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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, February 26, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend February 7, 2004 Crater girls rev up in the second half, leave Cavers in dust By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — Giving up no ground and contesting every shot, the Grants Pass girls basketball team, down 22-18, was in position for an upset at the half Friday night. It was only a matter of time, however, until Crater’s "Big Three" heated up in the Comets’ home gym. With their team’s first-place standing in the Southern Oregon Conference on the line, Whitney Black, Dani Montgomery and Katie Robertson didn’t wait long to provide second-half sizzle. Black’s 3-pointer capped a 9-2 spurt to begin the third quarter that extended Crater’s cushion to 31-20, and the Cavers never crept closer than nine points from then on, ultimately falling 51-36. After shooting a combined 7-for-22 from the field for 15 points in the first half, the Comets’ trio of senior stars went 11-for-22 for 27 points to close out the night. Advertisement The bulk of the damage came in the decisive third, when Robertson’s six points, Montgomery’s six and Black’s five accounted for all but two of Crater’s 19 points. The Comets held a 41-26 advantage entering the fourth — which they soon pushed to 47-28 on back-to-back 3s by Black and Montgomery — and cruised to their seventh straight victory. "We just played," Robertson said of Crater’s second-half adjustments. "We didn’t worry about being in a certain spot or setting a certain screen. We just kind of relaxed and played our game, and I think that helped us a lot to get a groove going in the game. " With the win, the Comets (14-6, 9-1 SOC) set up a showdown with North Medford, the conference’s co-leader, on Tuesday at Crater. The Black Tornado (9-1 SOC) pulled out a 44-42 win in the teams’ first meeting, Jan. 13 at North. GP (11-8, 5-5), meanwhile, has lost three in a row to begin the second half of league play — a trend it will need to reverse quickly to make the Class 4A state playoffs for the first time since 1999. The Cavers trail Roseburg (6-4 SOC) by a game for the conference’s fourth and final playoff spot with four contests to go in the regular season. Working in GP’s favor is that it has already completed its season series with SOC heavyweights Crater, North and Roseburg. "We recognize that if you don’t show up to play every night in this league, you’re gonna struggle," said Robert Lingo, the Cavers’ first-year head coach. "But we believe our girls are gonna get after it the next four games. So the intensity and the effort’s gonna be there for us. It’s gonna be a few decision-making things and just kinda some little basketball things that make the difference." GP definitely displayed effort and intensity Friday, but it wasn’t enough to bottle the Comets. The Cavers’ only lead was 4-2 early in the first period, before Crater finished the quarter on a 12-2 run. GP closed to within 17-14 on the strength of an 8-3 wave and was where it wanted to be with a deficit of just 22-18 at the break. But at the outset of the third quarter, the Comets shook loose, and the win became inevitable. "At the end of the first half, we’d gotten in so much foul trouble, we couldn’t press anymore," said Scott Dippel, the Comets’ second-year head coach. "And then when we got a new set of team fouls, we were able to press a little bit more, and that got us running." Black finished with 15 points, four steals and three assists, Robertson had 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting and Montgomery grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to join 13 points. Senior post Shanna Claflin scored eight of her team-high 10 points for the Cavers in the first half. Sophomore wing Amanda Straw sprang off the GP bench for seven points and six rebounds. GRANTS PASS (36) — VanBrunt 4, Claflin 10, Glovinsky 0, Seymour 7, Austin 0, Franko 7, Straw 1, Tardieu 2, Randall 0, Taylor 5. Totals: 13-47 10-16 36. CRATER (51) — Montgomery 13, Wasniewski 2, N. Tyska 5, Robertson 14, Black 15, Brookins 0, Je. Stoner 2, Ratty 0, Reiter 0, Ja. Stoner 0, K. Tyska 0, Wiersma 0. Totals: 22-57 4-10 51. Grants Pass ................................. 6 12 8 10 — 36 Crater ........................................ 14 8 19 10 — 51 3-point goals — Crater 3 (Black 2, Montgomery 1). Fouled out — Seymour. JV score — Grants Pass 44, Crater 33. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times