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CLEAR Temp: 48 °F Wind: SSW at 5 mph Wednesday, February 5, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend February 1, 2003 Phoenix�s Alex Hanscom, left, looks for passing room around the defense of North Valley�s Carly Burns. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Pirates sink Knights In a game plagued by turnovers and poor shooting, Phoenix wins the Skyline Conference showdown over North Valley By DON HUNT Mail Tribune PHOENIX — The Phoenix High girls basketball team didn’t win many style points in its Skyline Conference showdown against North Valley on Friday night. With 46 turnovers and poor shooting by both teams, the game was not exactly a thing of beauty. But the Pirates walked off with a victory and a share of first place in the league standings, and that’s all they cared about. Senior wing Kristi Duffell scored 12 points and junior post Kat Cox registered eight points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots to pace the Pirates to a 38-28 victory over the Knights in the Phoenix gym. The win pushed the Pirates to 5-1 in the Skyline and 9-5 overall, and it allowed them to keep a share of first place with Lakeview and Henley. North Valley, which entered the night tied with the other three atop the Skyline standings, fell to 4-2 and 10-5 overall. "We might not have had our best overall game, but we had spurts of greatness, and we just kept playing hard until things went our way," Cox said. The game featured four ties and seven lead changes until late in the third period and into the fourth, when Phoenix was finally able to take control. Trailing 22-21 after North Valley guard Whittney Makepeace drilled a 17-foot jumper with 1:08 left in the third, the Pirates went on a 10-0 run and never trailed again. All 10 points — four by Cox, four by 6-foot-1 senior post Kelly Meredith and two by Duffell — were on layups or putbacks as the Pirates ran their halfcourt offense to near-perfection over a 2½ -minute stretch. Cox’s layup off a nifty pass from Meredith capped the run, giving Phoenix a 31-22 cushion with 6:03 remaining in the game. "We had a lot of good ball movement during that stretch, and some holes opened up along the baseline for some easy shots," Cox said. "The teamwork was great." Makepeace tried to rally her team, hitting back-to-back buckets that drew the Knights within 31-26 with four minutes to go. But Cox muscled in a rebound basket at the other end and then sophomore guard Ashley McCarty made her only basket of the game — a 12-foot jumper from out front — to boost Phoenix’s lead to 35-26 with 2:55 left. After that, the Pirates went to their delay game and got a pair of free throws from freshman guard Alex Hanscom and another from senior guard Shannon Reed for their final points. "The tempo really wasn’t to our liking," Phoenix coach Kyle Walker said. "We really would have liked to run more, but it turned into a halfcourt game, and we had to win it that way." The Pirates were solid on defense throughout, forcing 27 North Valley turnovers while holding standout post Elaina Renius to just four points. The 6-4 Renius fouled out with 11.7 seconds remaining. "We knew we had to contain her, and we did," Duffel said. "We had one girl in front of her and one behind, and we made it tough for her to get the ball." North Valley coach Byron Robertson wasn’t happy with his team’s ball-handling errors and lack of offensive production. But with more than half the conference season yet to be played, he wasn’t about to concede anything. "Whoever wins this thing is going to have three or four losses," said Robertson, who doesn’t have a single senior on his roster. "And as bad as we looked at times tonight, we’re still only a game out of first place." NORTH VALLEY (28) — Makepeace 12, Seybold 6, Renius 4, Miller 4, Long 2, Kramer 0, Allen 0. Totals: 13 1-6 28. PHOENIX (38) — Duffell 12, Cox 8, Reed 6, Meredith 6, Unruh 2, McCarty 2, Hanscom 2, Kieffer 0. Totals: 15 7-16 38. North Valley.......................................8 6 8 6 —28 Phoenix.........................................6 9 10 13 — 38 3-point goals — North Valley 1 (Miller 1), Phoenix 1 (Duffell 1). Fouled out — Renius. JV result — Phoenix won. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search M Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright 1997-2002 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy web master feedback A D V E R T I S E R S