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No lack of Challengers for SCL girls title By DON HUNT Mail Tribune Some basketball programs rebuild. Others reload. Count the Cascade Christian High girls team among the latter. Coach Loren King's Challengers lost Southern Cascade League player-of-the-year Kelly Clarke and two other starters from last season's team. A year ago, they went 21-7 and advanced to the Class 2A state tournament for the fourth time in five years. But as anyone who has followed the Challengers in recent years knows, last season's role players become this season's stars. "We like to think we have a nice little tradition going," says King, now in his sixth season at Cascade Christian and in his 36th year of coaching. "Our girls like that trip to Pendleton (site of the state tournament)." The Challengers beat out Bonanza in a preseason SCL coaches poll, followed by Gilchrist, defending league champion Lost River, St. Mary's and Chiloquin. Hannah Gettman, a 5-foot-6 junior point guard who earned second-team all-conference honors a year ago, and 5-11 senior post Kristin Salamone are Cascade's only two returning starters. However, 5-10 senior wing Whitney Brookins, 5-7 senior wing Laural Kelley and 5-10 senior post Amy Roseberg all picked up their letters last season, and Brookins found herself in the starting lineup on a few occasions. The Challengers lack experience on their bench, but their starting five knows the ropes. "All five are good athletes and well-rounded players," King says. "And all five can score. "This is as balanced as we've been in a while." Gettman's combination of ball-handling, passing, shooting and defensive skills make her one of the best point guards in the league, if not the state. "She's a great all-around ballplayer," nods King, whose team had posted a 4-1 record heading into Tuesday's game against Milo Academy. "She sees the floor extremely well and she's like a pit bull on defense. "She might give the ball up a little more than she should, but that's hardly a problem. The other players love having someone so unselfish running the show." Gettman still managed to lead the Challengers in scoring through five games, averaging 14.4. Brookins is a solid, all-around player who is coming off a spectacular volleyball season in which she earned first-team all-state honors and was MVP of the SCL. Kelley, Cascade's other wing, is a strong defender while Salamone and Roseberg, the two starting posts, are quick and athletic for their size. "We don't have blazing quickness, but we're quick enough to push the ball up the court and press certain teams," King says. Sophomore guard Jessica Fischer and junior post Natalie Mellow will be Cascade's first players off the bench. Senior wing Gretchen Evenson will also contribute. Bonanza, meanwhile, returns three starters and two other letter winners off last season's squad that went 6-4 in league and 13-8 overall. The Antlers, who have posted a 2-2 record this season, are the smallest team in the conference with three starters 5-6 or under. But they're also the quickest. Sophomore point guard Jessie Carpenter leads the team in scoring thus far at 14 points per game. Nellie Bouchal, a 5-9 junior post, and Ivy Nelson, a 5-5 junior wing, are the other returning starters. Lost River lost all five starters and its two top reserves from last season's juggernaut that went unbeaten in league play and posted an overall record of 23-3. Nonetheless, the Raiders started their season with a 49-39 victory over Tulelake, Calif., and could give opponents problems with their big front line, headlined by 6-1 sophomore Meghan Biggs. Karissa Guthrie, a 5-10 senior, is another player to be reckoned with in the paint. Gilchrist might be the most improved team in the SCL. The Grizzlies finished 1-9 in conference play and 4-21 overall in 2000-2001 but return four starters and their top reserve. Megan Stevens, a 5-11 junior post, registered 22 points in a recent victory over the Mazama JVs. Junior point guard Jenna Adams and sophomore power forward Hailee Smith have also been in double figures for the Grizzlies this season. Over at St. Mary's, new coach Pete Zappas had to wonder if he needed a pediatrician as the team doctor. The Crusaders have two freshmen in their starting lineup and five freshmen, four sophomores and two juniors on their roster. It's a fairly precocious bunch, however. Freshman Brittany Farrer, a 6-1 post, has averaged 17.5 points and 11 rebounds in the Crusaders' opening seven games, including a 25-point, 17-rebound performance in a 52-41 loss to Phoenix, a Class 3A school. The other starters are freshman forward Britta Beckstead, sophomore shooting guard Anelise Montan, senior point guard Annie Maurer and junior post Christina Vaninetti. Farrer and the 6-2 Vaninetti are the Crusaders' version of the twin towers. "We've got some talent, but we're making a lot of rookie mistakes - as you would expect," says Zappas, who came to Medford from Pittsburgh over the summer. "I don't expect us to be a powerhouse, but I'm hoping we can be competitive and surprise some teams the second half of the season." With the team woefully inexperienced at point guard, Maurer took over the position after the Crusaders' opening game and is making steady progress, Zappas says. "Point guard isn't her natural position, but she's our captain and our vocal leader," Zappas says. "And she's making good decisions." Chiloquin has a new coach and renewed hopes. Mike Johnson, who spent 11 years coaching and teaching at Klamath Union and came to Chiloquin as a counselor, has taken over a program that has struggled in recent years. The Queens might be hard pressed to improve on last season's 5-17 overall record and 1-9 SCL showing, partly because they have no experienced point guard to run their offense. Ashlie Hall, a 5-11 wing/post, senior guard Jenna Baker and junior post Chelsea Little will lead the Queens. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.