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Morin is posting big numbers for Ashland Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Ashland High's Marla Morin is averaging more than 21 points a game in SOC play this season. She's tied for second in the state in scoring heading into tonight's game against Klamath Union. The junior post is among the SOC and state leaders in scoring By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune ASHLAND - For Marla Morin, dreams really do come true, both literally and figuratively. A junior post on the Ashland High girls basketball team, Morin is putting up dreamy numbers so far this season, scoring 19.9 points per game as the Grizzlies (6-9 overall, 2-3 Southern Oregon Conference) prepare to play host to Klamath Union (3-10, 0-5) tonight at 7. That point production has Morin tied for second in the state with Crater senior point guard Sarah Pool, behind only Crater senior forward Amy Denson (20.3 ppg). Morin, a - "true," she says - 6-footer, has made a dramatic rise from the eight points per game she averaged last season, when she started for a senior-dominated squad that went 8-6 to finish third in the SOC. Scoring 21.6 points per game in SOC play, Morin is as surprised as anybody by her ascent to dominance. That's the figurative dream come true. "From last year averaging eight points per game to going to averaging 20, I'm just kinda waiting for it to end or (wondering) if it is going to end," Morin says. "I'm hoping it's not. I'm continuing to work hard because I don't want it to stop. "Am I sick? Am I feverish? I'm just going with it and seeing where it's gonna take me." In a loss against Redmond on Dec. 21, Morin may not have been feverish but she was on fire, notching a career-high 33 points and snaring 14 rebounds. On Jan. 2, Morin torched North Medford for 32 points, including 21 in the second half, as Ashland rallied for a 70-60 road win. Two days later she made quite an impression against No. 3-ranked Crater with 27 points in an 81-55 defeat. "I've noticed a ton of improvement," says Comets head coach David Heard, the sage of the SOC with eight years of experience at Crater and back-to-back state runner-up finishes. "Behind Denson and Pool, she's maybe the best player in the league." And it isn't solely basketball in which Morin stars. As a middle hitter for the Ashland volleyball team during the fall, Morin earned first-team all-SOC and honorable-mention all-state accolades. The Grizzlies tied for second in the conference and claimed fifth at the Class 4A state tournament. Stephanie Santos, the Ashland girls basketball team's first-year head coach, believes playing volleyball only helps Morin's basketball. "I think that pays off, being well-rounded," says Santos, who was an assistant to ex-Grizzlies head coach Heather Roberts from 1995 until 2000 before taking a hiatus last season. "And she's a very good girl, with great morals and values and a (4.0) GPA." Morin, who professes an equal love for both sports and is unsure which she would rather play if forced to choose, agrees that volleyball has aided her basketball development. "I've played basketball since I was like in third grade, and I just started playing volleyball in eighth grade," says Morin, who has drawn interest from colleges for both sports. "So there's the history with basketball or the freshness of volleyball. They both have their perks. "The lateral movement is a lot similar. ... (Volleyball) also helps your (basketball) peripheral vision in watching your surroundings a lot more." Armed with a variety of athletic skills, Morin has become the young Grizzlies' go-to player. She has scored in double figures every game this season, using post moves, face-up jump shots, putbacks and even the occasional 3-pointer to riddle opposing defenses. After losing first-team all-state post Jackie Woods - the school's all-time leading scorer - and first-team all-SOC guard Hanna Seltzer from last season's squad, Ashland is supposed to be rebuilding. But despite having just one senior on the active roster and starting a freshman - point guard Alysse Carlson - the Grizzlies believe they can finish in the top half of the SOC and advance to the postseason. "I feel good," says the lone senior, wing Abby Gooch. "I feel in the second half of the season that we can definitely turn some heads. "I have full confidence in us making the postseason." Speaking of confidence, Morin's is probably at an all-time high, and coaches like Santos and Heard say it's evident. "She's ready to step up and face anybody," says Heard, who thinks Morin can follow in the footsteps of Denson (Arizona State) and Pool (California) by climbing to the Division-I ranks after high school. "She's tall enough to shoot over people and real good from the 10- to 15-foot range. She has a quick first step and then she's a good rebounder." There's one aspect of her game Morin seems to enjoy most, although it's the newest weapon in her arsenal. "Last year when I had pneumonia, I was really dreaming a lot," Morin says. "And I had a dream that coach Roberts, who didn't ever want me shooting 3-pointers during games, wanted me to shoot the ball in a clutch situation because I was such a good 3-point shooter. "I told her about the dream afterward, like the next day, and she was like, 'Marla, don't get any ideas.'" Fast-forward to this season. "The first one we were ahead by a lot, and I was standing by the 3-point line as we were waiting to inbounds it," Morin says. "I turned to the bench and said, 'Can I shoot a 3-pointer?' And they were like, 'Yeah, sure. Why not?' "I made it, so I was like, 'I am the secret weapon. My dream came true.'" Since then, Morin has drilled two more 3s for a total of three. And that's a literal dream come true for the SOC's surprise of the year. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.