Growth has high schools planning for realignment

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Dec. 10, 1998 | 11:22 a.m.

It wasn't so long ago that high school basketball teams in Nevada spent December preparing for their upcoming league schedules in January and February.

For now, those days are over. On Wednesday night, most of the area's 4A boys and girls squads opened their conference slate, many after as few as three non-league contests.

"We have to try to be as good as we can as early as we can," Durango coach Al LaRocque said. "The next two weeks could be critical in February. That's what could be in the back of a coach's mind."

Essentially, Las Vegas' recent population boom is responsible for the change. With so many new schools opening in the 1990s (including varsity newcomers Mojave and Palo Verde), Clark County now has two nine-team 4A divisions, creating major scheduling headaches.

"With two nine-team leagues, the number of playing dates required pushes the league schedule back before Christmas," county athletic director Larry McKay said. "We need 18 playing dates, and there aren't enough after the Christmas break."

With three new schools opening in 1999, however, administrators have proposed a way to alleviate the situation. Under the plan, which is likely to take effect next season, the current Sunrise and Sunset Divisions would each split into two-league conferences.

Instead of an 11-team Sunrise, the division would be divided into a Northeast League (Eldorado, Las Vegas, Rancho, Valley and the new school at the corner of Sandhill and Washington) and a Southeast League (Basic, Chaparral, Green Valley, Silverado, Vo-Tech and the new Henderson school).

Likewise, the Sunset would be split into a Northwest League (Cheyenne, Cimarron-Memorial, Mojave, Palo Verde and the new school in the Northwest part of town) and a Southwest League (Bishop Gorman, Bonanza, Clark, Durango and Western).

The plan would reduce the number of league games from 18 to either eight or 10 per team, allowing December to be strictly for non-conference contests.

According to McKay, the proposed 4A re-alignment would likely not affect football, because local teams play each other only once a year.

Southern uprising?

It has been almost 20 years since Chaparral captured the southern zone's last large school girls basketball state title. But Bishop Gorman is serving notice that the north's streak may be in jeopardy.

After reaching the 4A final four last season and nearly upsetting northern power Elko in the state semifinals, the Gaels have roared out of the gates this winter, posting a 6-0 mark thus far.

Included in that run: a perfect 4-0 record at last week's NGS Basketball Classic in Page, Ariz. In a three-day period, Gorman defeated Arizona schools Dobson, Flagstaff, Tuba City and host Page to capture the event title.

"It was an exceptional tournament," first-year Gaels coach Sheryl Krmpotich said. "We had solid competition, and they pressed us, which we don't see very much here in Las Vegas."

Gaels center Paige Sutton scored 90 points in the tourney, including 23 in the final, to earn most valuable player honors. She was joined on the all-tournament squad by teammates Tiffney Touton, the defensive player of the event, and Liz Cansdale, who also won the 3-point shooting contest.

Tidbits

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