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Icy Chieftain girls slip at state By CLIFF PFENNING CORVALLIS -- Poor shooting and a second-half scoring drought ended Rogue River's drive for its first title Thursday at the Class 3A girls state basketball tournament. Rogue River went 7 minutes, 40 seconds without scoring in the third and fourth quarters and lost 52-30 to The Dalles in the quarterfinals of the 16-team tournament at Gill Coliseum. The Chieftains, down 25-19 with 6:05 left in the third, missed nine straight shots and had six turnovers to fall behind by 16. Sophomore Allison Bailey ended the misery with a free throw with 6:35 remaining to make it 35-20. Rogue River (17-5) was just 3-of-25 from the field (19 percent) in the second half and dropped into the fourth-place semifinals. It plays Myrtle Point at 11 this morning at Gill. Senior Shae Wright scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Chieftains. "We played good defense, but we struggled to hit shots, which is something we've had a rough time with all season," Rogue River coach Dan Mortinson said. "We're not the type of team that can come back from being eight or 10 points down, especially against a quick team that shoots well." The Dalles, a 77-40 winner Wednesday over Toledo, made 17-of-52 shots from the field, including 3-of-9 3-point shots. The Indians also helped Rogue River into 18 turnovers. The Dalles (19-6) advanced to the semifinals, where it meets Pleasant Hill at 7:30 tonight. Senior Shelly Schultens scored 13 points and junior Jeanie Thomsen added 11 to lead the Indians. The Chieftains needed four minutes to score their first basket, but they hung around. Wright, a 6-foot-1 post, ended the first half with a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull her team within 22-17. The subtle sign of the half was the number of short shots the Chiefs missed while going 6-of-22 from the field. Those misses continued in the second half. "The Dalles played well defensively, but we still got some good looks at the basket," said Wright, who was 4-of-15 from field. ``But we just couldn't make any baskets. None of us had a good day shooting." Rogue River senior Mindi Yost, who scored a team-high 18 points in a 40-34 win over Seaside Wednesday, struggled the most, missing all 12 of her attempts from the field. She finished with four points and 10 rebounds. Without Wright and Yost shooting well, the Chiefs needed The Dalles to shoot worse. But the Indians scored on their first four possessions of the fourth quarter to build a 39-20 lead. The Dalles coach Andrew Hughes said he was somewhat worried his team would suffer a letdown after steamrolling Toledo. "We were a little worried about a letdown and we struggled to get our offense going in the first half," Hughes said. "But our defense was solid, and eventually our offense caught up to our defense." Rogue River's total was the ninth time the Chieftains scored 40 or fewer points this season. Wright said her teammates were depressed by the loss, but there is a bright spot. "We can still finish fourth," Wright said. "That's better than we did last year." A year ago, Rogue River lost in the third-place game. ROGUE RIVER (30) -- Wright 10, Anderson 5, Yost 4, Bailey 4, Marland 2, Donaghy 3, McGinnis 2, Forbuss 0. Totals: NA. THE DALLES (52) -- Schultens 13, Thomsen 11, Brock 1, Stocking 5, Von Borstel 7, Johnson 7, Fagan 6, Waterbury 2, Carter 0, Fritz 0. Totals: NA. Rogue River ...................... 6 11 2 11 -- 30 The Dalles ........................ 10 12 9 21 -- 52 Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.