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Crater dribbles past Ashland By Greg Stiles CENTRAL POINT � If there was a night that the Crater Comets might be less than imposing, it figured to be Friday. The Ashland Grizzlies were in town and the Comets weren�t in the best of health. Forward Amy Denson has been sick and wasn�t in the starting lineup after having to miss practice. Center Jody McLeod was under the weather and forward Bre Johnson wasn�t in the lineup as the result of an ejection on Tuesday against Eagle Point. That meant freshman guard Whitney Black was in the lineup and senior forward Carissa Nafie made a rare start. Despite the unusual circumstances, it was business as usual for the second-ranked Comets, who jumped out to a 6-2 lead and were never headed en route to a 68-48 Southern Oregon Conference victory before a crowd of 1,200 at Crater High. "They�re No. 2 for a reason," Ashland coach Heather Roberts said. "They did a good job of capitalizing on our mistakes." Crater sank 19 of 35 (.543) shots in the first half as it built a 40-24 cushion and finished 30 of 58 (.517). Ashland connected on just 19 of 61 (.312), and the Comets also won the rebounding battle, 46-36. Crater, which was ranked No. 25 in the nation by Hoop Planet.com, improved to 12-1 overall and 4-0 in the SOC. Ashland dropped to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in conference. Denson made up for lost time as she drilled 12 of 19 shots from the floor. She was also credited with seven rebounds, two steals and three assists. "Amy was the difference tonight," said Heard, who was more than pleased to see how Black, Nafie and others responded in a pressure situation. "My biggest fear was about how unhealthy we were," Heard said. "I didn�t know how many minutes Jody and Denson could go. Plus, I was worried about foul trouble and that�s what happened with Janell (Sapienza). She must have played about five minutes before fouling out. "But it was great to see Nafie, Black and (freshman Katie) Robertson come in under those conditions and get the job done. I had confidence in them, but they were untested." Just as important as Denson�s numbers, McLeod�s 15 points and 11 rebounds or Sarah Pool�s 13 points and nine assists, were Ashland center Jackie Woods� totals. Woods, whose 26-point, 14-rebound performance against North Medford on Tuesday was closer to her norm, was limited to seven points and six rebounds. "We tried to not let Jackie get the ball," Pool said. "They�re a pretty good outside shooting team, but they were missing shots and that played into our hands." Crater led 16-12 before McLeod�s put back and Nafie�s 8-footer from the baseline made it 20-12 after one quarter. The Comets went on a 12-2 run late in the second quarter, with Pool scoring seven points, to extend their lead to 40-20 with 1:05 left in the half. But Stephanie Hargis and Jessica Bullen scored for the Grizzlies to make it 40-24 at the intermission. Bullen had nine points at the half and Woods six. But Woods, last season�s SOC player of the year, had just one free throw in the second half and was consistently dogged by Nafie. "They�re a very, very disciplined team," said Woods. "After we got down it got awful tough. It�s hard to gain 14 points on a team like that. They crash the boards and rip (the ball down) hard." "We�re not a top-five team," said Ashland point guard Hanna Seltzer, who scored 12 points and doled out nine assists, "but we have the potential to make it back to the state tournament and this was a good learning experience for us." ASHLAND (48) � Bullen 13, Fascilla 0, Gooch 2, Hargis 4, Huyett e, Kalemkeris 2, Larson 1, Morin 4, Seltzer 12, Woods 7, Sobolik 0. Totals: 19-61 7-14 48. CRATER (68) � Black 3, Anhon 0, Pool 13, Sapienza 6, LeBel 0, McLeod 15, Huntley 0, Robertson 2, Nafie 5, Denson 24. Totals: 30-58 8-13 68. Ashland.....................12 12 13 11 � 48 Crater........................20 20 15 13 � 68 3-point goals: Ashland 3-12 (Bullen 1, Huyett 1, Seltzer 1), Crater 0-5. Fouled out � Sapienza. JV score: Crater 43, Ashland 40. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.