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Crater stays alive in consolation play with victory over Corvallis By TIM PYLE PORTLAND - The frustration continued for one quarter, but no more. Finally releasing its angst, the Crater girls basketball team found relief with a 59-41 victory over Corvallis in the fourth-place semifinals of the Class 4A state tournament at the Chiles Center on Friday afternoon. After a nightmarish, 45-41 loss to Glencoe in the championship quarterfinals Thursday night, the Comets, ranked and seeded No. 2, staggered through the first quarter Friday. The 11th-seeded Spartans took advantage to earn a 12-11 edge through one. But then Crater reverted to the form that made it a tournament favorite and outscored Corvallis 38-18 over the next two quarters to secure a fourth-place matchup with Central Catholic today at 2 p.m. "It tests your character when you lose your dreams," Crater head coach David Heard said. "That's what we lost (Thursday) night. We lost all of our goals. Everything was gone. "We had to reset our goals. And we did that. (Friday), it was to tie the school record for most wins. (Today), we'll aim to break it. And the other thing of course is to try to come home with the highest trophy you can." Crater is now 25-2, tying last season's record for wins. Senior point guard Sarah Pool suffered the most in the loss to Glencoe, being held scoreless on 0-for-8 shooting while committing 10 of her team's 26 turnovers. The future California Golden Bear missed her first three shots Friday, then drained a 3-pointer and went on to register 15 points, five assists, four steals and three rebounds in 26 minutes. "Still, it was kinda way off," said Pool, who shot 5-for-12 from the field, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range. "I was just really proud of my team to come off a loss like we did and play like we did. That just shows the kind of people they are and how we play and how we deal with adversity." Pool's first bucket since Wednesday night's opening game came with 1 minute, 10 seconds to play in the first quarter and cut the Spartans' largest lead of the game - 12-6 - in half. On Crater's next possession, Pool spun in the lane and sank a short jump shot. "I was like, 'Wow, I can make one; I really can make one,'" Pool said of the 3 that ended her 0-for-11 drought from the field. "It felt good because I don't think I'd made one this whole tournament." The Comets' other star, senior post Amy Denson, scored Crater's first six points and finished with 19 on 7 of 14 shooting. She also clutched a team-high eight rebounds, made three steals and dished two assists in 22 minutes. The game's last tie was at 18-all with 5:25 to go in the second quarter, courtesy of a layup by senior center Sara Gale - who paced Corvallis with nine points and eight rebounds - off a pass from senior forward Bayley Coblentz, who also scored nine points and had four assists. From there, Crater embarked on a 9-0 run that began with Pool's second 3-pointer and ended with junior wing Erin Kinney's 3. The Comets took a 31-25 edge into halftime. Seventeen seconds into the third quarter, Pool nailed her final 3-pointer. A minute later, Denson snared her lone offensive rebound and converted a putback to stake Crater to a 37-25 advantage. The Spartans, who finish 21-6 after winning the Valley League crown, pulled no closer than 10 the rest of the way. Senior forward Addie Wiersma complemented her star classmates Pool and Denson with nine points and five rebounds, four of which came at the offensive end, in an efficient 16 minutes of action. Now the Comets have a chance to avenge their only regular-season loss when they meet the Rams (23-3), who defeated Hermiston, 69-53, on Friday after losing to rival Jesuit, 58-47, on Thursday. Central Catholic beat Crater, 79-64, in the adidas Laker Interstate Shootout at Lake Oswego in late-December. "The score was not indicative of the game," Heard said. "It was tied with four minutes to play. ... But they're a team we don't match up with well. In fact, we match up the worst with them out of any team here." Denson's duel with Central Catholic senior post Vanessa Wyfells, who scored 22 points and made all of her shots against Hermiston, should be both integral and entertaining. CORVALLIS (41) - Covey 1-9 0-2 3, Plinski 1-3 0-0 2, M. Coblentz 3-6 0-0 7, B. Coblentz 3-6 3-5 9, Gale 3-7 3-5 9, Cronkite 1-6 0-5 2, Kuenzil 0-0 0-0 0, Haas 1-1 0-0 3, Elbert 0-0 0-0 0, Cooper 3-4 0-0 6, Reich 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-43 6-17 41. CRATER (59) - Yager 1-4 0-0 3, Wiersma 3-6 3-5 9, Pool 5-12 2-2 15, Robertson 2-5 1-2 6, Denson 7-14 5-8 19, Black 0-2 0-0 0, Kinney 1-3 0-0 3, LeBel 2-5 0-0 4, Huntley 0-2 0-0 0, Anhorn 0-0 0-0 0, Maartense 0-0 0-0 0, LaFontaine 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-53 11-17 59. Corvallis.................................................12 13 5 11 - 41 Crater....................................................11 20 18 10 - 59 Halftime - Crater 31, Corvallis 25. 3-point goals - Corvallis 3-12 (Covey 1-7, Plinski 0-1, M. Coblentz 1-1, Cronkrite 0-2, Haas 1-1), Crater 6-17 (Yager 1-4, Wiersma 0-1, Pool 3-6, Robertson 1-2, Denson 0-1, Black 0-1, Kinney 1-2). Rebounds - Corvallis 33 (Gale 8), Crater 36 (Denson 8). Assists - Corvallis 11 (B. Coblentz 4, Cronkrite 4), Crater 9 (Pool 5). Team fouls - Corvallis 15, Crater 18. A - 851. 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.