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Ashland opens play at state today By Greg Stiles PORTLAND � If getting there is really half the fun, then the fun is just beginning for the Ashland Grizzlies. Unranked, out of sync and all but written off heading into the sub-tournament playoffs, the Grizzlies won three straight do-or-die games to earn their third straight trip to the Class 4A state girls basketball tournament at the University of Portland�s Chiles Center. Now the Grizzlies have another goal in mind: Winning a first-round tournament game. "After the first two seeds, there are a lot of very good teams," Ashland coach Heather Roberts says. "But I don't think anyone is unbeatable after the first two seeds � Crater and Oregon City. Ashland, the third-place finisher from the Southern Oregon Conference, takes on Metro League runner-up Beaverton (21-4) at 7 tonight in a match-up of the tournament�s 10th- and seventh-seeded teams. In the first round two years ago, Amanda Brown�s late score gave Sheldon a 42-40 win over the Grizzlies. Last season, Ashland hobbled into the tournament and got run over, 53-30, by Oregon City. Beaverton was tied for first place in the Metro League before losing its final two regular season games to Jesuit and Westview. "It sounds to me like they run a pretty good transition and we have to stop that," Roberts says. "At the tournament, you�ve got to work at not allowing big runs by other teams and try to put up a few yourself." Haley Harguth (16.0 points per game) and Tracy Vanderzanden (10.3) provide a solid 1-2 punch for the Beavers, who limited opponents to 43.7 points. Beaverton also has an inside threat in 6-foot-2 junior center Rachel Byers (eight points, five rebounds). "My expectations were high coming into the season," says Beaverton coach Sean Coste. "I thought we could possibly win the Metro League championship." But two losses to Jesuit ended that possibility, so the Beavers had to go through the sub-tournament. Vanderzanden had 24 points, including 11 in the first quarter, as the Beavers advanced on Saturday with a 76-58 win over Jefferson. Coste missed the game because he was serving a one-game suspension after being ejected in the Feb. 15 loss to Westview. Because his assistants were tied up coaching in his absence, Coste didn�t get to scout many possible opponents. "I was out with my family at a restaurant close to the gym," Coste says. "I wanted to be close to the gym so I could see my team after the game � I wasn�t able to be at the school at all." Coste says he wasn�t surprised to see Ashland�s Jackie Woods break out of a recent drought with 23 points at Sheldon in a 55-49 win Saturday. "Vanderzanden had been in a slump, too," Coste says. "Sooner or later, kids like that break out of their funk. I wouldn�t be surprised to see Jackie play her greatest game at the tournament." Roberts� teams rarely zone opponents, but the Grizzlies unleashed one against Sheldon that caught the Irish off guard. "We�ll probably go bread-and-butter in the tournament," Roberts says. "I don�t want to pull out tricks very often, but I�ve got a few options. We�re going to do what we�ve been doing. But if it�s not working, we�ll try something else." Woods leads the Grizzlies with averages of 17 points and 10 rebounds a game, while Seltzer has averaged 15 points and seven assists. "Jackie has been up and down," Roberts said of her four-year starting post. "She�s real focused right now. She sensed that to beat Sheldon, she was going to have to have a big game, and she did. She�s been here before, and she usually plays well in the tournament." 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 � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.