Document text
Ashland regroups, tops Vikes for win in consolation bracket PORTLAND -- The Ashland Grizzlies regained their shooting touch and a lot more Wednesday morning, earning at least one more appearance at the Class 4A state girls basketball tournament. Less than 12 hours after misfiring in every possible way during a 53-30 loss to top-ranked Oregon City, the Grizzlies bounced back in fine fashion. Ashland (17-8) ousted Pacific-8 champion Forest Grove, 69-56, in the consolation quarterfinals and will play No. 2-ranked Springfield in the consolation semifinals at 9 a.m. Friday. Midwestern League champion Springfield (24-2) eliminated Barlow, 52-35. The Millers defeated the Grizzlies, 65-49, on Dec. 30 in the Northwest Holiday Classic in Beaverton. "We knew we couldn't hang our heads," said junior center Jackie Woods. "If we did then our season would be over. Our mindset is that we can come back like last year (when Ashland played four games and finished eighth). It's like deja vu, losing our first game and then coming back and playing to Saturday." Jenny Pippa scored 21 points, connecting on four of her nine 3-pointers to pace Ashland. Hanna Seltzer, who also knocked down four 3-pointers, and Woods added 18 points apiece. Seltzer also had seven assists. Leading 14-12 at the end of the first quarter, Ashland went on a 12-2 run in the opening two minutes of the second period. A 15-foot jumper by Woods with 6:06 left gave the Griz a 26-14 lead. The Grizzlies outscored Forest Grove 17-6 in the second quarter to take a 31-18 halftime lead. In Tuesday's loss to Oregon City, Ashland shot 20 percent in the first half and 30.2 percent for the game, while getting outrebounded, 40-24. "When we saw Oregon City's size and they started pushing us around, we got intimidated," Woods said. "We backed off and went into shellshock. Today there was a lot of difference. We knew we had to play to our potential. Their posts were easier to post-up. They weren't as strong as (Oregon City's 6-foot-3) Hollye Holbrook. We felt very confident with ourselves and didn't want the season to end." With Woods having success inside, the perimeter opened up once again. "Our wings are very good shooters," Woods said. "They needed more confidence and they got it today." Sophomore Amy Knowlton scored 16 points for the Vikings (16-10), and Kristine Knowlton had eight points, six rebounds and six blocked shots. The Vikings committed 20 turnovers to the Grizzlies' 11. FOREST GROVE (56) -- Bair 6, A. Knowlton 16, K. Knowlton 8, Lepschat 0, Smith 7, Klaumann 6, Brist 2, Perry 0, Vaandering 6, Hayes 5. Totals: 21-50 9-14 56. ASHLAND (69) -- Pippa 21, Woods 18, Seltzer 18, Bullen 5, Kalemkeris 4, McNaught 2, Morin 1, Huyett 0, Talbott 0, Lewis 0, Fascilla 0. Totals: 23-65 15-22 69. Forest Grove ..........12 6 20 18 -- 56 Ashland .................14 17 22 16 -- 69 3-point goals -- Forest Grove 5-14 (Vaandering 2, Klaumann 2, Smith 1), Ashland 8-22 (Seltzer 4, Pippa 4). Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA