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Comets escape sticky situation Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Crater's Sarah Pool squeezes a shot between South Medford defenders Angela Ingram, left, and Beth Mueller during the Comets' 69-46 win Tuesday night at South Medford High. Five-minute delay is not enough to slow down the third-ranked Comets in a 69-46 runaway victory By TED BURNHAM for the Mail Tribune Someone lurking behind the bleachers threw an open bottle of soda onto the basketball court Tuesday night at South Medford High School. If the culprit had hoped to interrupt Crater's second-quarter scoring run against the host Panthers in the Southern Oregon Conference girls basketball game, it didn't work. After a five-minute rest while officials and helpers mopped the sticky floor, the Comets added to a 15-3, six-minute run, outscoring South Medford, 24-5, in the second quarter. Third-ranked Crater (16-1) held the Panthers at bay for the rest of the game to win, 69-46, and remain unbeaten atop the Southern Oregon Conference. The loss puts the Panthers (9-7) at 5-2 and third in the conference, behind Roseburg (6-1 SOC) and Crater. Leading 14-11 after the first quarter, the Comets capitalized on nine South turnovers and scored 15 unanswered in the first 5 minutes, 30 seconds of the second quarter. Crater senior Sarah Pool scored 13 of her 24 points in the second quarter and senior Amy Denson chipped in six to help put Crater up, 38-16, at the half. The Comets' offense never dominated again, but it didn't need to. The Panthers attempted to catch up, but were foiled time and again by a swarming Crater defense. "South played good defense, but we played very good defense, especially in the second quarter," Comets head coach David Heard said. "Definitely, we turned it up then." "I'm not over-excited about how we played, but to beat a 5-1 team on the road is nice." Pool hit four 3-pointers to lead all-scorers while Comet center Denson ended the night with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Addie Wiersma chipped in 11 points for Crater, and Nichollette LeBel came off the bench to grab eight boards. Senior guard Whitney Grant led South with 20 points and five steals while Kirsten Gillingham had 11 points and six rebounds. Freshman Katie Singler added seven points. "I don't think we played that bad," South head coach Andrea Jaime said. "I was pleased with the first quarter and most of the second half. We put good pressure on Pool and forced a lot of turnovers." To the Panthers' credit, Pool turned the ball over 10 times. "We had some real lows, but we had a good lead," Heard said. "Parts of the third quarter we were down. We were unfocused at halftime. When you are ahead by 22, it's tough to stay focused ... The game wasn't our tempo, but that is to (South's) credit." Crater guard Sarah Yager said the Comets win because they play as a team. "We are all getting along really well and we love each other so we play very well as a team," she said. Wiersma's bucket just seconds into the game started the scoring for Crater, and Denson hit two free throws to give Crater the edge, 4-0, one minute into the contest. Grant hit a short shot and a 3-pointer in quick succession, added a free-throw and Singler scored to put South up, 8-4, midway through the first quarter. Pool answered with a bucket and a 3-pointer to put Crater ahead, 9-7. Erin Kinney added a basket, and Pool hit another 3-pointer to give the Comets the lead, 14-11, going into the second quarter. Pool struck again and Wiersma hit a 3-pointer to start Crater on a 15-0 run. A Gillingham bucket with 2:20 remaining in the half was South's only field goal in the quarter. Crater started the second half with a 9-3 run, but the Panthers' Gillingham answered with six points in two minutes. South's Singler scored the only basket in the last two minutes of the third quarter, which included a dozen shots and six rebounds. Down, 53-28, after the third quarter, South scored 18 points in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough. "We did come back and played them a lot tougher, we were just not converting," Jaime said. Crater travels to North Medford (2-5 SOC) on Friday while Klamath Union (0-7) plays host to South. CRATER (69) - Black 2, Yager 0, Kinney 4, Wiersma 11, Anhorn 2, Pool 24, Maartense 0, LeBel 6, Huntley 0, Robertson 6, Denson 14. Totals: 26 10-15 69. SOUTH MEDFORD (46) - Wright 3, Carlton 0, Grant 20, Ingram 0, Gillingham 11, Silva 2, Mueller 3, Singler 7. Totals: 15 14-25 46. Crater.................................................... 14 24 15 16 - 69 South Medford........................................11 5 12 18 - 46 3-point goals - Crater 7 (Pool 4, Wiersma 3), South 2 (Grant 2). Technical foul - South assistant coach. JV score - Crater 68, South Medford 39. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.