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Panther girls use fast start in big win ROSEBURG � A hot start in a hostile environment is what the South Medford girls basketball team needed to further enhance its playoff hopes. Kellie Thomas gave them just that. Thomas nailed a 3-pointer on the opening play of the game and the Panthers used a hot-shooting first quarter and a strong defensive finish to hold off Roseburg, 58-49, on Tuesday. South Medford is alone in second place in the Southern Oregon Conference following a loss by Ashland to North Medford Tuesday. South is 7-3, Ashland 6-4 and Roseburg and Klamath Union, both 5-5. While Thomas, Whitney Grant and Emily Perttu took care of the scoring, Beth Mueller provided the late defensive heroics. Mueller came on in the fourth quarter and shut down Sarah Gilding, who had scored the Indians� first six points of the quarter. From there, the Panthers sank 7 of 8 from the free-throw line to seal the win. "We got off to a great start," said South Medford coach Andrea Wagner. "We came out a little cold (in the second half) but did a good job defensively. "They made some runs, we made some runs, and we ended up winning." The Indians put their first-quarter troubles behind them and momentarily took the lead, 46-42, in the final period. But a bucket and a score off a steal evened things, and the Panthers took off from there. "It�s a bit disappointing," said Roseburg coach John Thomas. "We had a nice string of wins then lose a couple of tough games. "The girls play hard but just haven�t gotten to the point where we execute down the stretch." Grant led South Medford (12-7 overall) with 19 points while Perttu and Thomas scored 17 apiece. Thomas, along with Amber Hunt, each had eight rebounds and Grant picked up four steals. Gilding had 14 points and six rebounds for Roseburg (10-11 overall). SOUTH MEDFORD (58) � Perttu 17, Grant 19, Hunt 0, Thomas 17, Mueller 0, Zenz 5. Totals: 21-51 13-19 58. ROSEBURG (49) � Grady 2, Goodell 11, Lint 5, Heard 10, Bartholemew 0, Burmeister 3, Stevens 4, Gilding 14. Totals: 19 8-14 49. South Medford.......................................19 10 13 16 � 58 Roseburg..................................................8 13 17 11 � 49 3-point goals � South Medford 3 (Perttu 1, Grant 1, Thomas 1), Roseburg 3 (Goodell 3). Fouled out � Heard. JV result � Roseburg won. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.