Upstate girls go 4-for-4

Tim Graham

Thursday, Feb. 29, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

RENO -- Just as easily as the tournament can be taken out of the South, the South can be taken out of the tournament.

After just one round of play at the NIAA/U.S. Bank girls' state basketball tournament at Nevada-Reno's Lawlor Events Center Wednesday, all four of the Southern Zone teams were eliminated.

The Northern Zone's sweep ensures its reign atop the sport, where it will win its 17th consecutive Nevada title.

Rancho coach Rick Campbell, whose Rams entered as the No. 1 Southern seed, claims the North's dominance is partially due to the site, which was moved northward from Las Vegas six seasons ago.

"The North gets all the advantages," Campbell said. "They get the home-court advantage because they play their zone title game here -- they get us on the road, sleeping in strange beds.

"We need to think about bringing it back down south every once in a while."

Two Southern teams made it into overtime before they lost, as Rancho fell to Carson 53-50 and No. 2 seed Bishop Gorman lost to Reed 48-44. Also, No. 1 North seed McQueen defeated Western 67-54 and two-time defending state champ Elko beat Cimarron-Memorial 51-33.

In today's semifinals, Elko faces Carson at 3:20 p.m. and McQueen plays Reed at 8:05 p.m.

"It was real tough to leave the court," Western coach Sam Johnson said. "We worked too hard for the season to be over."

All hopes of Southern advancement rested on Rancho as it played the final game of the day. Many liked the Rams' chances, considering they were the zone champions and finished undefeated in the Sunrise Division.

Rancho played Carson shot for shot for most of the game and eventually built a seven-point, fourth-quarter lead. But as time wound down, Carson got back in it, tying the score at 44 to send the game into OT.

In the extra session, Rancho went up 50-47 before Carson closed the game on a 6-0 run.

Afterward, Campbell was upset about the officiating. In the entire second half and overtime, the Senators only had six fouls called on them.

"The ballgame came down to fouls," Campbell said. "Even with the football nature of the game, we didn't even get into the 1-and-1 in overtime.

"Anybody that plays (in Reno) gets mauled and fouls aren't going to get called."

Rancho's Veneti Graham led all scorers with 24 points, followed by teammate Demetria Miller with 16.

Bishop Gorman's loss was the South's other shot at winning in the first round, as the Gaels never trailed by more than four points in the second half and led three different times in the fourth. There were seven lead changes and three ties in the last two quarters alone.

Gorman star center Nicole Bellinghausen was silent in the end, recording two points and two rebounds in the second half and overtime. She ended her career by fouling out with 1:10 left in the extra session and a total of five points.

"Nicole was not in her game," Bishop Gorman coach Tom Robinson said. "She struggled the whole game. She couldn't figure it out and neither could we on the bench."

Gorman's Adrienne Sigford led all scorers with 20 points, 12 of which came after halftime, when Gorman trailed 23-19. Kristi Foreman paced Reed with 14, but was 2 of 8 from the foul line.

Western was able to hang close with McQueen for the first two quarters, but faded in the second half, as the Lancers limited the Warriors to nine points in the third quarter and entered the fourth on top 42-30.

Shannon Christian tied for game high honors with McQueen's Margot Patula with 16 points. Domeka Croffet added 13.

In the early game, Cimarron's Georgette Brewer could not defeat the reigning champs all alone, but she tried anyway, scoring all but eight of her team's points, 25 in all, and grabbing seven rebounds.

In Class A action, The Meadows bowed out to Virginia City 42-26, as Christins Hruska was the only Mustang to manage double figures with 13, including six in the second quarter.