Preps: Silverado girls stay undefeated in Sunrise Division

Spencer Patterson

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 1998 | 6:32 a.m.

The Silverado girls basketball team has led the Sunrise Division from start to finish this season, and when things got tight on Monday night, the Skyhawks showed why.

Displaying the poise of a squad angling toward a number one seed in the upcoming 4A Southern Zone playoffs, Silverado outscored host Las Vegas High, 17-7 in the fourth quarter to post an impressive 59-43 victory.

"We came into this game knowing we had to win to keep it going in the conference," said Skyhawks' forward Jayme Connors, who led her team with 19 points, including eight in the final stanza. "We just started playing our game in the second half."

After rallying from 15 points down to win the two clubs' first meeting, Silverado (18-3, 12-0 Sunrise) got another serious challenge from the Wildcats (8-7, 6-5) this time around.

Behind a 14-point, nine-rebound first-half performance from center Lillie Williams, the hosts gave Silverado all it could handle, taking a 26-25 lead into halftime.

But the visitors toughened up defensively down the stretch, agressively double-teaming Williams, and daring her teammates to beat them from the outside. Williams still managed to finish with 26 points and 14 boards, but none of the other Wildcats ever got on track.

"They know who Lillie is, and they tried to stop her all night," said Las Vegas coach Annette Smith. "Our outside shots just weren't falling."

The Skyhawks also turned things up on the offensive end, patiently working the ball around until a good shot presented itself, quite a different story from the first half, when they turned the ball over 14 times.

"They're starting to utilize the clock," said Silverado coach Diane Hernandez. "The clock is very important in a close game situation."

Ahead 45-40 early in the fourth, the visitors put the game away with a flurry of fastbreak layups, three by Connors and one each by Amber Fife (12 points, 11 rebounds), Stormy Hanson and Carly Avello.

The loss kept the Wildcats in a precarious position in the division standings. If the playoffs were to start today, fifth-place Las Vegas would be on the outside looking in. To qualify for one of the Sunrise's four berths, Smith's club will have to catch either Chaparral or Basic in the next week.

"We're still looking forward to the playoffs," Smith said. "We still think we can finish in one of those top four spots."