and hit our 3-pointers early," said Lisa Faulkner, who led a balanced Oregon City attack with 11 points. "Lacey (Mills) hit some big shots early. We went through a dry spell after that, but we knew we wouldn�t win this one offensively. We were going to do it on the boards and defensively." Faulkner and Mills downed two treys apiece, providing the essential difference as the Pioneers fashioned a seven-point advantage at the half. What�s more, the inside advantage the Comets had depended on through the tournament was also neutralized in the first 16 minutes as Ashley Gonnerman, Ashley Cadotte, Kelli Spencer and Tamar Green made it difficult for Crater to penetrate on offense. "When it got down to the final two minutes, we knew it wasn�t going to happen tonight," Crater senior forward Bre Johnson said. "But I�m proud of the way we played this season, and I love these girls." After playing the Pioneers tough three years ago and losing, and losing 47-44 to Westview in last year�s final, Sapienza could only think of what might have been. "We all know exactly what we could do and that kills us," Sapienza said. "If we would�ve lost and played our game, it wouldn�t have hurt as much. But we didn�t play our game." Heard was somewhat philosophical when thinking about the outcome. "We could tell by the beginning of the fourth quarter that it was pretty much decided," he said. "I didn�t see us coming up with a lot of mental energy and scoring a bunch of points all of a sudden. "I guess a lot of people are going to think Crater basketball isn�t very good. It�s too bad that last night�s game (a 57-51 win over Jesuit) wasn�t on TV." OREGON CITY (48) � Mills 6, Faulkner 11, Spencer 7, Gonnerman 6, Cadotte 5, Laski 0, Reinhart 0, Wodarski 4, Grondin 2, Martin 0, Groves 3, Green 4. Totals: 16-38 11-19 48. CRATER (30) � Pool 6, Sapienza 1, McLeod 14, Denson 2, Johnson 2, Black 3, Kinney 2, Anhorn 0, LeBel 0, Huntley 0, Robertson 0, Nafie 0. Totals: 11-38 7-18 30. Oregon City............................................10 12 16 10 � 48 Crater............................................................7 8 6 9 � 30 3-point goals � Oregon City 5-9 (Mills 2, Faulkner 2, Cadotte 1), Crater 1-9 (Black 1). ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS First Team � Rachel Knox, sr., Jesuit; Chelsea Wagner, sr., Springfield; Kelli Spencer, sr., Oregon City; Amy Denson, jr., Crater; Lisa Faulkner, sr., Oregon City. Second Team � Carrie Buckner, sr., Crescent Valley; Courtney Fritz, so., Jesuit; Talisha Rath, sr., Springfield; Kim Pitney, so., Barlow; Sarah Pool, jr., Crater. Sportsmanship Award: Springfield. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.