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Cavers give Crater battle in defeat By GREG STILES CENTRAL POINT -- Grants Pass caught Crater off-guard with man-to-man defense, shot like Olympic biathletes and had the Comets muttering to themselves. Long after Crater figured to have the Cavers yelling uncle, Grants Pass plagued the Southern Oregon Conference girls basketball favorites. Nonetheless, the Comets' strength and relentless pressure wore the visiting Cavers down as Crater notched a 55-40 victory. "We didn't practice against anything but zone in preparing for (Grants Pass)," Crater coach David Heard said. "I didn't think they'd really match up against us, and they didn't. But ... " The Cavers (9-5, 2-2 SOC) connected on four of their first five shots and wiped out a 6-0 deficit in no time at all. They never really cooled off, finishing 16-of-32 from the field, including 3-of-6 behind the 3-point arc. "It seems like they hit a big shot just about every time we were ready to pull away," Heard said. Crater (12-2, 4-0 SOC) countered with an even hotter hand, knocking down 22-of-39 shots, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Sophomore Amy Denson hit 7-of-10 shots from the floor, including a trey, to pace the Comets with 15 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore point guard Sarah Pool added 14, while Sarah Yager had 11, hitting 3-of-4 3-pointers. "Offensively, I think everybody played well tonight," Heard said. "Our breakdowns were on defense, and they took advantage of it." Grants Pass ended the first quarter with a 5-0 run to take a 14-13 lead. It was 21-19 before Crater went on a 5-2 burst to take a 26-21 advantage at the intermission. Crater's press, which played a major role in Grants Pass' 25 turnovers, surrendered open shots on the other end far too often for Heard in the first half. The sixth-year coach let his players know it at halftime. "We needed to communicate on defense," said junior guard Janell Sapienza. "When we were trapping, we weren't rotating, and they were going for layins. (Heard) told us not to take chances defensively." The Comets took few in the second half as Heard's words sunk in. Three quick Grants Pass turnovers allowed Crater to up its lead to 30-21 34 seconds into the third quarter. "It was a case of us losing composure and not throwing the ball where we needed to three times," Grants Pass coach Shaun Gross said. "We set our point guard up for a hard trap by throwing back to her in the corner. A lot of times point guards take the heat. But we played right into Crater's hands by not looking up court and hitting the open man." Were it not for junior guard Danae Thomason's deadly aim from 3-point range, the Comets might have broken it open earlier. Plus, Denson tipped a rebound into the Grants Pass basket that kept the Cavers within 36-32 with two minutes to play in the third quarter. But Pool, who scored 10 points in the period, hit two free throws to give Crater a 46-36 edge heading into the fourth quarter. An 8-2 run to start the final period pushed Crater's lead to 13 points and it swelled to 15 with 1:57 to play on Denson's bank shot. "We finally got some momentum going," Pool said. And with their chief competitors for the conference title looming in the headlights, the Comets hope to maintain their momentum. Crater travels to South Medford Tuesday before returning home to play Ashland next Friday. "I haven't allowed the girls to even talk about Ashland," Heard said. "If they start thinking about Ashland, then we'll get beat by South." Sophomore guard Addie Wiersma, who started much of last year, left the team earlier this week. Heard said someone else will have to supply the emotional fire Wiersma could light. "We could've used that fire, spark and quickness tonight," Heard said. "It's time for someone else to step up and be that spark." GRANTS PASS (43) -- Thomason 9, Nealy 2, Higgins 2, Thompson 0, Davidson 0, Debo 0, Klingel 5, Williams 10, Moser 2, Pilcher 4, Moon 10. Totals: 16-32 8-12 43. CRATER (55) --Yager 11, Chase 0, Hemphill 5, Pool 14, Sapienza 2, McLeod 8, Hall 0, Nafie 0, Denson 15, Johnson 0. Totals: 22-39 7-11 55. Grants Pass .............14 7 15 7 -- 43 Crater ..................13 13 17 12 -- 55 3-point goals -- Grants Pass 3-6 (Thomason 2, Klingel 1). Crater 4-6 (Yager 3, Denson 1). Fouled out -- none. JV -- Crater 46, Grants Pass 16. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, OR U.S.A.