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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 January 31, 2003 South Medford�s Beth Mueller holds the school�s single-season record in blocked shots with 83. She has 155 career blocks, which is also a school record. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Mueller’s message: shots beware Beth Mueller, South Medford’s 6-foot-3 center, is the SOC’s premier shot-blocker By TIM PYLE Mail Tribune In a sense, Beth Mueller is the Southern Oregon Conference’s post master. Because unless shots are carefully packaged, Mueller is likely to stamp an emphatic "rejected" and swat them away. Mueller, a 6-foot-3 senior center on the South Medford girls basketball team, is the SOC’s current queen of the blocked shot. She also sits atop the Panthers’ all-time throne in that category. "It’s kind of been my favorite thing to do since I was little," says Mueller, who has rejected 155 opponents’ shots during her varsity career. This season, Mueller is averaging 3.5 blocks to accompany 7.0 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in helping South (7-9 overall) to a surprising 5-2 start in the SOC heading into tonight’s showdown at league-leading Roseburg (15-2, 7-0 SOC). Of course, there is no statistic to record how many shots Mueller alters or, by simply waiting in the paint, prevents from being attempted altogether. "Even when she’s not blocking shots, she’s a presence in there," says sixth-year Panthers head coach Andrea Jaime. "Just with her size ... she affects whether people wanna go in there and take a shot or how they shoot when they do go to shoot. And that helps a lot. "There aren’t very many other real good shot-blockers in the league. Definitely, she’s unique in that." Mueller accumulated 83 blocks in 28 games last year to break South’s single-season record of 70 by Shae Olson (who also had the career mark, with 130), set in 1995. Should the Panthers make the playoffs this year, Mueller is on pace to rewrite the single-season record again. Always armed and ready to wield her prolific erasing skills down low, Mueller lends confidence to South perimeter players like senior guard Natasha Wright. "It’s nice to have her down there," says Wright, who is second in scoring (10.7 points per game) to sophomore wing Katie Singler (11.1) among the Panthers. "If one of the guards gets by one of us, we know that Beth will probably be down there to block her. And she gets a lot of rebounds, too." Indeed, Mueller’s work on the boards is also exceptional, as she ranks fourth all-time on South’s rebounding ledger and could rise as high as second by season’s end. She has increased both her rebounding and scoring from last season, when her averages were 6.5 and 5.5, respectively, in earning honorable mention all-SOC recognition. Similar improvements came during Mueller’s first two years in the program, as she played in a few varsity games as a freshman and served as a valuable reserve her sophomore year. But Mueller’s progress has been perhaps most important in an area that used to plague her at times — foul trouble. The problems there were often a direct result of her desire to block shots. "I’ve learned that a lot of times, even if it isn’t a foul, it really looks like a foul," says Mueller, who owns a 3.99 grade-point average and plans to become an orthodontist. "So you’ve gotta wait, let ‘em shoot it and then get it out of there." Mueller’s defense and all-around production were a key element in the Panthers’ 17-11 campaign last year, when they finished third in the SOC, advanced to the state tournament and won their first-ever tourney game. Despite a 2-8 start this season, South is in position for another postseason run. With four straight wins in SOC action, the Panthers ended the first half of conference play tied with Ashland and North Medford for second place. The third of those four consecutive victories was one Mueller will never forget. Tied with Eagle Point with seconds remaining in regulation on Jan. 24, Wright missed a jump shot before Mueller rebounded and scored from close range at the buzzer for a 49-47 win. "I just remember us drawing up the play and going out there and saying, ‘OK, ‘Tasha’s gonna make this shot,’" Mueller recalls. "And then I said, ‘Well, she’s gonna make it. But if she doesn’t, I’ll be there.’ "Then everybody asked me what I was thinking when I grabbed the rebound (and made the game-winner). I couldn’t remember for a while, but then I remember thinking, ‘Shoot before the buzzer goes off.’" That’s almost as simple as "return to sender" — a message Mueller has mastered on the basketball court. Reach reporter Tim Pyle at 776-4483 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