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Panther girls shoot down Black Tornado Whitney Grant leads the way for the Panthers with her outside shooting By TED BURNHAM South Medford guard Whitney Grant broke out with 13 points in five minutes Friday night, nailing three 3-point goals in the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds of the third quarter as the Panthers girls basketball team beat North Medford, 48-34, at North Medford High. After exchanging leads for 21/2 quarters, Grant helped spark a 16-4 run to put South ahead for good. The victory improved the Panthers' record to 9-6 and 5-1 in the Southern Oregon Conference. The Black Tornado fell to 5-11 and 2-4 in SOC play. "The three 3-pointers Whitney Grant hit were huge," South Medford head coach Andrea Jaime said. "It took the pressure off and the kids started to play with more confidence." Indeed, South scored 30 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half and held North to 13. Grant, who was 0-for-3 from the floor in the first half, said she couldn't recall ever hitting 3-pointers in such quick succession. "We just needed to fire it up and that's what we did," said the senior point guard. "The girls got me the ball when I had some open looks. It was just good timing." North Medford head coach J.T. Thomas said the Black Tornado "refused to play as a team" in the fourth quarter. "We have been over it and over it this year," Thomas said. "We have to play as a team. ... A few players can't go out and try to do it all. "You tell them all they have to do is run their offense like they did in the first half. We are just not playing smart enough to win ballgames. You have got to play hard and you have got to play smart. ... It's not junior high" Grant ended the night the leading scorer with 14 points, while junior post Kirsten Gillingham had 11 points and eight rebounds for South. Junior center Beth Mueller had 10 points, eight blocks and four steals for the Panthers. Sophomore wing Brittany Hodges led North with 11 points while junior post Kerstin Mellbye had eight points and 13 rebounds. South Medford led, 6-4, after a lackluster first quarter. The Panthers' Natasha Wright hit two baskets in 40 seconds to put South up 10-6 early in the second quarter. Two free throws by Hodges and a Mellbye bucket helped narrow the gap to two points late in the first half. Renee Miller and Briana Gentry hit free throws just before the half, when it was tied, 14-14. South and North traded leads in a rollicking third quarter in which five different players scored in the space of two minutes. Grant and Mueller had two baskets a piece for South. Hodges had six points and Mellbye and Miller added buckets for North. Hodges scored with 3:04 left in the third quarter to tie the game for the last time, 22-22. Seconds later, Grant hit the first of her 3s, which helped South put up a 34-24 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Panther defense held off North and Gillingham had six points in three minutes to help assure the Panther victory. "Every game we seem to get a little better," Jaime said. "Every game we learn a little bit more about ourselves." Grant said the win will help build confidence. South will need it when the team faces Oregon's No. 3-ranked team, Crater (6-0 SOC), next week. "I think we just need to come out with fire," Grant said. "Everyone needs to score and we need everyone to rebound. "We need to not go out intimidated at all. We need to have the mentality that we are just as good. We can play them." SOUTH MEDFORD (48) - Grant 14, Gillingham 13, Mueller 10, Wright 5, Brennan 4, Singler 2, Carlton 0, Ingram 0, Silva 0. Totals: 20 5-11 48. NORTH MEDFORD (34) - Hodges 11, Miller 7, Mellbye 8, Gentry 3, Lilly 3, Siebenlist 2, Rettmann 0, Seeley 0, Reeves 0, Westerman 0. Totals: 13 7-15 34. South Medford ................................ 6 8 20 14 - 48 North Medford ................................ 4 10 10 10 - 34 3-point goals - South Medford 3 (Grant 3), North Medford 1 (Lilly 1). JV score - North Medford 50, South Medford 40. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.